-min.jpg)
A negative Google review can be damaging to your business. It’s important to know how to respond and how to delete a bad review before it has the chance to spread.
You can’t delete a review just because it’s negative or you don’t agree with it. Google has a list of appropriate reasons you can request a review to be removed including:
If a review contains any of this content, it’s important to get it removed from your business as soon as possible by following these steps:
The first thing you should do is respond to the review. It will take some time for your removal request to be processed. In the meantime, potential customers will see the review so it’s important for them to see your response also.
No matter what the reviewer says, respond in a polite manner. State that the review has been flagged for removal because it contains harassment, offensive material, or whatever the case may be.
If the review contains valid concerns, be sure to address those also. You still have the opportunity to make a disgruntled customer happy.
If it’s a fake review, such as when the reviewer was never a customer, be sure to state that. These are more difficult to have removed, so it’s important for your response to be visible. Simply state that you have no record of the person ever being a customer and the review is being flagged as fake.
To report the review and request Google to remove it, log into your Google business profile and click on “reviews.” There you’ll see the reporting options.
Keep in mind, if the reviewer’s comments do not violate any of Google’s policies, then the review will remain visible even if you flag it for removal.
No matter what happens with the negative review, it's important that you focus on creating a positive experience for all of your customers. Make sure your customer service team is trained properly on how best to handle complaints and address customer issues quickly and efficiently.
This will go a long way towards preventing bad reviews in the future and helping you maintain a good reputation online.
The more reviews your business has, the less impact one or two negative ones will have. Make getting positive reviews a priority and you’ll see your business grow.
Praze helps businesses automate the process of getting Google reviews. Visit www.Praze.com to get started.