The effect of negative reviews on a business needs no introduction.
We all know what negative reviews can do to an establishment.
Just one negative review is enough to finish the trust you have gained from your customers over the years. Again, just one.
And, as the number of negative reviews increases, the credibility of the seller decreases.
Negative reviews can also negatively influence your potential customers, as they may feel hesitant in doing business with you.
So, it's very important to know how to tackle negative reviews.
The first option is always to make sure you get a positive review, but even if, by bad luck, your product gets a negative review, there are ways to salvage the situation.
Keep on reading to know the ways to tackle negative reviews. And, if you come across one, know how to salvage the situation.
After reading the article, you will be better prepared in tackling such unforeseen situations with the uttermost grace.
Acknowledge and apologise
The first thing should be to take ownership of the situation and apologise to the customer.
Read carefully what the customer has written. Understand why the customer felt unsatisfied with your product.
For example, if the customer complains about the heel height of the footwear, then it can be because you didn’t mention the heel’s height in the description or the listing.
Or, if it's regarding the looks of the product, then it can be because the photos don’t match the actual product.
Once you have understood the reason behind the dissatisfaction, make amends. Rectify your mistakes so that other customers don’t get a chance to write the same thing.
Like, you can fix the photos or add the missing details of your product to your listing.
Replying to the comments shows your proactiveness towards your customers.
Rectifying the situation
There are times when customers are so dissatisfied with the product that they tend to email Amazon, apart from leaving a negative review.
If a customer does that, you should realize the gravity of the situation and make amends accordingly.
While Amazon may handle things from its end, you can also personally message the customer offering ways to rectify the situation.
Such messages show the personal commitment of the seller towards delivering the best through his or her product and, go a long way in establishing a good and long-lasting customer relationship.
You will see that many customers tend to remove their negative reviews post the assistance.
Putting the negative review up for a review
Amazon offers sellers to request reviews between 5–30 days from delivery.
You can request a review and hope for the outcome to be in your favour.
Filtering the comments is very much possible on Amazon, but not in every case.
Moreover, Amazon will look for obscene language or information that can be personally identified.
It will automatically remove the comment.
There are times when your competitors will try to push you down by putting up fake negative reviews.
If you happen to receive such reviews, then don’t panic.
Read the reviews carefully and try to identify the pattern. Does the review look genuine or fake?
What about the language used?
Is the account real or fake?
Is it from a buyer or your competitor?
Once you get answers to these questions, report the review.
Have strong evidence in such cases so that the outcome is in your favour.
Amazon is a highly competitive marketplace, and you are bound to come across such situations.
But, this is just a part of a bigger and greater journey.
Provide actual photos and visuals of your product
The photos need to be clear and, genuine.
It should give the customers a clear idea of the product that you are selling.
The most important part when it comes to the photos is their genuineness.
If you put photos with too much editing or put photos from the internet, it may mislead the expectations of the customers, which may eventually drive them to rate you negatively after the purchase.
It is always better to be true and provide the actual photos of the product with minimal touches.
Even if you are uploading edited photos to catch the buyer’s attention, make sure to add short notes such as -
“Colour may be slightly different from real life”.
Adding such notes will assist the buyer in making an informed choice.
When it comes to providing visuals of your products, be as transparent and genuine as possible.
Keep your research game top-notch
Monitor the products of your competitors and research what more can be added to your product listing.
Look where you may have missed minute details and fill them up ASAP.
Also, research what can be done to avoid facing the same situation twice.
For example, your competitor may have added detailed markings of the product on the photos themselves.
This would have helped the consumers in getting an in-depth idea of the product and hence, would have preferred that very product.
If a certain detail can be a contributing factor in driving up sales, adapt it.
Or, your competitor would have missed a few details in the description, such as dimensions or colour, which would have lowered the conversions.
Make sure to add those details to your listing.
You can even check similar selling platforms and see what all sellers selling the same product have added there in their descriptions.
You know, there is no harm in doing a bit of extra research.
Likewise, you will see that sellers who are into footwear or garments tend to add lines such as “true to size” or “buy a size smaller/larger”.
Such short notes from the sellers help the buyers make more informed decisions related to the product, hence, improving the overall shopping experience.
It might be just a minute detail to you, but for a buyer, such notes tend to provide clarity while shopping online.
Negative reviews can be dodged with a good presence of mind and sharp research skills.
Your attention to detail and professionalism will determine the outcome of your hard work.
Till then, Happy Selling!
