How Much Can a Bad Review Hurt Your Business?

Does a single bad review hurt?

There’s no denying that reviews matter to consumers. According to a study by Brightlocal, 97 percent of consumers consult reviews at least occasionally. While it is obvious that a flurry of negative reviews will hurt your reputation, the impact of a single negative review isn’t as clear.

According to a study published in the Journal of Marketing Research, just one bad review on the first page can reduce purchase intent by around 42 percent. It also increases the likelihood that the consumer will continue searching for alternatives by almost 10 percent.

However, a single negative review doesn’t mean your product is necessarily doomed. The same study found that when the bad review is displayed on later pages, the negative impact on purchase intent is significantly diminished.

The researchers also found that the type of product and content of the review also matter. Consumers pay more attention to negative reviews for functional products or content that addresses concrete, objective aspects of the product or service. Negative reviews tend to be taken with a grain of salt when they center on subjective aspects, such as personal taste.

The severity of the review also plays a part, according to Jenna Guarneri, Founder and CEO of JMG Public Relations and author of You Need PR.

“For more standard, less severe bad reviews — like a customer having a negative experience speaking to a customer service representative over the phone — the impact of the bad review will most likely not affect the overall trajectory of the business,” Guarneri said.

“More severe bad reviews, however, can have the capability to significantly harm a business,” she said. “If a review is severe, raises serious allegations and gains credible visibility, it could have the potential to cost people their jobs and jeopardize the company’s reputation.”

Does a bad review lower your Google search ranking?

A single bad review is not likely to significantly impact your SEO strategy or hurt your Google search ranking. Google uses a number of factors to rate your page, including reviews, but it doesn’t weigh all reviews equally.

In general, when determining the relevance of reviews, Google will look at how long the review is, who wrote it, if it contains certain keywords and other factors like the inclusion of photos. A one-off negative review shouldn’t cause panic. But, if there’s a pattern of complaints backed by legitimate evidence and written by certified reviewers, such as local guides, you will probably start to see your search ranking suffer.

Bottom line

While a recent negative review can cause a shopper to reconsider your business, one bad review alone isn’t cause for alarm. Address any issues and focus on getting good customer reviews to push that bad one farther back. That way, shoppers will stick around and your Google search ranking won’t suffer.

How do bad reviews actually help?

The occasional bad review isn’t usually enough to convince most readers they’re likely to have a bad experience. It’s only when there are a litany of bad reviews that you should be concerned.

“While a bad review can negatively impact a business, it’s not necessarily time to hit the DEFCON 1 button,” said Amy Roberts, vice president of communications and crisis management expert at KNB Communications. “Most readers know not every review is true, and not all can be taken seriously.”

Furthermore, bad reviews may serve to legitimize a company and make good reviews seem all the more valid. Any sensible customer knows that products, services, companies and entrepreneurs aren’t perfect. In fact, research shows that customers go for companies that have a few bad reviews as opposed to those with only stellar ratings.

Here’s how those negative reviews can actually be positives:

They make the company look trustworthy

Psychologically, customers assume that nothing is perfect. So, a total lack of negative reviews means that companies are either burying the negative (not a good sign) or the reviews are not legit. Both of these scenarios are actually worse than a few complaints. In fact, prospective customers are more likely to buy from you when the average rating is between 4.2 and 4.5 stars, according to research from Northwestern University. Once it gets higher than that, customer skepticism kicks in and purchase intention drops.

They provoke empathy

Most people assume that there will be some people who will never be satisfied, no matter how hard a company tries. Everyone has seen this sort of situation at some point; it can make a customer or potential customer empathize with the business owner and want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

They give the company the opportunity to show concern about customer satisfaction

Does the business respond to the negative reviews to try to resolve the situation? If so, this shows potential customers that the company is concerned about its clients and is putting effort into making them satisfied. It also demonstrates that the company is responsive and cares about strengthening its public image.

“Sometimes, just showing that your business cares about its customers and will acknowledge negative comments in an effective manner is enough to reassure current or future customers, while also protecting your interests,” Guarneri said.

What should you do about bad reviews?

Good customer stories can build your business, but too many negative reports from patrons can break it. So what should you do when your company or product inevitably gets some bad reviews?

