10 Ways Your Business Can Benefit From Encouraging Reviews

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Good press is a company’s best tool for reaching its customers. This allows them to have a favorable view of the company and encourages them to do business with you. However, negative press can be just as helpful to a business. There is an old adage that goes, “There is no such thing as bad publicity”. In the case of the review, that might be true.

Businesses that receive negative feedback can begin to take action to change what the consumer is criticizing, giving them control over the narrative that unfolds. Here, 10 Forbes Communications Council associates examine how encouraging reviews from customers and its own employees might be the best course of action for a company.

Members share some tips for encouraging and leveraging constructive criticism.

Photos courtesy of individual members

1. Fuel personal and business growth

Feedback is beneficial for personal and professional growth. If you don’t know the “pain points”, they can’t be improved. While many receive feedback from customers and employees, they don’t all “close the loop,” rendering feedback pointless. Ask only if you are going to act. And let people know what you are doing or have done based on their input. This is key to any customer experience (CX) practice. -Stacy Sherman, Schindler Elevator Corporation

2. Get to know your customers better

Comments can be a gift. Receiving negative feedback can help clearly identify if a business is serving or selling to the wrong audience or if the message is misaligned. A business can take the criticism and either change direction with its current audience or modify its services and messaging for the ideal audience it intends to serve. – Levitica “Lee” Watts, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP

3. Authenticity Opportunity

In an increasingly digital world, humanizing your business can be powerful. There’s nothing more human than making mistakes, accepting responsibility, and trying to make things right. A well-managed mea culpa can actually build trust by showing that you’re open to feedback, care about people’s experiences with your brand, and want to work to be better. -Ellen Sluder, RingBoost

4. Pivot and Win New Business

Although it can be tempting to be offended by comments, putting your ego aside can allow you to reap the benefits. Namely, criticism represents a way in which a company fails to meet expectations or does not properly articulate its offering. With corrective action, a company can pivot and win new business rather than sticking to a status quo that leads to the proverbial sinking. -Patrick Ward, Rootstrap

5. Identify issues you may not be aware of

The only way to solve problems in your business is if you can identify the problems first. Without knowing how your employees or customers are feeling, there is no way to improve. Encouraging candid feedback can open your eyes to issues you might not otherwise have seen – and will ultimately improve your business if you keep an open mind. – Amanda Bohne, AppNeta

6. Obtain a diverse sample internally

Our team is extremely diverse in terms of age, ethnicity, gender and just about everything else. Therefore, when we ask our internal teams for feedback, we get a large sample size at no cost to us. Also, the engineering team can have a different approach from a technical point of view than the HR team from a personal point of view, and that’s a huge advantage for us. – Gabriella Sophia Doucas, Elutions

7. Opportunity to improve

It’s important to be open to feedback and listen when you receive it, whether it’s good or bad. When it comes to criticism, I see it as an opportunity to improve myself. If someone cares enough to give their opinion, they have an unmet need and you can help them. When you approach it, it’s a win-win because you’ll get better and the other person will get what they needed as well. – Kate Barton, Clearview Advisory

8. Early warning signal of a potential crisis

Customers and employees are the main drivers of business growth. Analyzing “critical data” as themes helps companies identify potential early warning signals, which can lead to a crisis, and ultimately impact corporate reputation. Therefore, “critical data” is a crucial and often inexpensive input to avoid costly error in the future. – Prashant Saxena, Isentia

9. Demonstrate maturity and consideration

Criticism is inevitable, but all crises offer companies the opportunity to shape their perceptions. Acknowledge criticism and make people feel valued and heard for sharing their thoughts (without retaliation). Respond quickly to criticism by exploring options, consequences, and possible solutions. Then, after careful consideration, explain what can and cannot be done and why. – Karla Larraga, School of Real Estate Champions

10. Improve how your business is perceived

Bad press offers as many opportunities as good press. A thoughtful response – both internally and externally – to a negative story can potentially spark a positive one, or might just help improve the perception of a company in the eyes of those who may have seen, or even contributed to, the original article. criticism. – Kimberly Cox, Group K Diagnoses

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