Responding to online reviews about your business:-

No business likes to get a negative review on the internet, and it can make the situation worse if you think it violates your legal rights. FoulBusiness UK is designed to be fair and equal to both consumers and businesses. In this article, we want to explain the importance of your business reputation on not only FoulBusiness but also other review sites that let consumers write about your business. Let’s start with the basics.

Managing your reviews

Regardless of business size, getting a review online is an important factor that can determine your social reputation to the wider community. Savvy consumers are researching online before using your services or buying your products, so managing your reputation online can determine business success or failure. Whether a review is positive or negative, it’s important to embrace the fact that a customer has come online to tell others about their experience with your business, and this shouldn't be left without personal attention.

Not every business can satisfy all of its customers, so having negative reviews online is becoming increasing natural. Businesses need to apply positivity to negative reviews so people understand that you take your reputation seriously. People appreciate businesses that have the courage to come online and talk to customers publicly of issues people have had with your business. It bugs me to think that very few businesses today have dedicated staff managing reputation and customer satisfaction on the internet. By employing simple techniques you can stay on top of your reputation online and overpower negative reviews so others don't just see the bad side of your business.

When to respond

Responding to negative reviews is a must for any business looking to successfully manage their presence on the internet. Your response to a review online will have more influence on a consumer’s final decision, than the actual review itself, so by choosing the right path and taking the time to show your side of the story it will have a positive impact for your business. I understand that many people wake up every day angry and whatever you do to please these types of customers, it will get diminished and ignored. It’s hard to overcome this harsh reality and getting to a final outcome with these people will be hard to justify. These people should be not be ignored however, but you must not waste precious time on them. Instead, help other unsatisfied customers that have a realistic approach to your feedback.

The sooner a negative review is addressed the better. It will prevent the fire from spreading and your positive comments will more than likely deter others from relating to the original negative content, and also discourage them from writing more negative content about your business. Of course, if additional people do respond, it’s imperative to address these comments.

When a user writes a review online it can take as little as 12 hours for it to appear in Google and other major search engines. By responding to these reviews immediately, you can be assured that when others finally reach the review, your professional approach to feedback can be seen and related to. Leaving a review online without attention will only draw negativity to your business.

How to respond

It’s important that you use a well worded response. If your literature is poor you may come across as unprofessional. If your review is found multiple times on more than one website, it may best writing a different response for each. Well executed responses are personal and relatable; using the same response for every negative review is not going to entice consumers to use your services as it shows them that you have little time to manage and care about your complaints online and that your approach to feedback is the same in every complaint you receive. Repetition is not a valid defence.

All companies must have a plan of action when a review about their business is written online. It’s important to engage customers and use the internet and all available resources to harness the power you have to professionally manage negative reviews online. I believe that you will regain more reputation if you take the time to respond to your reviews than if your business didn’t even have a review written about it in the first place.

How FoulBusiness can help

Not all online review websites allow businesses a professional and personal way to attend to negative reviews. Most are simply business directories. FoulBusiness UK is not a business’s directory so you won't find your business on our website unless somebody writes something about you. At FoulBusiness, we offer a complete solution for businesses to respond to reviews. By joining the FoulBusiness Business Accounts Program, responses you make online are personal and others can see that comments you make are coming from an authorized business that has a serious approach to customer satisfaction.

We are dedicated to help you reap maximum benefit from FoulBusiness UK. We are not here to let anyone come online and tarnish your business; we are here to give you a base to defend yourself when somebody writes about your business. We are dedicated to that commitment.

The Business Accounts Programme is free.

Business options:-

> My business has been reviewed, please help. Join the program.

> My business has not been reviewed yet. What should i do?

> A review about my business online is false. What can I do?

> I am a solicitor working on behalf of a business. How can I contact you?

> Common business questions. Answered here.

Contact FoulBusiness UK:-

> You can contact FoulBusiness Business Team at business@foulbusiness.co.uk