Don’t take it personally

You’ve invested a significant amount of time and energy into your business, so it’s only natural that a bad review might sting at first. Take a moment and remember that criticism and complaints aren’t attacks but useful insights into your business.

“The first reaction to negative reviews can be naturally defensive and fearful, but genuine criticism is often more valuable than a bland thumbs up,” said Michael Podolsky, CEO and co-founder of the PissedConsumer.com review and reputation management platform.

“Online reviews provide invaluable insights into both weaknesses and strengths,” he added. “Be thankful to your customers for their feedback, fix the issues and, most importantly, address complaints publicly to show prospective customers that you are a trustworthy and reliable business.”

Respond as quickly as possible

Negative reviews can shape the public perception of your business. So, you don’t want to leave them uncontested for long or, worse yet, be unaware of their existence.

“(Don’t) be the last to know someone is talking about you in a review or online,” said Dave Oates, founder and principal at PR Security Service. “Set up Google Alerts and other monitoring tools to get alerted to new comments and ratings, both good and bad.”

Implementing an online reputation management strategy will allow you to take action quickly. The sooner you respond, the sooner you can take back control of the narrative, lessening the effects of that bad review. Just make sure they don’t engage in black hat tactics, like deleting profiles that contain reviews with valid criticism or trying to bury bad reviews with fake positive ones.

Plus, consumers expect a quick response from businesses. Replying in a timely fashion will not only demonstrate your commitment to excellent customer service, it might also change the negative reviewer’s perception and the content of their review.

>> Learn more: The 7 Most Effective Ways to Manage Your Online Reputation

Respond publicly to every review

The data is clear. Consumers are more inclined to support businesses that answer every review, good or bad. So, you should always respond. What’s more, not responding can lead consumers to draw harmful conclusions about your company.

“An organization’s silence, particularly in bad reviews, gives the reader the misperception that the reviewer made accurate claims against you or, at the very least, the organization doesn’t care about its customers,” said Oates.

For negative reviews, respond to the customer on the same platform where the review was left. Apologize for their experience and offer them a solution, such as a gift card or a refund. This way, they can return at a later date and hopefully get a better impression.

If they are still upset, extend an invitation to call or email and speak to you directly about what happened. Your goal is to get the conversation offline so that you and the customer can speak freely. Once you’re talking to them, listen to their concerns and make notes — some of them may be valid and need to be addressed.

Maintain a professional tone

Your response does a lot more in the eyes of potential consumers than simply address the bad review. It also communicates the values of your company and how seriously you take customer service. No matter how aggressive or inflammatory the comment, you should always keep a level head and a professional tone.

“Respond with transparency, not emotion,” said Roberts. “Avoid getting defensive or getting into an online back-and-forth argument. If a review is demonstrably false, you can point that out, but do so tactfully.”

Stick to the facts and avoid any personal attacks or accusations. Always keep in mind that the goal of any response is to resolve issues and bolster your reputation, not to win an argument.

“Being professional and courteous when handling complaints helps to build communication bridges,” said Podolsky. “Your intention to resolve an issue is the best way to show customers that you care.”

Learn from negative feedback

Take the time to fully understand those perspectives and consider how to use customer feedback to your advantage. Perhaps you’ll see a problem with your product or service. Or, you might uncover an unmet need that you can satisfy with a new or improved offering.

“Negative reviews can kick-start an important learning lesson for the business,” said Guarneri. “(They) can give businesses insights on practices they could improve within their company or customer pain points that need to be addressed. These are critical adjustments that a business may not recognize without having the outsider perspective from a bad review.”

Look for patterns

Bad reviews can be especially useful in revealing serious issues with your business that you might have overlooked. If everyone is talking about the same thing, you need to address the problem head on.

“Your team can spot the patterns in complaints, and then generate new ideas and solutions to improve the quality of your product or service,” said Podolsky.

Do you find that customers who come into your restaurant at dinner are having a markedly different experience than those who come in at lunchtime? Then, the problem might be your staff or scheduling. If you discover that all of your products are performing beautifully but there’s a regular complaint about one function or detail, test it out to see what could be improved.

