What should you do if you receive a bad online review from a client? In my last video, I discussed three mistakes lawyers make when responding to bad online reviews. But what should you do if you receive a bad review?

First – feel free to vent. Talk to your spouse, your colleague, or type out a response to every allegation the client has made. Just don’t post it online or actually send it to your client, or you might cause the client to escalate and leave even more bad reviews.

Second – remember that your response to a negative online review is really for the next potential client who might be reading the review, not for the client who wrote the review. Respond to the review in a calm, measured tone. Be professional. Let future potential clients see how well you handle conflict and de-escalate the situation. Let future clients know that this is not the experience you want clients to have with your firm. You might even be able to turn a negative review into a positive.

Third – the best way to counteract bad reviews is to outweigh them with good reviews. Most good clients will recognize a crazy person who would never be satisfied as an anomaly, particularly if there are good, substantive reviews and client stories that outnumber the bad ones. Get into the habit of asking good clients to leave you a review. Set up a system to capture all of the great things clients say about you so when a bad review comes, it won’t carry as much weight.

Not sure where to start getting good client reviews and testimonials? I can help. Send me an email so we can set up a time to chat!