Reviews That Kill Your Reputation

Before the advent of the internet the saying was, “if you do a great job your customer might tell one person, if you do a poor job they will tell five.”

And it was always those who actually did business with you that would leave a review. I mean that’s only fair, right?

You would think!

Yet, thanks to Facebook, Yelp, Google and other online review sites…the rules of reviews have changed.

Now it seems anyone can leave a review.

Regardless, if they used your service or not.

Yeah, not really the way the system was supposed to work, and yet…here it is.

Non-customers are leaving negative reviews because they were offended by something they heard about your company.

What? No!

Sorry, but sadly…that’s how it is.

These online services believe that getting reviews for your service allows potential customers to get to know the facts, the real you, the bottom line.

Somehow, I don’t believe getting reviews from people who have never experienced your service is an indication of the true picture.

Unfortunately, when you have a less than perfect review status…potential customers take notice.

And, if your real customers have given you outstanding five star reviews and the non-customers have given you 1 star negative reviews…well, then it could mean you have a 3 out of 5 score…which is low.

What if, you posted something that was of a political, religious or even personal nature and it triggered a slew of negative comments. And, the backlash that resulted caused your review score to drop even further. Sadly, this scenario plays out everyday against small and large businesses across the globe.

Recently a coffee shop in Tucson posted a political message on their Facebook page that resulted in past customers deleting their positive reviews and non-customers leaving scathing reviews that were so nasty the coffee shop deleted it’s Facebook page altogether. And, then one of the partners resigned.

Incidentally, one of my own clients had their reviews on their Facebook page turned off because at one time they had received a bunch of 1 star blank reviews that brought their ratings below a 3 out of 5. They wanted to increase those numbers. They turned the Facebook review feature back on and sent out emails requesting those who loved their service post reviews. The problem was they needed hundreds of reviews to bring the score up to at least a 4 out of 5. After six months of getting clients to post positive reviews, the score was climbing. It got up 3.8. Then…it started dropping again. A bunch of blank 1 star reviews started coming in lowering the score. Yep, six months of hard work getting hundreds of people to leave positive reviews destroyed by non-customers, maybe even competitors, who maliciously posted to try to destroy my client’s online reputation. My client was pissed and rightfully so. And, they turned the reviews back off again.

It’s sad really.

The notion that reviews are supposed to be based on your personal experience dealing with a service is completely turned upside down and now reviews are used as a weapon to destroy a business.

Just doesn’t seem right.

What do you think?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Other articles that you might find interesting…

• When Negative Reviews Get You Sued
• Controlling Online Reviews
• Negative Reviews: Cyber Targeting 
• The Power of Reviews
• The Lousy Facebook Review System
• Flagging A Fake Google Review

Rob Anspach

Rob is an experienced Digital Marketing Strategist, Author, Corporate Ghostwriter, Speaker and Trust Creator who can transform and monetize your brand. He's the author of "Social Media Debunked", "Share: 27 Ways To Boost Your Social Media Experience, Build Trust and Attract Followers", "Lessons From The Dojo: 101 Ways To Improve Your Life, Business and Relationships" and "Rob Versus The Scammers: Protecting The World Against Fraud, Nuisance Calls and Downright Phony Scams" and the coauthor of "Optimize This: How Two Carpet Cleaners Consistently Beat Web Designers On The Search Engines", "The #AskDrA Book Series: Easy & Practical Answers To Enjoying Life As A New Sleever", "No Experience Necessary: Social Media For The Boomers, Gen X-ers & The Over 50 Entrepreneur" and "Power Guesting: Insider Secrets To Profit From Being A Great Podcasting Guest." Rob helps companies across the globe generate new revenue and capture online business. Rob is also available to share talks and give interviews. To learn more and to get started visit www.AnspachMedia.com or call Anspach Media at (412)267-7224 today.