How to Mitigate and Manage Online Reviews

The Cost of a Bad Review

Online marketing is critical to the success of businesses in the hospitality sector. One viral bad review can potentially ruin the reputation of a hotel, restaurant, gym or leisure facility. Studies show that bad reviews cost one in five UK businesses up to £30,000 to resolve (Telegraph, 2015). And, to compound the damage, 92% of consumers are now reading online reviews compared with 88% in 2014 (Vendasta, 2016).

Source: The Telegraph

From the businesses perspective, owners believe online reviews and comments are becoming more important to their financial success. More than half have experienced the fallout of receiving an “unconfounded poor online review” with 12.8% believing that the problem is getting worse and 13.9% saying they’re not sure how to deal with it.

Source: The Telegraph

So what can hoteliers, gym and restaurant owners do? We detail how to prevent bad online reviews, encourage positive public feedback and mitigate the backlash of receiving the ever dreaded online complaint.

How to Prevent Bad Reviews

First and foremost, adequately manage customer expectations. Disappointment arises when there’s a noticeable gap between a customer’s expectations of a company’s product or service, and the reality of it.

For example, avoid using stock imagery or superlatives in ads and promotional materials; instead, provide customers with a true reflection of your gym facilities, hotel rooms or restaurant meals with on-site photography, or highlight your unique features rather than stating your establishment is the ‘best in town’. (Of course, if you’ve received a ‘best in town’ award, it’s fair to boast about it!)

Be proactive! Don’t wait to ask customers how the service was at the end of their meal, when they cancel their memberships or the day of checkout – ask them how it’s going while you still have a chance to improve their experience. However, if a situation does arise, there are steps your staff can take to ease the tension and hopefully avoid a bad online review.

If a customer complains about your services, it’s important to avoid doing or saying anything that might trigger an emotional response, such as insensitive body language or tone, increased volume of voice, interrupting a customer while they’re speaking, or telling them they are wrong. If you can resolve any conflicts on-site before they leave the building, then it’s less likely they will post a poor review online.

Finally, provide an on-site complaint station or feedback section on your site for customers to vent directly to you rather than publicly online – impulsive venting can be a satisfying enough outlet to prevent customers from venting more publicly. A customer may also steer away from leaving a poor online review if you leave on amicable, if not friendly terms. You can even send customer feedback surveys to intercept any bad reviews that may have ended up on TripAdvisor or Facebook.

How to Encourage Positive Reviews

Flourishing reviews can be as impactful as negative ones with plenty of benefits. First, make sure your company is listed on any relevant third-party review sites. Once you make your presence known on these review sites, you can incentivise customer feedback by offering a chance to win freebies. Encourage other customers to leave reviews by acknowledging you’ve seen their feedback. Ask for reviews politely or send your thanks to customers who have left feedback to develop an environment for positive reviews.

What to do if you Get a Bad Review

With only two choices to consider, you have to determine whether responding to negative feedback will do more harm than good. Keep in mind, responses aren’t only to appease the disgruntled customer, they are also to reassure potential customers. If you determine that a response is beneficial, respond strategically –  acknowledge and apologise for the customer’s poor experience, use professional language, highlight any changes you’ve made or processes that you have changed based on the customer’s feedback. This will encourage potential customers to give your brand a chance by putting their minds at ease that all creases have been ironed out. If the situation is more serious, it could be worth evaluating whether you need to make a fundamental change to your business to prevent such reviews from happening in the future.

At AlphaGraphics, we specialise in helping hospitality businesses succeed by delivering data-driven, automated marketing campaigns that include direct mail campaigns and digital marketing. To find out more, visit: https://hospitality.alphagraphics.co.uk/our-services/ 

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