Why negative feedback is good

All companies adore great reviews (we certainly do) but some companies are not as embracing towards negative reviews and criticisms. Often these reviews are disregarded and not addressed, sometimes because they were unconstructive but they were written by your least satisfied customers and they care enough to leave criticism on the areas that they feel the company is overlooking. After all “52% of buyers say they trust a product more if they have a few negative reviews of their product. (Source: Capterra)”
Negative feedback is good and here’s why:
Let’s say you’ve sent out your customer survey, received it back and now you’re analyzing the results:

  • 70% have given your company 7-10 stars (they’re happy, they love your product)
  • 20% have given 4-6 stars (they’re satisfied, not overly but there’s some points that need addressing)
  • 10% have given  1-3 stars (they’re not happy…)

Now let’s turn our negative feedback into an opportunity!
Depending on the size of your company and the service you provide, call your dissatisfied customers. Many companies overlook the fact that a dissatisfied customer is actually nearly always willing to provide constructive criticism and elaborate further on their reason for the negative feedback and in turn, willing to help, as long as the company is willing to listen. If this option is not always available, address the review online (Social media, Yelp, Google, etc) and contact the customer directly to arrange a call.
Not only will this show the dissatisfied customer that, as a company, you care about customer satisfaction but it will show potential customers that customer satisfaction is a core ethos of your company. Usually a generic response will provide your company with an impersonal appearance and drive not only the dissatisfied customer further away but any potential customers will notice this also.
Now that we have our phone call to the dissatisfied customer, we have to make sure that we address all their concerns. Specific and thorough questions must be asked in order to accurately diagnose the underlying problems, for example if the customer is unhappy with how your product works, this can actually be a training issue and in turn can be an opportunity for UI/UX to look at improvement, every point breeds opportunity. Working with the customer provides your company the opportunity to address reoccurring pain points that sometimes are overlooked, in turn, allowing your company to provide a better experience, improve not only internally but externally and look at your service from your customers perspective.
Overall, negative reviews may not be a pleasant and encouraging criticism to receive, especially from the people who matter most to your business, but by using negative reviews to improve your service you will give your company staying power and provide a track record that shows you’re truly committed to your customers.

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