Getting negative reviews is part of the game in the eCom industry. Sometimes, these reviews do have a significant impact on where your business is heading. 

But if you know how to deal with negative reviews and respond like a sales pro, the odds can turn in your favor. 

Yes, negative reviews also can have positive outcomes. For that, the first step is to stay calm. Second step? We’ll get to that in a minute. 

Today, we will not only show you how to respond to negative reviews professionally but also tell you how you can flip them into positive ones.

So, let’s crack the code of negative reviews, understand what went wrong, and master the secret of customer satisfaction. ‍

Are Negative Reviews Bad for Your Shopify Store?

Whenever someone gets a negative review on their eCommerce store, they get panicked and think their online business is done and dusted.

But is that really so?

No! Negative reviews are necessarily not bad unless they cross a certain limit. If the average reviews stays between 4.2 and 4.5, that’s better than having all 5 stars.
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A research about online reviews shows that the chance of purchase increases when the product or service has a review between 4.2 to 4.5 stars out of 5.
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You are bound to get some unhappy customers, regardless of how great a service or product you offer. 

A product with only five stars looks fake. A few of these negative reviews can bring balance and make new visitors trust that all the positive reviews are also real and not fake.

However, that doesn’t mean you want to invite negative reviews!

If you do end up with negative reviews, do not panic. Instead, respond to them in a good manner so that the average rating stays up.
 

Responding to Negative Reviews Professionally

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Now, the obvious question is how to respond to negative reviews so that you do not lose the customer.

You can deal with negative reviews in many ways. But not all the methods will whistle a happy tune for you.

Following is a detailed process of responding to negative reviews professionally to turn them into positives:
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1. Never Ignore or Delete Negative Reviews
‍Most Shopify review management apps allow you to approve or reject reviews on the store. 

This is exactly where many store owners make the mistake. They reject negative reviews.

Although you can, you should not reject negative reviews on your Shopify store. It will make the unhappy customer more dissatisfied, and they are unlikely to ever come back to your store.

Instead, acknowledge the negative reviews. Approve it, show it in the review section, and address it properly so you can retain the customer.

Once you approve the review, do not only let it be there. Find a proper strategy to address the problem.

As you continue to read, we will show you the best way to deal with the negative review.
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2. Understand the Reviewer’s Pain
The first thing you must do to deal with negative reviews is to understand the reviewer’s problem. Try to understand why you got the negative review in the first place.Now, you are most likely to see two kinds of negative reviews on your store.

First, the reviewer will write nothing but one or two words such as “hate the product,” “bad product,” “worst experience,” etc.

These statements are vague and do not give a clear picture of the problem. In such a situation, be polite (read point #3).Second, some reviewers will write in detail what are the problems and why they are giving low ratings. A few of them also will provide suggestions on how you can solve the situation.

These customers are easy to deal with, and they stay loyal to you if you can quickly solve their issues.

Hence, you should always give priority to the second type of customer so that you do not lose them.
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But how do you deal with them?

‍As they already have given you a detailed picture of the overall issue, try to understand it, find out why it happened, and contact the person to reach a solution.

3. Reply Promptly & Be Polite
‍Whether your customer gave a brief negative review or a detailed one, how you reply to them is always crucial.

Some store owners get aggressive and deny the negative reviews. They always try to blame the customer, saying that the customer is not right about what he is saying or something similar to that.

But always remember this: Never blame your customers for bad reviews!

If you do that, a lot will watch your approach and ignore purchasing from you.

Then what should you do?

First of all, calm your mind. Do not get stressed or angry.

Be polite and reply to the review humbly.

If the customer did not write much, then ask politely what’s wrong with the product.

For example, you can reply: We value your feedback and are committed to improving our product/service. Could you please share more details about why our product/service did not meet your expectations?

Here, you are first acknowledging the review and showing your commitment to improving yourself. Then you are asking for the details so you can solve the problem.

Remember, communication is the key!

Besides replying politely, also ensure you reply quickly. If your customer posts the review today and you reply after a week, you are probably not gonna get any reply, and the problem remains unsolved.

Hence, try to reply within a few hours, if not within a day.

But how do you reply to the person who wrote about the problem in detail? Scroll to the next point to find out.

‍4. Offer a Solution to the Customer
Now you know what is the reason behind the problem. Whether you find out that after replying to the brief review or the reviewer gave the details at first, your next action will be the same.

When you know the problem, you need to find the solution. For example, if your customer complained about a shirt that he received with a missing button, you can offer a replacement unit.

Pro Tip: Try sending personalized discount codes for their next purchase while solving the issue as an apology for the bad experience.

Another example can be that you sold software, but the features did not work properly. In that case, you can provide a full refund for the issue, improve the features, or offer a free membership for a certain period.

The main thing is, depending on the problem, you need to find a proper solution. Then, offer the solution to the customer.

Even if the solution costs you a little bit, never hesitate. Consider it as your investment for buying customer loyalty.

Once you solve the problem promptly, the customer will likely purchase from you again, knowing how you value your customers.

Plus, your conversions will be available publicly and will create a positive reputation for your store.

That’s because others will know that you always try to offer the best, and in case of a mistake, you solve the issue in the best way possible.

5. Flip the Negative Reviews Into Positive
After you solve the problem and your customer is happy, send a request for a positive review. Tell them it will be better if they write how well you solved the customer's problem, and please increase the star ratings.

Boom! You have successfully turned a negative review into a positive.

However, when you have a large store where you get hundreds of reviews every day, it can be tough to read each and every review and reply to them.

It is always essential to reply to all the reviews, whether they are positive or negative.

Sounds like a big problem. But do not worry, as we have the answer to the cosmic conundrum!

Use ReviewXpo’s AI-generated replies to deal with reviews more efficiently!

Yes! ReviewXpo is powered by the latest AI technology. It allows you to reply to all the reviews automatically in the best way possible.

The app even allows you to select whether you want it to reply to a particular type of review or to every review.

Sounds great, isn’t it?

Now, the obvious question is how to automate the AI-generated replies to reviews on your store.

First, you need to install the ReviewXpo app from Shopify's App Store for free.

Read our full guide on “How To Use AI-Generated Auto Reply To Reviews On Your Store?”

Although you can set it to auto-reply to all reviews, our suggestions would be to set it to either “3 stars or above” or “4 stars or above”.

That is because these reviews usually require only text responses, and ReviewXpo’s AI-generated reply is fantastic at doing that.

But reviews with one or two stars usually require taking actions such as sending replacement units, providing discount codes, or offering refunds.

These actions require your decision. Plus, AI can not send replacement units or do similar things.

Due to these limitations, we recommend you deal with low ratings while you can leave positive reviews to ReviewXpo for replying.

If you still have any doubt whether it will be a wise decision to use ReviewXpo’s AI-Generated auto-reply feature, we recommend you read the “Benefits Of AI Generated Automated Replies To Customer Reviews.”
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