Top 5 most common mistakes when working with reviews

In this article, we will understand why you should work with all your customer reviews, and we will look at the most common mistakes that companies make in this activity.

The language of statistics: why it is important to pay attention to reviews on the Internet

According to a study conducted by the Data Insight agency (jointly with AliExpress Russia), the majority of consumers (99%) are guided by reviews on the Internet when choosing goods and services. Interestingly, more than half of users (67%) periodically leave their own reviews. Good product quality encourages 44% of consumers to leave feedback, while people who are dissatisfied with a purchase leave feedback less often (38%).

The language of statistics is important in the process of marketing analysis, but the ability to correctly interpret the results of the analysis is even more important. Therefore, the data of the Data Insight study are interesting from the point of view of understanding the reasons that drive people when writing reviews.

It turned out that simple emotions are “to blame” for everything: 43% of people leave reviews under the influence of positive impressions. The calculation of receiving any bonuses from the seller drives 31% of writers, and only 24% of consumers are ready to share their opinion about a product or service for a monetary reward.

It is also very important to correctly assess the level of users’ trust in reviews. According to the data of a survey conducted by specialists of the BrightLocal company, 49% of people trust reviews on the Internet in the same way as the opinion of close people/friends. In another 28% of consumers, the degree of trust in Internet reviews can be compared with the trust in the opinion of professional experts.

Unfortunately, not all businessmen pay attention to dry statistics. Many entrepreneurs simply ignore conscious work with reviews, and some managers and managers, under the influence of their own emotions, react to negative comments in such a way that they only damage the company’s reputation even more.

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Top 5 mistakes when working with online reviews

In this article, we have collected the top 5 popular business mistakes when working with online reviews and have given recommendations on how to behave in this or that situation.

Mistake #1. Ignoring the negative

Failure to respond to negative reviews is one of the most common mistakes. The logic of such ignoring is clear: the management does not pay attention to “bad” reviews, as it considers them insignificant, which do not affect the reputation of the business in any way.

However, it is necessary to understand that negative reviews gradually accumulate, creating the impression among potential consumers that everything written about a certain company is true.

Meanwhile, experienced marketers advise not only to pay attention to negative reviews, but also to try to work with absolutely all reviews (both negative and positive). According to BrightLocal, 89% of people are more likely to use the services of a brand that responds to both positive and negative reviews. At the same time, 57% of respondents are not ready to buy products from a company that does not respond to online reviews.

It is important to consider that written personal responses from business representatives increase people’s loyalty. Correspondence with an unsatisfied (or neutral in reaction) customer in one way or another increases the degree of trust in the brand: it is possible that a person will return to purchasing the company’s goods/services after a friendly response and a successful resolution of a conflict situation.

Mistake #2. Low speed of reaction to negative feedback

As the practice of marketers with a reputation shows, a lot depends on the speed of response to a negative comment.

A purely psychological factor plays a big role: since reviews from real people, as a rule, contain a description of the problem that has arisen, users subconsciously expect its quick solution. The delay is perceived as an insult – a person unconsciously begins to feel that he is being ignored. This increases his negative mood and sometimes prevents him from reaching a compromise if the company representative comes with a late reply. According to a BrightLocal survey, 53% of consumers who leave any kind of feedback expect a response from a company within a few days. In case of futile waiting, trust in the brand usually falls.

In addition, a delay in responding to a negative can lead an angry customer to an emotional public escalation of the conflict: the person begins to write additional comments, accusing the business of willful ignorance. To outside observers, this kind of escalation is a signal that a particular brand is neglecting consumers.

We recommend responding to customers as much as possible within 1 day of negative feedback. But now, many popular sites take only 1-2 days to moderate reviews, so your reaction a priori cannot be fast, you will see a review with a delay.

To instantly respond to negativity and work through customer objections, use the MyReviews script to capture negative reviews before they even hit the map. You send the client a link to your company from the MyReviews personal account, the service determines the rating that the client wants to give. If the rating is low and the customer has a complaint, he is directed to the “Write to the Director” feedback form. This is a form where the client can fully explain the essence of the problem and leave a contact for feedback. Such a negative feedback will not get on the cards, you will receive it only in your Telegram bot, you will be able to immediately call the client back and process the negative feedback.

If the client is going to leave a positive review, the service will offer a choice of several platforms where he can leave an opinion. You can define sites for collecting reviews yourself in your MyReviews personal account.

Mistake #3. Using template answers

Some marketers use automation methods in communication with customers, which may reduce the time for correspondence, but does not improve its quality.

Template responses are bad because they look like unsubscribes – people get the impression that their conversion was not given much importance. And if, in the case of neutral or positive reviews, a stereotyped review is, in principle, assumed, then in the case of a negative or problematic comment, it creates certain reputational risks.

In addition, stereotyped answers stand out from the general stylistics of the chosen tone of voice brand (if it is worked out). Ideally, it is better to avoid automated messages and to respond to positive comments: personalization based on the interests of customers improves loyalty.

Mistake #4. Excessive emotionality in the response to the comment

Marketers or entrepreneurs often make the opposite kind of mistake: they respond to customers too emotionally. And it is not only about excessive harshness in tone, rudeness and arguments with people. Sometimes one or two carelessly chosen words can have a negative effect on the consumer and ultimately spoil the company’s reputation.

Experienced marketers know that, in principle, any purchase for a person is emotionally colored: people buy a product and use a service to get joy. But it is quickly replaced by anger, resentment and a feeling of dissatisfaction if the purchase did not justify itself. These negative emotions only increase when brand representatives respond aggressively or disparagingly to a customer appeal.

Various studies by Western colleagues show that when evaluating a product or service, consumers are primarily prone to emotions and pay attention to objective information. Accordingly, provoking negativity when communicating in social networks and on review sites will be subconsciously projected onto the entire company as a whole.

Mistake #5. Refusal to solve the problem

It’s not uncommon for people who leave negative comments to return to the store or company office to see if anything has changed or if their constructive criticism was helpful. And they are ultimately disappointed with the seller, noting that no action has been taken to correct the error.

In no case should you ignore the fair negative criticism of buyers. One report with a promise to eliminate shortcomings is not enough, customers must be shown that the company treats their criticism with respect, listens to advice/recommendations and corrects shortcomings in its work. This contributes to the formation of a positive reputation.

How to work with feedback yourself?

In marketing, reputation management is carried out by SERM (Search Engine Reputation Management) specialists.

SERM is a fairly broad segment of the advertising sphere, which includes many related areas of marketing, management, branding, etc. Usually, companies order comprehensive SERM services from specialized agencies. However, it is possible to manage the reputation of the brand without resorting to third-party specialists: today there are many automated services on the Internet that help work with reviews.

You can use, for example, the functionality of our service MyReviews.dev. What the service can do: