Why We Wrote It:
Chaos or harmony. At the end of the day it’s your choice.
What You’ll Learn:
Negative reviews are actually positive reviews in disguise.
You built your business from the ground up. You worked hard day and night to ensure it runs just the way you want it. You spent time. Sleepless nights, early mornings and long days. All for the sake of your business. You took on clients and worked even harder, to make sure they were happy, had what they needed and were moving forward toward their goals. When it got to be too much for you to handle on your own you hired on staff, and taught them your sensibilities. Worked even harder to cement in their minds the proper way to do things. After all, your brand is your baby.
Then, after all that hard work, you get a bad review. Be it publicly posted on the internet or privately sent to you in a message it strikes the same nerve all the same. You feel hurt. Deflated. Like all the work you put in was all for nothing. You start to feel defensive, like you should strike back and let them know just how wrong they are. After all, your brand is your baby. Parent’s do anything to protect their children.
Now, hopefully you don’t act on those impulses, however hard it may be. Especially in a publicly posted review. That could set your social media channels on fire and burn you so bad you might not ever recover. If you take a step back and really read what the customer is saying you’ll see that bad reviews are actually good reviews in disguise.
Negativity Breeds Positivity
Say someone posts a negative comment on your Facebook or Instagram feed about the experience they had at your studio the other day. The language is written in such a way to where you can nearly feel their energy seeping off your phone screen. What do you do? This is a tricky situation. Not only is it posted on a public forum where your entire audience can see it, but how you respond (and possibly more important if you don’t respond) sends a message about the level of attention and overall kindness your brand provides. If you respond appropriately, it’s a great chance to not only give someone who had a bad experience a different perspective but provide your audience a solid understanding of your work ethic. If you respond the wrong way and come off defensive, the situation will undoubtedly escalate to the point of no return.
The thing that’s good about having someone post a negative review on a public forum is that if you respond in the correct manner that means you’re turning the tables. It’s an opportunity. An opportunity to show your audience and the world how seriously you take your reputation. Use this as fuel for your business’ tank; keep on trucking and shine brighter than you already do.
How Do You Respond?
First and foremost: Pay attention. Keep track of your social media. Browse comment sections, forums, etc. Engage with your audience. You can’t respond to a negative review if you don’t know it’s there. Probably the only thing worse than scrolling through your feed to find a negative review would be scrolling through your feed to find a negative review that’s old. You don’t want them to turn like milk left out in the sun. You want to react when it’s fresh. Respond as soon as you possibly can. Assign a member of your staff this responsibility to comb through social media feeds multiple times a day if you do not have the time on your plate. Or set up a Google Alert to be notified when your business name is mentioned on the internet.
Remember to answer in as polite a manner as you can. Listen to what they have to say; try your best to understand where they are coming from. Engage with them and address their problem head on. If you don’t do this it can backfire. The customer that originally posted, or someone else entirely can see your response and shotgun it all over the internet naming you as the hotheaded, unconcerned business that you know in your heart you aren’t.
Chaos or Harmony: It’s Your Choice
You might be wondering what to do if someone leaves you a negative review in a private message? Well, surprise surprise, the process is exactly the same. Pay attention, apply some positive energy, listen with sympathy and respond with realistic solutions.
Always remember that negative reviews are really just positive reviews in disguise. They help build up your business by letting you know what you need to be doing. Because despite all of the hard work you did in the beginning to start your gym there’s always something else that can be done.
After all, your brand is your baby. Give it a good life.