Building an online presence is becoming increasingly more important for businesses that recognize the importance of having a positive brand image. When customers write negative or hostile reviews, they can cause companies to lose a significant amount of business. When the comments have a viral effect, the negative reviews may even result in bankruptcy. If you’re concerned about your company’s reputation, here’s three ways that you can turn a bad review into an opportunity for your business:

1. Research and Correct the Problem

In response to every negative review, you should collect facts about the events surrounding the negative response. When you understand what went wrong, you can know what to say when you contact the detractor. Be sure to keep an open mind in both sides of the argument before attempting to correct the problem. Try to correct the problem and find out if it’s a recurring problem or just one simple isolated incident. You need to speak with individuals involved in the incident to determine how the situation needs to be addressed and how it can be avoided in the future.

2. Apologize to Your Detractor

After you’ve devised a solution, apologize. An apology can go a long way. Be sure the apology is thoughtful and sincere and be certain that you can take full responsibility without making any excuses. Most customers simply want their complaint to be acknowledged. This can solve a world of problems if the dissatisfied customer feels that their concerns were addressed in a prompt and timely manner. In some cases, this is enough to handle most people’s concerns.

3. Make an Attempt to Compensate the Customers and Build Loyalty

Make every attempt to compensate the customer after you’ve apologized. Why? It helps you build a loyal following. With a loyal customer base, you can reduce your marketing costs because it costs less to advertise to loyal customers than to new customers. This may mean giving a customer a free meal or even refunding their money back. It costs more money to lose customers than it does to simply compensate them and try to retain them.

When you have good customer service standards, your customers will return for repeat business. With compensation, you tell your customer that you value your business, and you’ll remember to train your employees so that you won’t lose business in that manner again. Many detractors have become loyal customers after this.

Three Ways to Deal with a Negative Online Reputation

If you want to deal with a negative online reputation, you have to be proactive and take steps to ensure that your customers will return. These three steps are the foundation to any company’s solution to developing a positive online reputation. Do whatever you can to address negative reviews promptly to minimize the damage to your company’s reputation and revenue stream. You’ll be thankful that you invested time and money into developing a positive online reputation.