Likewise, do you see a trend of negative feedback over time? If so, you will need to find and eliminate the problem by firing or disciplining an employee, investing in employee training, or improving product quality.

Once you have resolved the issue, you can let the customer(s) who complained know that you are grateful for their feedback and that you have taken action. Invite them to come back and try you again.

Consider a dedicated team

Depending on the size of your operations, you might be getting a significant amount of reviews every day. Staying on top of them can be a challenge. Crafting effective responses, especially when you’ve got a ton on your plate and aren’t a PR expert, isn’t a walk in the park either.

Putting together a team dedicated to managing your reviews ensures all customer feedback is dealt with promptly and effectively. Even if you don’t have the resources to bring new people on, you can prepare the staff you already have.

“Invest in team training and tools that enable consistent and resourceful customer service,” Podolsky recommended.

Another option is seeking out external assistance from a PR firm. They can implement a strategy for handling reviews to help mitigate the effects of any negative comments. If you’re experiencing a large volume of serious reviews, consider a company specializing in crisis management.

Encourage positive reviews

The best way to counter a negative review is to let your satisfied customers do the convincing for you. A ton of good reviews will offset the impact of that one bad review and show customers that your business is one they can trust.

Find ways to encourage your happy customers to sing your praises on the sites that matter most to you, such as Facebook, Amazon, and Yelp. Also, consider offering an incentive to customers who do choose to leave a review, whether it is positive or negative. Whatever your strategy, be sure to make writing a review as easy as possible for the consumer. Sometimes a prompt or a reminder is all that’s needed to get that five-star review.

Don’t forget to highlight positive reviews on your own pages and marketing materials. Seeing a glowing review first will help offset any negative information later. Plus, it’s another great way to show you care about your customers’ opinions.

When should you be concerned about bad reviews?

There are, of course, a few situations where you should be concerned about bad reviews.

Serious accusations

If a customer alleges sexual or racial harassment of any kind, your goal as a business owner must be to immediately address what happened with your associates. You should reach out to the customer and get as much of their story as possible; this shows them that you’re serious about their complaint and want to make it right.

If you can pinpoint the issue to a particular employee, immediately meet with that individual to make it clear that this behavior will not be tolerated. It’s not a bad idea to ask the employee to apologize (in a supervised manner) to the customer who issued the complaint.

If a customer alleges employee theft, you similarly should follow up immediately.

Defamatory language

What if you feel a review is defamatory? For example, the customer calls all of your employees idiots, insults them on racial or sexual grounds, or engages in libel. Most review sites have opportunities for you to either respond to the complaint or flag it to request removal. Be careful with your language here — be polite and stick to the facts.

For example, you might say, “Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review regarding your experience. However, I noted that you said you were at our store Monday morning, and if you look at our schedule, you can see that we are closed until 2 p.m. every day. Is it possible this was for another business?” But avoid insulting the reviewer or demanding that they take the review down; that language won’t get you anywhere.

If you have serious concerns about a review, you might want to consult with a lawyer. Otherwise, except for the most inflammatory reviews, just let it go; know that the reviewer may have actually just given your business a boost.

Lots of your recent reviews are negative

While a prospective customer can overlook a few bad reviews, if a significant number of your recent reviews are one or two stars, you need to react and fix the situation.

“If bad reviews are piling up, and the business ignores them, this may severely damage the reputation of a brand and push off potential customers,” said Podolsky.

First, take corrective action in regard to the issue that people are complaining about. After that, you can work on the perception by letting customers know about your solution. You can also solicit new positive reviews and, in the worst cases, engage the best online reputation management company.

Pay special attention to any negative reviews about serious issues that could result in legal action being taken against your company.

“Another important thing to note is that (serious) complaints, if not addressed, can quickly escalate and turn into class action lawsuits,” Podolsky explained. “One example is Cash App, a financial service that has faced increasing customer complaints about data breaches since 2018. Despite the company’s repeated denials, a class action lawsuit filed in 2021 resulted in a $15 million settlement.”

The best way to keep consumers happy and avoid a business lawsuit is to address issues head on as soon as possible. Burying your head in the sand to avoid negative reviews will only make things worse.

Jennifer Dublino contributed to this article.