Insights from Bad Reviews Play an Important Role in Rebranding, According to Joey Armstrong
Bad reviews can be just as damaging to a small business’s ego as it can be for their bottom line. After all, Joey Armstrong speaks to how many of our decisions in the digital age are made with the insights of reviews, both good and bad, in mind. A crucial facet of rebranding to recognize, however, is that bad reviews are far from the death sentence they may feel like. This is particularly true if your business can internalize feedback and work to rectify some of the root causes. Here, marketing expert Joey Armstrong explains some important details to keep in mind while rebranding to clean up your businesses’ reputation.
See Even Negative Feedback as a Chance to Improve
Some negative reviews can be the result of a one-time thing and not necessarily indicative of how your company usually does business. Others may point to an ongoing, legitimate issue that truly exists within your business. Joey Armstrong recommends utilizing some self-awareness when it comes to running a company experiencing a rebranding. If a specific issue is brought to your attention on multiple occasions, it may be time to take an active role in changing things for the better. Many of the most successful businesses are not without their fair share of negative reviews online. The difference between these entities and their less successful counterparts is a willingness to think objectively and take feedback as a chance to grow and improve.
Respond with Grace- Even When You Do Not Agree
When someone voices a complaint about your business, it can be hard to not take it personally. Still, one of the worst things that a business can do is allow negative feelings to present themselves in responses to online reviews. This simply adds fuel to the fire and damages customers’ perception of your brand. Instead, if one is to respond to negative feedback online, it should be empathy in mind. Recognize that your customers are exercising their right to critique and respond to posts in earnest rather than in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. The truth is, many loyal customers will not be phased by or even remember certain reviews that they do not believe to be representative of their experience at a business. What they will remember is if a company responds to their critics in an aggressive or unrefined way. Thank customers for their feedback, make things right if you can, but never allow yourself to resort to online theatrics that will only harm your business in the long run.
Recognize How Negative Feedback Can Fuel Business
Joey Armstrong recognizes that we tend to think of only the “bad” parts of bad reviews. While it can certainly be damaging for a brand’s reputation to have a constant outpouring of negative reviews, we cannot discount the ways that this feedback can be beneficial for business. For example, negative reviews give customers the ability to make an informed decision on their purchase. For a customer trying to get the “good” and the “bad”, a lack of negative reviews may convince them that the product or service rendered is a scam. It is also important for companies that have rebranded and lack reviews to realize that even bad reviews tend to be better for a business than no reviews at all. Fewer than one percent of browsing customers leave a site in response to noticing a bad review for a product, at least in part because they wish to see the whole picture. Bad reviews also give you the coveted opportunity to interact with your client base. If you handle things appropriately, potential customers will appreciate the way that you conduct business and likely see value in your product or services.
