What do you do when you get a negative review online?
Discovering that someone has left a bad review of you or your law firm online can be a lawyer’s worst nightmare. But you can make that nightmare even worse by the way you respond. So here are three mistakes lawyers should avoid when responding to negative online review.
- Going negative.
Resist the urge – as tempting as it might be – to respond in kind to a negative review online. All that does is make it look like you’re arguing publicly with your client. Now is not the time for you to tell your side of the story. You may even anger the client further, causing them to leave even more negative reviews.
2. Revealing client confidences in a response to an online review.
It can be tempting if you’re trying to tell your side of the story to reveal things that normally you would never reveal in an attempt to show why you are right and the client is wrong, or to demonstrate that you did everything you possibly could for the client. But don’t make a bad online review worse by turning it into an ethics complaint.
3. Ignoring or failing to acknowledge a negative review.
While it may not be the time to tell your story, you do want to make sure that you are giving some sort of response.
Do:
- Be brief
- Acknowledge the concern or complaint of the client
- Show your concern
- Encourage the client to contact you offline
- If you know the identity of the client, indicate in your response that you will contact them offline to resolve the issue.
Don’t respond substantively.
If you’d like more videos on how to respond to online reviews, please subscribe to my YouTube channel or see these videos below:
- Counteracting Negative Online Reviews
- What Should You Do When You Get a Negative Online Review?
- Negative Online Review? Avoid These 3 Mistakes
- Get More Mileage From Great Client Testimonials and Recommendations
- What Makes a Great Testimonial or Recommendation?
- How to Ask for a LinkedIn Recommendation
- Should I Request a LinkedIn Recommendation?
