I was recently asked the following question on Linkedin:
What’s your general view about what companies should do if they feel they are being unfairly maligned on Yelp? Same for doctors being unfairly maligned on medical sites?
This is a great question since so many brands and professionals have been experiencing these types of maliciously-intentioned reviews lately. The answer, of course, depends on the situation. But having helped many doctors and brands through this type of negative online situation, the following are some suggestions to consider when faced with this type of unpleasant attack:
4 Ways to Handle Negative Online Reviews Against Your Brand
First thing’s first, attempt a removal
If you can prove that the review is false and was created with malicious-intent, then the first step is to get in touch with the platform and attempt to have the wrongful accusations removed. Although this is usually easier said than done, it’s still worth a try.
Your online reputation should go further than review sites
Rather than leaving it all up to the public and channels on which you have little to no control, focus on building a strong, positive online reputation. The focus here is to outrank the negative. To begin, make sure that your corporate website is properly optimized and then focus on having profiles on other SEO friendly platforms such as Linkedin, About.me, Twitter, Facebook, Quora, Yahoo Answers and other industry specific websites.
Encourage happy customers to leave you positive reviews
Find creative ways to encourage happy clients and customers to write positive reviews about your brand/products/services on the same and other review sites. If you have a long stream of legitimate positive reviews, the negative ones will not have precedence. Don’t be scared to get creative when doing this!
Be aware
It’s important to Google yourself and your company, products and services on a regular basis, in order to be aware of what is being said about you online on review sites and others. The more aware you are of your online reputation, the better chances you have at detecting and correcting falsehoods, rumors and potential crisis situations before they begin to spread and go viral.
And remember, if your brand consistently offers quality customer service and aims to always build relationships with your audience and clientele, than a couple maliciously-intentioned reviews won’t overpower a consistently reputable brand. You can’t please everyone, but you can control the way you and your team handle situations and strive for excellence. However, there’s no denying that those negative reviews can be stressful and potentially damaging, so be sure to focus on building your positive online reputation and enabling yourself and your team to be aware of these issues in real-time.
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
I know a certain baking company that should have sought out this advice a while ago, instead of yelling at customers and throwing them out for being "Yelpers."
That being said, I know you and other crisis professionals have said many times, if you're not starting the conversation, others are going to start it for you and you have no control of it. Companies who are impacted by review sites like Yelp, Trip Advisor, and public social channels seem to be the ones who either aren't monitoring or aren't driving the conversation. It's a social world, people, so let's talk!
Hi Kristin,
Review sites give the people a voice and new and potential clients a way to find the best solution and provider for their needs. Yes, there are trolls and competitors who enjoy writing bogus and nasty reviews, but the majority of the time, they're legit. It's all about being aware, giving the best service you can give and finding creative ways to get happy clients to leave positive comments and reviews. If you master these three things, than the malicious trolls won't hurt your reputation.
My personal experience has been that if you do a good job of building your brand, people will come to your aid and stick up for your brand, even without being asked to. Apart from that, I've also had success in turning angry posters attitudes around by addressing any legitimate gripes. This is a major coup to have them publicly retract their statements. However, there's always one that just wants to trash you, for whatever reason, and they should just be deleted, and/or banned.
Absolutely. However, it can be very difficult to delete and/or ban someone on a third party review site. Sometimes, it can even prove to be impossible.
But you're absolutely correct, Dan. Focusing on giving quality service and responding with care and concern to those legitimately unhappy customers will do wonders when it comes to your brand's reputation, as well as when it comes to warding off those fake attacks from trolls and competitors.
Thank you for this tips Melissa, It's hard for a company or a small business owner to see online negative reviews, this is like their own babies. You're right, the only way to handle this is by not ignoring it, you don't want readers to search for your site online, and negative reviews is on the top of SERP. Act fast, acknowledge the reviewer, solve the problem and be sure to take note of this situation to avoid this kind of scene again.
Yes, though unfortunately we can't always prevent these reviews. It seems that unhappy customers have a louder voice and more intent to post than happy ones. This is why finding incentives and making it easy for happy customers to post reviews about your brand, products and/or services. Along with managing your online reputation comes making sure that positive reviews are published along side the negative – because we can't always get the negative ones taken down.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us, Rebecca!