NEGATIVE GOOGLE REVIEWS – HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH IT?
At first glance, negative evaluations are the super-GAU for many entrepreneurs. But with the right reaction, negative ratings can even be helpful!
Many entrepreneurs shy away from building up online reviews for their company or even being present in a directory with an entry at all, because they are afraid of negative reviews. If the perfect score, i.e. a 5 star rating is considered less trustworthy by consumers, the question arises to what extent negative reviews are bad for the business at all, as one might imagine.
To test this thesis we want to take a closer look at some evaluations from an online study:
19% of the reviews a company receives on average are negative. Companies whose ratings are 15-20% negative earn 13% more in annual sales than companies with 5-10% negative ratings. Companies whose ratings are only 0-5% negative earn less than companies with 90-100% negative ratings. Again, companies with 35-50% negative ratings earn almost as much as the average company with 19% negative ratings. Companies with a higher rate (optimum 10-25%) of negative ratings therefore earn the most revenue. Consumers look for trustworthy companies, negative ratings contribute to the authenticity of the listing.
ARE NEGATIVE RATINGS EVEN HELPFUL?
Negative Google ratings thus lead to consumers first trust the positive ratings on a listing. According to Reevoo Insight Research, 68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both good and bad ratings. 95% suspect that fake reviews are behind a listing if they don’t see bad ratings. Negative reviews are not only one of the most popular features on a supply side, they also significantly increase the length of time visitors spend looking for negative reviews to make a purchase decision.
TIME SPENT ON WEBSITE
VISITORS ATTACH GREAT IMPORTANCE TO AUTHENTICITY
Consumers want to get an authentic overall picture of a product or service by reading customer reviews in order to make the most informed or rational decision possible. As already mentioned, the right ratio of good to bad reviews is crucial here.
Companies with a low proportion of negative reviews give the impression that they have been tested less or have received the good rating through fake reviews. Customers look for imperfect ratings to find the most trustworthy companies. Negative ratings are an important factor for both research and purchase decisions. For business owners and marketers, this means that they must try to build up as many real and honest ratings as possible in order to achieve better conversion and sales with a trustworthy listing.
19% OF THE REVIEWS THAT AN AVERAGE COMPANY RECEIVES ARE NEGATIVE.
COMPANIES THAT HAVE 15-20% NEGATIVE RATINGS EARN 13% MORE PER YEAR THAN COMPANIES THAT HAVE 5-10%.
COMPANIES THAT HAVE 0 – 5% NEGATIVE RATINGS EARN LESS THAN THOSE THAT HAVE 90-100% NEGATIVE RATINGS.
TIPS & TRICKS TO PREVENT NEGATIVE GOOGLE RATINGS
Negative ratings do not necessarily have to be bad. Nevertheless, there are some measures that can be taken to prevent it.
- PERFECT SERVICE: Most customers appreciate good service and rate it accordingly.
- PERFECT TIMING: Buyers only rate when they have the goods in their hands. Short delivery times help to generate ratings faster
- RECOGNITION VALUE: Use your corporate identity so that customers recognize you directly and a newsletter or e-mail does not end up in the spam folder
- PERFECT DESCRIPTION: Describe your products or services as accurately as possible. A common reason for bad reviews are wrong expectations.
- ACHIEVABILITY: Customers with whom you can resolve a conflict by e-mail or telephone will rarely give you negative feedback.
- KEEP PROMISES: Keep promises regarding delivery times, availability or goodwill. Nothing makes customers more angry than empty promises.
THAT WAS BY NO MEANS ALL...
Learn everything about the topic of ratings on 45 pages. Starting with the basics, the e-book offers detailed statistics and surveys on the topic of Google reviews. A must for every entrepreneur.