Monday, September 26, 2016

Respond Selectively to Negative Reviews

With the proliferation of review channels and with everybody considering themselves to be an expert reviewer, it could consume too much of your time to swat at every fly. Better to respond selectively.
     How to select? Researchers at Louisiana State University, Fairfield University, and University of Alabama provide one indicator—the appearance of “negatively-valenced emotional expressions.” That’s the term the researchers concocted to cover the use of all caps, exclamation points, emoticons, or extreme language. Prospective customers place especially high trust in negative reviews posted online when the review is written by someone the reader considers to have expertise about shopping at the store and the reviewer uses NVEE.
     Those, then, are the negative reviews you want to select for your priority replies. Explain your perspective on the complaint or criticism and, if you’re making changes, specify what they are.
     Not responding to every negative review is challenging. The conscientious retailer can come to take praise for granted. This gives the criticism an unbalanced importance. We learn of a few criticisms and think this represents the views of a large number of people.
     To restrain yourself from overreacting to negative online reviews, realize that even the most biting critique of your retail business could bring profitable attention. Research supports this argument, with the condition that you openly welcome shoppers asking you about any of the points in the review.
     Studies at Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Pennsylvania plotted the relationship between controversy about a topic and the interest of people in talking about that topic. The finding is that as the amount of controversy increases, people do want to talk about it more.
     Thus, even a negative review of your business can draw people to tune into your social media channels and come into your restaurant, clinic, office, or store to hear your retort. Actually, consumers who are having a difficult time selecting between alternatives appreciate—and may even seek out—criticism of one of the products or stores. This helps the consumer make the decision.
     Acknowledge the negative review if asked about it. Researchers at European University Viadrina find that when a salesperson does this, the shopper becomes more likely to trust everything the salesperson says. Keep the words and logic simple. The researchers find that if there’s too much complexity, the shopper no longer hooks the acknowledgement of negative information to the salesperson’s credibility.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more: 
Welcome Shoppers’ Questions About Negatives
Restrain Your Overreaction to Criticism
Prevent Store Brand Sabotage
Sell More by Being Less Certain

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