The Fashion Techie

How To Deal With A Bad Product Review

March 8th, 2010

Image from Flickr by Industry Is Virtue

So…you put yourself out there and the results were disastrous? Maybe you sent product to a blogger and they totally bashed it. Maybe an unsatisfied consumer posted a bad review on Kaboodle, StyleHive, Stylefeeder or ThisNext?

You may think it’s the end of the world, or maybe that you should rethink why are you doing this ecommerce thing in the first place. Well, if you have a great product, your website is nicely designed and you have taken the time to understand social media and online marketing…then you have to understand that bad product reviews are going to happen and you can’t make everyone happy.

I have a talented client that was totally bashed by a blogger attending his fashion show. Although emotions ran from revenge…sadness and anger, it really opened his eyes to the little details that needed to be fixed and also made him work even harder for his next line.

So how do you deal with a bad product review? Here are a few tips:

A NEGATIVE REVIEW ON A REVIEW WEBSITES

1. Be Optimistic
Understand that bad product reviews are a part of today’s online world and also a way for a brand to build credibility. Before you raise an eyebrow…think about it. How many times have you researched a product online only to find a number of corny reviews that obviously came from the retailer? Sometimes a bad review can help consumers feel like real people are using the product. However… I realize it’s hard to be realistic when you get your first bad review so what else can you do?

2. Use the system
If the bad review was placed on a site and its pretty obvious it was a competitor or a irate and unreasonable customer, use the system to correct the problem. Many systems have an option to give a review a thumbs up or thumbs down rating or they’ll ask you “did you find this review helpful?”.

3. Gather your supporters
Email satisfied customers and ask them to post a review on the same site. DO NOT offer them a discount or any incentive. Just allow them to speak from their heart about your product.

4. Try to do damage control
If it was a former customer who made the comments, call them or email them immediately and try to fix the problem. This is the time to offer a discount on their next purchase so they can try it again. Or mail them an exclusive product that isn’t out yet for them to try. If that doesn’t work, just let it go. This customer obviously angry for other reasons.

A NEGATIVE BLOG POST
This part is a little trickier…

1. Listen
The first step is to put your ego aside and listen to what the blogger or writer is saying. Do they have valid points? Are there some ways you could improve your product?

2. Respond quickly
Make sure you are researching your company, brand and product everyday online. You don’t want to have a bad review up for a few days and have thousands of people read it before you even get a chance to address the problem. When you respond to the writer be professional. My clients mistakenly decided to offend the blogger and demand they remove the review. Unfortunately, this caused a small back and forth war for a year. Instead explain the parts of the review that you don’t agree with and tell them why you don’t agree. Also explain your point of view and thank them for pointing out a few things about your product assuring them that you are working on it. Also, provide ways to contact you directly.

If the blogger has a heart and a sense of professionalism they will write a follow up post about your product explaining to readers where they went wrong with the review and how delightful it was to speak with you personally. Don’t expect a total turn around, if the blogger didn’t like your product they still won’t have a change of heart but they could do a little damage control.

2. Comment on the blog
After you have responded to the blogger make a comment on the post clearly stating that you are “such and such” from the brand. Explain your thoughts clearly and non-offensively and invite readers to try the product for themselves.

If the blogger deletes your comment, email the blogger directly again and ask them politely to have your say. If that doesn’t work, write a post on your company blog addressing the bad review and linking to it.

Remember, don’t beat yourself up, don’t doubt your product and don’t give up. Popular brands get bad reviews all the time. It’s a part of the process. In this age of branding and conversing with consumers without any control…it can be tough to deal with. Just keep your head on straight and keep moving.

How would you deal with a bad product review? Join the conversation below.