Turn Negative Reviews Into Money

It’s happened. Someone posted a negative review on Amazon, Yelp, and Alexa. You read the erroneous slander in horror. Someone just called your baby ugly or the Internet marketing equivalent. You are mad, angry and thinking of reasons this horrible person is wrong, all wrong. You fire up your computer loaded for bear. You will show them!

STOP! STOP! STOP!

A site with only positive reviews is lying. Lying hurts sales more than any negative review can or will. Here are five ways you can turn negative reviews into money:

1. Include Reviews and Review Everything
   Hearing problems from external site reviews first or most means you have work do on your site. Do you solicit reviews? Do you review everything that can be reviewed? Do you have clear “Suggestion Box” type links and Contact Us buttons? Can I reach your site on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Do you have easily accessible executive emails? Executive blogs? Executive Twitter accounts? Increase your contact points by 2x or 3x to reduce external flames.
   
   
2. Throw Water on Flames
   When someone flames a product, a service or your policies and procedures on your site use it. Respond as STAFF. Be considerate and appreciative. Change what you can and explain what you can’t change and why. If you need time to think an issue over or get approval for change say that. Be specific about when you will close the loop. Customers will give you and your company the benefit of the doubt as long as you are open, honest and care.
   
   
3. Empower The People
   Who are your best salespeople? I’ve been selling one thing or another for 30 years AND I had a GREAT marketing team. We couldn’t hold a candle to our customers. We formed a “Buzz Team” providing some rudimentary training in review writing and were astounded by results. Our Buzz Team wrote specific, detailed reviews using real language our customers understood instantly. You don’t create authenticity it just happens. After thirty years of marketing I know when the crowd can do something better. Creating our Buzz Team was one of my proudest career accomplishments.
   
   
4. Reward And Love Bomb Throwers
   Bomb throwers aren’t enemies. Your ego IS your enemy. Bomb throwers want to be heard so hear them, appreciate them and learn from them. Change what you can, thank them publicly and often and reward their ability to wake you and your company up. Don’t fight with them! Don’t correct them! Don’t try to shame them! VALUE THEM!
   
   
5. Listen and Respond, Listen and Respond
   This is not the post to review listening applications, software that monitors social media and the web for mentions about your company, products and employees, but you should have one. Things move too fast for people now, math is the only way to keep up. Use a tool, instruct it on what to listen for and create honest, caring responses on your site using the same keywords as flames.
   

Take these five Internet marketing steps and to turn negative reviews into money.

Martin Smith
Director of Marketing
Loyalese.com
@ScentTrail

Keep Calm and Carry On is my favorite "beat cancer" GealSkin. I have it on my iPhone and it helps :).