FSR January 2023

YourTake BY STEPHEN GOULD

SurvivingNegativeReviews While it isn’t possible to delete a negative review, there are ways to lessen the blow.

SIXTY-TWO PERCENT OF CONSUMERS WON’T VISIT BRANDS THAT CENSOR THEIR REVIEWS.

HOWMUCHWEIGHT do reviews truly carry? The answer is, a lot. Ninety-three percent of consumers read local reviews whenmaking a decision, since it informs customers as to whether a business is worth patronizing or not, according to data from localized SEO consultancy BrightLocal. For restaurants, not only do reviews impact traffic, but also revenue. A report from the Harvard Business School stated that for each one-star increase on Yelp, a restaurant can see revenue gains of 5–9 percent. And, the same research from BrightLocal found reviews make a lasting impression: 85 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust those of friends and family. A new, positive review on Google or Yelp can be the dif ference between customers choosing one business over another. While it’s clear that positive reviews boost traffic and revenue, the impact of negative reviews is more complex. The true impact of negative reviews Negative reviews can be a major hin drance to businesses. In fact, they’re the reason 86 percent of customers stop doing business with a company, according to customer experience plat formEmplifi. A 2021 BrightLocal survey revealed that 40 percent of people only accept four stars or better. Too many negative Google reviews

“While it’s clear that positive reviews boost traffic and revenue, the impact of negative reviews is more complex.”

impact placement in search results as Google’s algorithm prioritizes higher quality reviews for consumer search results. They can also damage employee morale and other elements of day-to day business operations, including los ing potential customers before they even walk in the door. If reviews are affect ing a business in this way, censoring or blocking reviews is a sure way to make the situation worse, as 62 percent of con sumers say they will not buy from a com pany that censors its reviews. It’s impossible tomake 100 percent of customers, 100 percent happy, 100 per cent of the time, so negative reviews can

and will happen—despite every effort to prevent them. The good news is that when negative reviews occur, your res taurant doesn’t have to suffer. Damage control There are different approaches to improv ing business reviews, with some being more effective than others. One proven method is to “push down” negative reviews by gaining more positive ones. When pursuing positive reviews, beware of generating fake ones. Not only can it be incredibly obvious when reviews are fake, but they also pose a vio lation of guidelines and could result in

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JANUARY 2023