Handling fake Google reviews for your business
- June 3, 2019
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Reviews are an important factor for the potential customer because they get an idea about how the business operates and learn about the products or services offered. Most of the businesses today rely on product or service reviews to increase their clientele, and a fake review on any platform can be disastrous for a business.
Negative Reviews on Google My Business
For a business owner who is active on the internet, it is very difficult to avoid negative reviews. Whether it is a bored web surfer or sometimes it could be your rival business operator, it is likely that businesses will be exposed to criticisms and uncalled for negative reviews. The good news is that you are not alone and over time, some effective ways to deal with the phenomenon of fake negative reviews have been put forward.
How to Handle a Negative Fake Review on Google My Business
When your business gets a negative fake review on Google Business your first reaction should be to stay calm and don’t retaliate. Think about damage control and action strategies that will help you assess the damage and negative PR brought on by the negative and fake review.
Pay attention to the subject of criticism, the reason, time, and location of the fake review.
Stay Calm and Respond to the Negative Review
The best way to handle a fake Google My Business review is to stay calm and relaxed. Think about your options and investigate if your business actually served the disgruntled client. After investigating the review, it will be clear the negative review about your business is fake.
Now that you have determined that the review is fake, this is the right time to compose a valid reasonable response. Most business owners want to know how to report fake google reviews. An essential tip about any negative review is never to ignore it. Always respond to the review and the criticism that your business might face. Your response will tell other clients that you have a competent customer service team who looks into different customer complaints and goes out of their way to resolve any complaints and negative reviews. An adequate response to a negative review could be as follows:
“Hi, (client name), we appreciate you getting back to us, we apologise for the unpleasant experience you had with us. Whilst we investigated your complaint, we were unable to find any record of doing business with you! We would love to hear from so that we can resolve your issue as soon as possible. If you a receipt of sale please give us a call or write us an email and our team will get back to you!”
The aforementioned response is the most appropriate for a fake negative review. After you have responded you can flag the review as inappropriate and contact google to remove it.
Bottom Line
Google is very careful about removing any negative reviews since it represents freedom of expression and that’s something Google would rather not mess with. However, Google does offer business owners a chance to flag and remove negative reviews if the business owner believes that the reviews are fake.