When you respond online to a negative review, you do two things: 1. Leave the ball in your clients’ court. You show that you’ve been making an effort to reach out and fix the problem, but your past clients aren’t being receptive to hearing from you or trying to fix the problem. 2. Show you care about your clients. Every home buyer or seller wants to know his or her agent will make an effort to respond to and address their concerns. Why Some Bad Reviews Can Actually Help Your Business Have you ever been searching for a product or service online and only saw good reviews? You might have thought to yourself, “Hey, these reviews almost seem as if the company paid someone to write them. I don’t see a single bad one.” Did all of those overwhelmingly positive reviews make you skeptical about the product or service? While you might not want a bad review to tarnish your reputation, having one or two bad reviews — especially if those reviews just seem like the person had overly high expectations or blamed you for something outside of your control — can build trust in your brand and enhance all of the positive reviews you receive. As consumers, we equate negative reviews with authenticity, so having one or two less-than-stellar reviews isn’t a reason to panic. Now, I’m not saying you should share them on your website or social media pages, but they certainly don’t spell the end of your business. Simply address the issues with your past clients and respond to them publicly to address whatever prompted them to leave the negative review in the first place. People are more likely to remember that you took the time to address an issue than the issue itself. You can also use any bad reviews as a learning experience. Focus on improving in the areas in which people criticized you. When you respond publicly, thank people for their honest feedback and let them know you appreciate being given the opportunity to grow in the future and avoid the same mistakes.
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