Accentuate the Negative
In the social media arena, featuring consumer resources such as Yelp and Google Places, a strong showing of good reviews has become an extremely important part of a successful online business marketing campaign. But what about the reviews that are not so good? Are they always bad news or is there a way they can be leveraged for a good outcome?
Recent attention has come to this subject with the troubling story of online eyewear retailer, DecorMyEyes, and the unscrupulous business practices of its owner, Vitaly Borker. Borker’s misguided SEO strategy included cheating and harassing his customers into posting negative reports about his business on internet review sites. Since these reviews had the effect of link building, this seemed to him an effective way to boost his website’s Google rankings. As it turned out, this marketing approach was not the best plan for the long term success of his business. His shifty business practices finally caught up with him when he, for some reason, decided to share his “success story” with a news reporter. The resulting New York Times story ultimately led to his arrest. Once the story broke, the Google development team responded quickly, explaining in a recent blog post:
“Even though our initial analysis pointed to this being an edge case and not a widespread problem in our search results, we immediately convened a team that looked carefully at the issue. That team developed an initial algorithmic solution, implemented it, and the solution is already live. I am here to tell you that being bad is, and hopefully will always be, bad for business in Google’s search results.”
Going back to the original question of whether or not bad reviews can be used for good, consider the recent example of Domino’s Pizza. Late last year, they launched a new marketing campaign focusing on their product “turnaround” in response to customer criticism. Their efforts appear to be working, according to MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com author Tom Wanek, who explains in his analysis of the Domino’s strategy:
“By revealing an uncomfortable truth, and thereby risking its reputation and prestige, Domino’s message sliced through the noise and peaked [sic] the public’s curiosity. Rather than delivering a message weighed down by clich©s, Domino’s told the public that which it already knew to be true – “yes, our pizza sucks.” This powerful admission elevated the believability of the company’s statement of creating a better tasting pizza.”
The concept is similarly applied with a negative online review. It is best to meet it head on. Consider it an opportunity to fix a problem and convey a positive message to your customers. The fact that the negative review is out there for the world to see means that the way you handle it will be, too. If you make a problem right, it will speak very well of your business. Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone fixes them.
When compared with the prospect of a disgruntled customer bad mouthing your business without your knowledge, a negative online review is not such a bad thing. As the retail saying goes, “If you aren’t happy with our service, please tell us. If you are, please tell a friend.” If handled well, a bad review can actually be a great opportunity to establish the integrity of your business and build your reputation.
For more about how to use negative reviews to your advantage, check out 5 Reasons NOT to Delete Negative Reviews by Lisa Barone of OutspokenMedia.com.