6 Reasons why Negative Customer Reviews on your site are a good thing We’ve heard it a thousand times – companies are afraid to add user-generated content to their sites. They’re afraid people will say negative things, there will be this sudden barrage of wronged customers writing essays about their horrible experience with your business… or worse, that competitors are just waiting in the wings to sabotage your good standing by posting fictional remarks. The reality is they can already, without your permission!
Anyone can say anything – no matter how profane, untrue, or damaging – on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube to name a few. If your brand is referenced there, you have no control over what is said. But you can control what’s said by customers on your site.
In the past five years, we’ve seen lots of brands overcome their fears of user-generated content. If you – or your management team – still fears user-generated content, here are some key principles to remember.
- Most reviews are positive. In analysing user reviews from hundreds of companies, we’ve seen that most reviews – up to 88 percent in the U.S., for example – are four or five stars out of a possible five stars. This percentage holds up worldwide and across a variety of industries.
- All feedback – even negative feedback – builds authenticity. Including customer reviews on your site shows that you care about the direct input of customers; however, a site full of nothing but glowing reviews can make a shopper skeptical. Allowing a mix of positive and negative reviews proves to customers that you care about what they say – both good and bad.
- “Bad” isn’t always bad. While some reviewers may rate a camera low because they believe the battery life should exceed six hours, others may not be so stringent. Qualities that matter to one consumer may not matter to all – or even most – consumers.
- Reviews – even negative reviews – drive sales. Numerous case studies and client anecdotes prove that having any reviews has a positive impact over having no reviews. Search engines don’t care what ratings customers give you, they just look favourably on the fact that customers are talking about you and your products at all.
- Reviews let you know exactly how to improve your products. Sure, negative feedback can be hard to hear, but having reviews or Q&A on your site lets you aggregate what people think, quickly and easily – and you can respond directly to your consumers. We have many customers who want to hear this negative reviews FAST, so they can deal with it before the experience escalates. Providing the means by which a customers could easily give that feedback was critical.
- You simply cannot hide. As noted above, social networks are making it easy for people to share their opinions – and they’re doing it in real time. Ignore customer opinions at your own peril. At least if customers at telling you on YOUR site, you have the ability to deal with it and hopefully, change it.
Customer Generated Content is the fastest growing aspect of the internet.Take advantage now of what your customers are saying about you.
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