Florists, did you know that almost 92% of customers who shop online read your reviews?
Floral professionals, I’m sure you know that in today’s world, everyone is a critic and a potential headache for your floral business. The saying “Word of mouth” has turned into the internet explosion of reviews.
On a daily basis, I get asked “How do I remove this review? or “I don’t even know this customer.” and most common “ This review is unreasonable-WTF!.” Some reviews just make you want to pull out your hair with profanity.
What if I told you that some bad reviews actually help your floral business grow. That’s right- not all bad reviews are bad for business.
The Importance of A Bad Review:
With 92% of customers now reading reviews before making a purchase surely a bad review won’t help you win that customer. Well, in fact, you would be surprised to know that it does help you win customers.
Customers love a good read and some actually enjoy reading a bad review. Customers like to get a sense of what may go wrong with their purchase. A bad review gives your flower business a sense of credibility.
- A bad review also makes your good reviews look better. This allows customers to compare all the great reviews to the two or 3 bad ones.
- Bad reviews also help you interact with your customers. Your responses to a bad review have a direct impact on the sensibility of your readers. The way you respond to the bad review is important.
- Reviews help your local SEO (search engine optimization). Responding to reviews builds trust with search engines. Directly impacting your SEO rankings in a good way.
The point is don’t be fearful of a bad review this is no way to run a business, use the utmost care in your floral business and expect that there are some people you just can’t please and at the end of the day unlike robots on the internet we are all human.
Responding To A Bad Review:
I’m sure most florists know that responding to a customer review is a “Must Do”. Before getting into the bad/negative review responses -I want to point out that responding to a good/positive review is also important and a “Must Do”. Respond in a gracious way and thank the customer for their stellar review of your floral business.
So now the bad review responses-
Right so you just saw the bad review and now you are superheated and ready to give the customer a piece of your mind. Before you respond WAIT! Take A Deep Breath! Remember that a bad review isn’t so bad for your floral business. Use the ACF method in your responses to bad reviews Acknowledge, Care & Follow Up.
example: Thank you for your feedback Name! We would like to apologize for your negative experience with our (flower shop name). We pride ourselves on our (product/service) and the high-quality standards we maintain and would like to make things right. You can expect a (call/email)from (Flower Shop Name)on to further discuss what occurred and how we might make it up to you.
In the above example, we directly Acknowledged, offered Care and closed the response with a Follow-Up. I have seen follow-ups that turn into review removals or followed by a customer review revisions stating how responsive and helpful the flower shop was in rectifying the situation. Be sure to contact the customer directly after your negative review response.
What if the customer is wrong-surely I can defend my floral business? In fact, you can! In the world of floral wire service where sometimes floral arrangements look 10 times the size, online you may get some backlash from customers who order flowers from floral wire service and feel they did not get what they paid for. The response should be the same Acknowledge, Care and Follow Up – although the only change is that you explain the reasoning short and sweet.
Removing Bad/Fake Fraudulent Reviews:
If your floral business has been the victim of a fake or fraudulent review then you understand the pain. There are people who deliberately lie, slander and even on occasion competitors that want to ruin your business by posting a fraudulent review.
The first thing is to remember that fake/fraudulent reviews can be handled appropriately. I like to immediately contact the reviewer and let them know that they will be reported and give them the option to remove the review immediately. Do not respond to this review, for now, use measures for removal responding may actually hurt you if the review is fake and downright fraud.
- If a Google review log-in to your Google My Business account and navigate to Reviews tab on the left side of your dashboard.
- Find the review and click on the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the review. You see an option to Flag the review as inappropriate, go ahead and select this option.
- Submit your dispute.
If Google does not remove fake review click on the Support tab on the right side of your dashboard and go to Send Feedback.
Describe your reasoning and issue and include screenshots if you like.
Google also has an option for Legal Removal Requests.
Removing a fake review from Yelp-
- Locate the review in the Reviews section of your business account
- Find the More Options button (the three dots) and click Report Review:
Report Review
Take Legal Action On Fraudulent Reviews:
If you have evidence that the review qualifies as Fraud and direct Slander against your floral business you may actually opt to find legal counsel. Slander is a big deal and nobody is allowed to defame your business or post fraudulent reviews. Hire counsel to handle the situation and try to remedy any lost revenue due to the fraudulent review.
Florists, have you gotten a bad or fraudulent review? Please share with our readers your feedback on how you handled such or questions in the comment section below.
Stay tuned for our next florist blog about the Most Ridiculous Florists Reviews coming soon.
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