Negative reviews are opportunities

You were hoping it would never happen, but it just did. Your e-commerce store just got its first online negative review. You’re freaking out. What will my potential customers think when they read this? It’s never fun to get a negative review about something you’ve worked hard to create. But at the same time, negative reviews are inevitable. There’s not one online store that doesn’t have at least one bad review. And guess what? A negative review is an opportunity. You can leverage it and turn it into a positive impact on your e-commerce business. Let’s explore three ways that help you achieve that.

1. NEGATIVE REVIEWS HELP YOU BUILD TRUST WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS

You read that right. Most consumers look at the reviews first before they decide to buy a product. It helps them determine whether they can trust you. The star rating is the first thing that’ll catch their eye. But if you’ve received a couple of hundred reviews and your star rating is 5/5, it almost looks suspicious. Out of the 597 reviews, no one had any complaints. That can’t be right. People love to complain. It almost seems like you’re hiding something. Point is that consumers trust a transparent brand. A study shows that consumers view businesses that respond to reviews as 1.7 times more trustworthy than businesses that don’t. Being transparent means you show both positive as well as negative reviews. Having zero negative reviews can make it seem like you had something to do with that.

Of course, we’re not suggesting going out there and disappointing your customers. But if it happens, a couple of negative reviews certainly won’t hurt your business. They will help your e-commerce store. They’ll increase the trust of potential customers in your brand. Which then leads to higher conversions. Especially if they see you respond to these negative reviews and acknowledge your customers. But more on that later.

HOW TO LEVERAGE: Show those negative reviews, don’t hide them.

2. NEGATIVE REVIEWS HELP YOU CREATE BETTER PRODUCTS

Sometimes those negative reviews will help you identify issues you weren’t aware of. This is free feedback that you can use to create even better products. And what better way to communicate that with your customers? Imagine you received a negative review about your product and it’s something you can fix. You respond to that negative review, thank your customer for their honesty, tell them that you’re taking their feedback into account and that you’re in the process of fixing the issue. This might turn a negative review into a positive one. In addition to that, a potential customer who gets to read this will also see that the issue is now fixed.

HOW TO LEVERAGE: Analyze the data and feedback of your negative reviews. Don’t ignore them. Use that data to create even better products for your e-commerce.

3. NEGATIVE REVIEWS HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS MAKE BETTER DECISIONS

Customers look at negative reviews to help them decide if a particular product is a right fit for them. Sometimes, even though there’s nothing wrong with the product, it just won’t satisfy their exact wants or needs. Negative reviews often have information that lets potential customers know if this particular product fits their wants or needs. This means that a couple of negative reviews help customers avoid having to return a product and leave yet another negative review. It’s a win-win situation for both of you. And that’s what you want to achieve. You don’t want to sell to the wrong audience. Cause we all know that there’s not one product that’s meant to fit everyone’s needs.

HOW TO LEVERAGE: Always respond to a negative review. They’ll appreciate it if you acknowledge them, and potential customers see you do care. Also, having good customer service might make them come back for a different product.

HOW TO RESPOND TO NEGATIVE REVIEWS

Do you know how to respond to a negative review to turn it into a positive impact on your e-commerce business? Here are 5 tips that could help you out:

1. PROMPT RESPONSE:
Responding to customer reviews within 24 hours is crucial. This can increase the chances of turning an unhappy customer into a loyal, returning customer.

2. MAKE IT PERSONAL:
Make your response more individualized by addressing the reviewer by their name. Avoid using generic terms like “Dear customer.”

3. SHOW GRATITUDE:
Expressing gratitude is important. Let the customer know that you appreciate their time and effort in leaving a review.

4. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY:
Even if the issue is not your fault, apologize and take responsibility. Specifically mention the issue they raised and include details from their review in your response.

5. PROVIDE SOLUTION:
Communicate the specific changes you’ll make to address the issue. If there is nothing you can do, end your response with the previous step.

Here’s an example of how to respond to a negative review:

WITH TRUSTPROFILE, YOU GET A BALANCED REVIEW SYSTEM

Both positive and negative reviews are powerful and help build trust with your potential customers. They also help boost conversions and turn buyers into loyal repeat customers. For that, you need the right ratio. As long as the positive reviews outnumber the negative reviews significantly, you’re fine. There’s just one problem. Filling in reviews can be time-consuming, so happy customers don’t necessarily feel like going through that process. That means you’ll end up with reviews from only the customers that had a negative experience. And that certainly won’t represent your e-commerce store. You want to avoid that.

With Trustprofile, we’ve made the process of sending and filling in a review effortless. So you get the right ratio of reviews that represent your online store. Your customers get an email where they’re asked to fill in a review. Information like the order number, customer name, and email address will already be prefilled. All they need to do is to fill in the star rating and an optional sentence or two describing their experience with your online store. Isn’t that easy? That means that if your customers don’t feel like typing anything, they can just hit the number of stars they want to give their experience with your e-commerce store and they’re done. Literally in merely a couple of seconds. 

As for you, we’ve made the process of sending reviews effortless as well. Our integrations allow you to invite your customers automatically for leaving a review. It’s up to you when these invitations get sent. The default is 7 days after the order is sent to make sure the product is delivered and they were able to try it out. But you can always change that.