Over three in five potential customers or clients will refer to a business’ online reviews before making a decision as to whether they’ll buy, call or visit. Savvy marketers use them to trumpet their triumph or improve the quality of their products and services. While positive reviews are obviously helpful, negative reviews that are not addressed sensitively can damage a business for some time.

You cannot remove a negative review from your Google page or Facebook, but you can manage them. You may even be able to turn the situation around and use it to your advantage.

1. Contain your initial response

It’s easy to get worked up by a negative review. That feeling of ‘unfairness’ will be the first to cross your mind. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. Take time to think before you respond. If you need to investigate the matter, have a standard reply ready that you can use in these situations, such as: “We’re sorry to hear this has been your experience with our business. We’ll look into this matter and get right back to you.” Don’t engage in any further conversation until you are ready to respond fully.

2. Identify the root cause

While a quick response is usually appreciated, demonstrating to customers you are taking action doesn’t necessarily mean acting on a remedy. As long as customers are aware you have started to look into the problem, some will wait, satisfied for now that they are being taken seriously. Investigate what may have gone wrong. Talk to staff calmly. Identify if there’s a solution you can offer the customer/client, such as a replacement product, a discount voucher, or a simple apology.

3. Rectify the problem

When you have a clear response and solution, share this with the complainant. Thank them for alerting you to the problem. If appropriate, invite them to contact you privately so you can check the problem is now solved.

4. Try to see the positive side

Negative reviews that are not addressed can have a disastrous impact on future sales. But a negative review that is addressed politely, sensitively, and with generosity can actually work in your favour. Once you begin to engage and show the human side of your business, you shift from being a faceless entity to a real person. People know that life and business are not perfect. What they want to know is that when things go wrong, you have their best interests at heart.