Tips for Dealing with Negative Reviews Online

I recently corresponded with Locality.com -  a platform for businesses to create profiles and publish information. They sent over this helpful list for handling reputation online. This is particularly helpful for small businesses handling their own social media.

Based on an analysis of thousands of local businesses featured on the Locality.com platform, Locality CEO Jay Shek developed a list of four crucial mistakes that small business owners frequently make when responding to negative online reviews:

MISTAKE 1: POSTING FAKE POSITIVE REVIEWS
Local neighborhood guides often have red flags in place to find out when a business owner posts fake reviews. Don't run the risk of being publicly shamed. It's not worth it.

MISTAKE 2:  OVERREACTING
Negative responses, finger-pointing, and customer-blaming is a quick way to turn a bad online conversation into really bad buzz that hurts your bottom line. Instead, be constructive and find a solution.

MISTAKE 3:  BEING TOO PASSIVE
Ask your loyal followers to review you online. Target red flags in customer service and nip them in the bud before they find their way to a review.

MISTAKE 4:  KEEPING THE CONVERSATION ONLINE
Don't get stuck online -- move the conversation offline. Contact the customer behind the negative review, hear them out, and offer a positive solution.

A little more about Locality:

Founded in 2011, Locality (www.locality.com) is a service that businesses can use to create an online profile and publish their information for free. To sign up, visit locality.com/merchants.  Previously, CEO and co-founder Jay Shek managed finance and analytics at Snapfish, an online photo company acquired by Hewlett-Packard.  Locality is currently funded by Lightbank, ffVC, Cowboy Ventures, Founder Collective, and others.