Marketers look to turn negative reviews into positive sales results

Marketing execs are pretty concerned about negative online reviews and rightly so. The chances of a negative review going viral is higher than a positive one. Many companies spend a lot of time and effort as part of their social media campaigns to manage fallout from a negative viral review. But negative reviews can have positive outcomes. Trying to bury a negative review or dismissing could be a missed opportunity for identifying a legitimate issue. A good response to a negative review involves first to genuinely try and understand why a customer is having a bad experience. This could help businesses eliminate potentially larger issues down the line.

Responding to a negative review can also help build trust. Customers pay close attention to how brands react to problems. An honest reply may help generate better customer engagement and create awareness among potential new customers. An HBR study found that when hotels start responding to reviews, they receive 12% more reviews and their ratings increase. But the best result from a negative review is to create a buzz that helps grow the business. Brands look to creatively leverage negative reviews. One example is Botto Bistro, a California based pizzeria that has turned bad Yelp reviews into a marketing tactic. They offer a 50% discount to anyone who gives them a one-star review on Yelp. According to their website the funniest and most sarcastic bad review of the month gets a free ticket to their cooking class. Some may look at this as a tactic to discredit genuine bad reviews but this move has made the business pretty popular on the internet. Depending on how a business reacts a negative review could be a positive sales boost.