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As a small business, reviews help promote customer growth and tell people why they should give you their business. It’s basically free advertising – you give customers a good experience and they write a great review that encourages other people to check out what you have to offer. But what happens when you receive a review that doesn’t reflect what you want people to see?
Ever heard of that old saying, “Kill them with kindness”? An article by Review Trackers says that “52 percent of customers expect to hear back from brands within 7 days of writing an online review, particularly one that’s negative or critical. 1 in 4 customers are more demanding, expecting a review response within 3 days, while 21 percent expect brands to have a response time of 24 hours or less”. The way you reply however is much more important than how quickly you reply.

Photo from Vendasta
While your initial reaction might be anger and a few explicit words, take a moment to breathe and think about what you would like to say. If you answer a negative review with more negativity, you definitely won’t win that customer back. Try your very best to think through what you would like to say and answer in a way that will maintain the integrity of your business.
Check out this article by Vendasta that gives you step by step instructions for how to respond to both negative and positive reviews.

Photo from Review Trackers
And don’t forget about those positive reviews! Responding to positive reviews is just as important because it helps strengthen the rapport between your business and your customers. So let’s hear it! Have you ever recieved a really bad review and all you wanted to do scream and pull your hair out? Or have you mastered the ‘kill them with kindness’ mentality?
Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor? How to rock your reviews https://bit.ly/2P6aUmw
Growing your business one bad review at a time #killthemwithkindness https://bit.ly/2P6aUmw