False customer complaints: How to deal with fake reviews
Dealing with fake reviews can be tough, but here’s how you can handle false customer complaints and protect your business’s reputation.
How to stay one step ahead of the trolls and boost business
We all know how much consumers rely on online reviews when making booking or purchase decisions. But how much control should you have over what your reviewers are saying and what can you do if you think you are being ‘trolled’?
It's a familiar scenario: a cohort of disgruntled customers using social media as a forum to air complaints. It can be incredibly frustrating to spend your time responding to people who seem intent on complaining.
Think of it like graffiti on your storefront. You don’t want those comments to be a customer's first impression of your brand.
Are they really a ‘troll?’
Don’t forget that an unhappy customer is not a troll. Someone lashing out because of a product or service isn’t the same as a troll spreading chaos for the sake of it.
Although you shouldn’t reply to someone who just wants to pester your business and gain internet clout. But if someone has a legitimate reason for being upset, you’ll want to find a way to engage with them and, hopefully, solve their problem. At the very least, their comments may be valuable customer feedback.
Only about half of the people who complain on social expect to hear back from the company, so in many cases they do not phrase their complaints in a way that ties it back to the business in an obvious way. They don’t tag the business, for example.
Did you know?
According to a survey by BrightLocal, 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. Your reviews are front and centre. Make sure you're not just reading them, but actively engaging to turn feedback into growth!
How to recognise a fake review?
Not sure if you’ve received a genuine review. Here are some quick signs:
Stirring Up Trouble: Trolls post comments just to provoke or upset people, not to solve problems.
Anonymous Profiles: They often use fake or anonymous accounts with little information.
Repeating Complaints: Trolls love to repeat the same complaints over and over, even if the issue is resolved.
Off-Topic Posts: Their comments might be irrelevant or unrelated to your business.
No Useful Feedback: Trolls usually don’t provide helpful details, just noise.
Spotting these signs can help you report these reviews and get them removed from the platform.
So, what’s best practice? Here’s a few things that will help you handle negative online reviews.
1) Speed
Of those that do tag your business you need to be responsive – within a couple of hours rather than days.
In the absence of a social media customer service team a social listening tool like Hootsuite means you can keep an eye on the comment sections — and respond to customers and stop trolls in their tracks as soon as they start posting.
With our ultra-fast broadband, you can enjoy seamless connectivity that keeps your business in the fast lane. This means quicker responses, happier customers, and a more efficient workflow, allowing you to handle feedback and resolve issues in real-time.
2) Content
Communicate with poise to de-escalate a problem quickly. This can also win major brownie points from the rest of your followers. Personalise the response – do not use a standard auto response.
For every negative review you receive, flood the page with positive customer sentiment – either a review or a case study or blog. Drown out the complaints noise through positive and engaging content.
If a resolution is reached – turn this into a post to demonstrate that you listen and react.
3) Social Media Policy
A social media policy can protect the reputation of a business.
Establish rules for conduct on your pages. Every social networking platform has a code of conduct. You can do the same, even if you don’t want to draft up some complex legalese, you can provide guidance as to acceptable online behaviour.
Put a statement or rule in your profile descriptions. That way, you can point back to the guidelines if there’s a need to delete a comment, report a troll, or even block someone.
Finally, remember you have an audience, and there’s a good chance they’ll see how you respond to a complaint – even if it is a troll.
Use social media as a marketing tool but also as an opportunity to engage with customers online and deal with issues in a non-confrontational way.
Don't let negative comments or trolls get you down. Get in touch today and see how we can help enhance customer experience for your business.
Get in touch today and see how we can help enhance customer experience for your business.
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