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Around 88 per cent of people are more likely to look past a negative review if they see a business has responded to it and properly addressed the issue, according to a recent survey by Yelp.
The survey included 1500 people in the US and showed that most of the respondents, 59 per cent of them to be exact, think that a good review consists of a written post and a star rating.
The results also show that 97 per cent think that this kind of review is the most helpful type of online review for local businesses.
According to the survey, review readers usually read around five reviews of a business before deciding to support it. That means that new customers aren’t easily scared off by businesses with a few bad reviews.
Things to Consider
Nine in 10 respondents are more likely to overlook past a negative review if the business addressed the issue and responded to it.
33% of them will update the bad review if you reply with a personalized message within the first 24 hours.
Reviewers also have an opinion on asking for a review, too – 64 % of them said that asking for a review makes it more biased and they are not likely to trust it. Yet, 71% of the respondents say that they will write a review if they are offered a discount.
What you should have in mind is Google’s policies about review solicitation and that discouraging a customer from writing a negative review is prohibited.
Why is this Important?
Even though you can’t do much to control the reviews, this research can help you plan a strategy on how to deal with (and recover from!) negative reviews.
Responding with a personalized message, being honest and respectful, and not stopping your current customers from writing bad comments can help with your potential customers.
Often, a quality product is not good enough so you have to be mindful of your customer service and the overall image of your brand.
