Reviews have been a part of business long before the internet, and bad ones tend to affect your bottom dollar. Whether you get a bad one due to lack of employee performance, or the person on the other end of the review is simply overreacting, know that these will get read and should not be taken too lightly.

A bad review on an online site can actually rank higher than your Nashville website design, and that is one reason why you need to be prepared. You can have a reputation management company help and your SEO company will also be on the lookout for negative reviews to proactively mend them, and here are a few other ways to combat bad online reviews.

Get to know review sites

From the culture to the rules, you should know how each review site operates so that you know whether you can get the review removed. In some cases, you won’t be able to, but there are instances when the reviewer broke a publication rule and it can be taken down. If it can’t be taken down, and you’ve tried everything you can think of to keep it from being the primary review of your business, you can speak with your Nashville website design company to see what your next moves should be.

Respond

Even if you don’t think that you were in the wrong when it comes to a negative review, most people will be able to see through the ridiculous ones, especially if you respond with a professional tone. You can either clarify to the person the reasoning behind the situation, such having customer restrictions due to safety reasons, or you can apologize.

If the review was due to an honest mistake made by you or an employee, then let the person know that you have addressed the problem and invite them to come back and visit. You can even send them a discount or something enticing to make up for their last experience.

Stay on the positive side

It can be easy to get offended when someone publicly criticizes your business. After all, they don’t know the sweat and hard work that you’ve put in! But keep it positive and consistent with the voice you use for other online platforms such as your Nashville web design content and email marketing.

Contact the site when necessary

While most complains will be mild and written in a normal fashion, there will be those people that are out of hand and are tarnishing the name of your business at no fault of your own. When this happens, contact the review site and explain your situation, and have ready any proof that you were wrongfully reviewed such as a competitor using a fake account.

Continue to build your reputation

Businesses that grow don’t get stopped because of a bad review – they learn from it. Take each review with a grain of sale and be sure to incorporate the good reviews on your Nashville website design, so even if a negative one pops up, you’ll have more than enough good ones to turn people’s attention to.