This may sound like a crazy concept. After all, how can negative reviews ever be good for your business? Well before you dismiss the idea entirely, give this article a read to find out how they can work to your advantage.

Let’s face it, no matter how good your store is, no matter how low your prices are, and no matter how on point your customer service is, there is always going to be someone who will complain. People who will complain over trivial issues, people who will complain just to get an undeserved refund, and people who will complain just for the sake of complaining. So, it’s a good job that a negative review here and there doesn’t automatically mean the beginning of the end for your company as they are near impossible to prevent.

It’s odd to think that having negative reviews can benefit your store and it’s even odder to consider that people may generally trust you more if you have a couple of negative reviews, but research has shown these points to be true. So, let’s dive in and find out all the ways that negative reviews can be good for your business so you don’t need to panic anytime they happen.

Increase in Trust

Would you believe that the majority of people are likely to trust your company more if you have bad reviews or low ratings among your five stars? Well, it’s true. The reason it’s true is that, realistically, you cannot please every customer every time. Through human error, your company may make a mistake in the shipping, your customer service might be off at times, or poor quality products accidentally get sent out. These things happen and people expect that a company won’t be able to deliver 100% all the time. A company with 1000 five-star reviews looks suspicious. With more and more companies paying people to write top reviews in exchange for free goods, people are now cautious about trusting companies that seem suspiciously good. Having negative reviews shows your reviews are genuine and people will automatically have more faith in you.

It’s a Learning Tool

You may love everything about your company, after all, you’ve put every ounce of effort into making it the best it can be so why wouldn’t you love it? However, having customers point out any errors or flaws by way of negative comments and feedback is sometimes exactly what you need to know where you can improve. Having unbiased opinions of real customers can quickly highlight areas of your store, process, customer service, delivery, or products that need to change. Instead of taking this kind of feedback personally, use it as a way to improve your eCommerce store and learn from your mistakes.

Show Your Customer Service Skills

Overall, when potential customers are looking through your negative reviews, they are more concerned about how you, as a company, deal with their problem rather than what the problem is, to begin with. Mistakes are always going to happen, so when they do, take it as an opportunity to publicly show off your company’s great customer service skills.

For example, if a customer buys a set of glass candles from you and they leave a review saying that one of them arrived broken. Other shoppers are not going to think you sell broken candles, they’re going to know that once accidentally broke in transit. So, now is the time for you to respond to the review. Explain it was an accidental break in the shipping process, tell them you’ll send another one out to replace it and thank them for bringing it to your attention. Now, anyone who sees the review is going to know that you care about offering a swift and concise solution that leaves everyone happy. A calm, helpful, and genuine response is going to be far more memorable for your potential customers than the original negative review.

Focus on the Positive

Aside from a few reviews here and there, most negative reviews will contain a positive statement as well. For example, someone will write that they didn’t like Y but they did like X. Most people don’t want to post a scathing or harsh review for the sake of it and will often offset anything negative they say with something positive. These extra positive statements can be really helpful for your potential customers as they get to see both sides of someone’s opinion. If a customer isn’t bothered about aspect Y and only cares about aspect X of the product then they are going to be encouraged by this type of review rather than discouraged.

Offer Helpful Advice

Negative reviews often contain enough information and advice that can help other shoppers know whether the product is what they’re looking for. If the customer makes a mistake or the product arrives and it’s not how they were expecting it to be, then you get another negative review even though you haven’t don’t anything wrong. However, a detailed negative review from another customer can help potential customers to learn from that buyer’s mistake and prevent extra bad reviews for you. For example, if someone orders a dog coat but the sizes come up one size too small, then other shoppers will know from this review that they need to order a bigger size for their dog.

There Is No Need to Worry

There are more than enough positives that you can take from negative reviews. And unless your business is being flooded with them or you are not making their correct changes, then a few negative reviews are not going to have any serious effect on your business. It’s important to not take the review to heart, rather learn from your mistakes or remind yourself that customers will have more trust in you. There is a silver lining to every negative review so don’t let them make you panic.