Remember the first time you got a bad review? You worked so hard to provide top-notch customer service, but it was there, plain as day. 2 stars out of 5. Yuck. But hold on, that might actually be a good thing.

Not every customer is going to be happy, but how you handle the negative feedback says a lot about you and how you run your business. If you respond calmly and respectfully, and encourage the customer to reach out to you directly and offer to fix the problem, people will see that maybe you aren’t so bad. And in fact, you could be trusted.

Let’s look at it this way. Have you ever been a bit leary of a business that only has 5-star reviews? I have. No one is perfect, and if their Google reviews say they are, it could be fake.. Or a lie.. Ok it is possible, I guess. Mine are pretty good, amazing to me.

Negative reviews also prepare customers for the ultimate worst thing that could happen if they buy from you. If negative reviews are all about shipping time, but someone doesn’t care about shipping, it will ease their fears about buying from you. And they may just hit the ‘buy’ button.

On the other hand, a few negative comments about shipping may alert you to a bigger problem -- in your shipping department. And that you want to take care of ASAP.

I’m Robin Samora, host of Fast Marketing Minute, I love helping clients go from invisible to visible. From 1 to 1,000. If you need help getting seen, heard, and remembered, ask about my marketing plans. Shoot me an email. I’m at [email protected]. Talk tomorrow!