How to Respond to One-Star Customer Reviews

 How to Respond to One-Star Customer Reviews

One-star reviews or negative reviews are a fact of life. Almost every dealership receives one eventually. 

Unfortunately, these reviews do not work in favor of businesses. They can potentially harm your Google rankings, drive away prospects and even make you lose your current customers. 

Here’s how to deal with it. 

1. Are all ‘one-star’ reviews harmful to my dealership?

Not necessarily, provided that you only receive them occasionally. What really matters is how you handle the reviews and how you respond to them professionally. 

2. Why should you respond to a ‘one-star’ review?

Dealerships need to respond to reviews for two reasons:

• Your customers like to be seen and heard.
• Responding promptly to reviews shows that you care about your customer’s opinion. 

Numbers say that 97% of consumers read online reviews. Not only do they go through them, but they also trust the reviews as much as personal recommendations. If your potential customers see negative reviews with no response from the dealer, they are more likely to believe them. 

Here are some tips on how can respond to them.

How to Respond to One-star Reviews: 4 Tips

a. Respond ASAP

Your reviewer took out the time to leave you feedback and it’s crucial to acknowledge this and get back to them as quickly as possible. Never leave a review without a response for more than 48 hours. 

Remember, no matter how bad the review is, you need to respond!

b. Always Thank the Reviewer

Yes, you read that right. When it comes to negative reviews, businesses often desist from acknowledging the reviewer. A One-star review is bad enough. Ignoring it can prove to be worse and not likely to go down well with your prospects. This explains why you need to acknowledge the review and thank the reviewer. 

c. Practice empathy

If a customer leaves you with a one-star review, acknowledge their concerns, and offer an apology for the inconvenience, even if you feel that you aren’t really responsible for the situation. 

Remember, a lot of potential customers are also going to read your response before making up their minds. 

d. Outline a Solution and Take the Conversation Offline

The next obvious step is to outline a solution, Explain why, and how you plan to address it. Then take the conversation offline. 

Once successfully addressed, don’t forget to come back and announce the happy outcome in the comments section.

For more information, Contact us.