Responding to Negative Reviews

Never has customer feedback been so widely visible and vital for businesses as it is in today’s marketing landscape. The voice of customers can either be your best marketing presence, or it can be the force that severely weakens your brand. Since your online reputation is so critical for your business, we always encourage our members to respond to all online feedback, both positive and negative. In our experience, it is often an easier task to thank a patient for their kind words and great recommendation than it is to respond to negative feedback. Here are some tips to consider should you find yourself confronting a less-than-savory review!

• Don’t overreact – It’s easy to get worked up instantly by a negative review that someone has left. After all, this is your business and you strive to make sure your patients all have awesome experiences! But, this is an instance where you should use some caution. Stay level-headed and try to consider what could have encouraged this reaction from the customer.
• Always Respond – It’s an important practice to be transparent with the customer who felt wronged as well everyone else who may have seen the poor review. By always responding, this tells the customer and potential new customers that you do genuinely care about the treatment and service your practice’s patients receive.
• Be Constructive – Again, start by considering the ways by which the customer felt wronged. This can help you find a way towards a constructive and effective reply. Often, this can ease any aggressiveness in tone, which will generally only cause more harm. We encourage our members to focus on addressing the issue head on while conveying the drive to deliver the best possible experiences for customers.
• Invite the Commenter to Comeback in Person – If you have a chance, ask to speak with the individual privately to discuss their feedback in person. After what would hopefully be a great conversation and resolution, use this opportunity to ask the customer if he or she wouldn’t mind removing or revising their review!

Here’s the bottom line: it is vital for everyone to know that you are listening to customer feedback and always want to create awesome experiences for patients in your office! In the event that things go awry, we hope the tips above help you and your staff handle those few and far between tough conversations!

– The Sesame Social Team