Ouch! It really stings when someone writes a negative review on social media about your law firm or one of your attorneys. As you begin to read, your eyes get big, you start to hyperventilate, you scramble to see who wrote it, and…
What you do next will define the experience going forward. Rather than stressing out and being filled with apprehension, let’s take a brief time out and think this over. Remember the old adage — life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond? Yep, same is true here. You can lose sleep, be filled with mounting anxiety and panic … or you can dazzle your readers and followers with compassion and aplomb. Nobody likes being raked over the digital coals, especially if the comments are unfair or, worse yet, if they are posted by someone you’ve never interacted with. You couldn’t have wronged them; you’ve never met them! Ah well, at this very moment, none of that matters. What matters is how you respond right now. Consider these research statistics:
These statistics show us that there really is power in promptly responding to a negative review. Not only can it blunt the impact of a derogatory comment, but it can also change the perspective of others who read the negative review. Keep in mind, too, that there’s even a small silver lining to getting a negative review…
By being proactive and taking certain steps, you can begin to negate the harmful effects of a negative review. The best defense is a good offense, so let’s take action …
Always begin by replying to the comment immediately and by thanking the person (really?) for their feedback. This establishes that you are professional, confident, and generous. Next, if they have provided their name, be sure to address them directly in your response by using their name. For example,
“Thank you, Jane, for taking the time to share your perspective ….”
There’s nothing that defuses a situation like being treated respectfully and politely. Now, as for the comment itself, a few things can be true: it is a client of yours who is unhappy with a situation; it’s a competitor raining on your parade; or it was mistakenly posted by an unknown person who is disgruntled with some other attorney or baker or veterinarian and the comment inadvertently wound up on your site.
If you recognize the name of a client or former client, then validate the relationship and state that you regret they are dissatisfied. For example,
“We felt honored, Jane, to work on your personal injury case and we regret any disappointment you may feel. Client satisfaction is paramount to us. Our firm takes pride in providing clients the best possible service.”
Then invite the person into a dialogue offline and reassure them that they are important, and you want to hear their concerns. For example,
“I would welcome the opportunity to talk to you by phone and iron out any concerns you may have. Please feel free to call our office or email your phone number to us and we will call you. We’d love to talk.”
If you do not recognize the name and a quick review of your client files shows that the commenter is someone you’ve never heard of, then politely suggest that there’s been a mistake. For example,
“I appreciate your concern, Joe. After a quick review of our files, I see that we don’t have record of serving you as a client. It seems there’s been some confusion. But we’d be happy to speak to you if you’d like us to give you a call.”
No matter what, do not get into an argument or mud-slinging match online. Do not sound defensive. Do not be aggressive. Do not restate (and thereby prolong and perpetuate) the problematic issue. Do not lose your cool. All of this reflects poorly on you digitally. Diffuse the comment online with politeness. Lay it to rest promptly and professionally.
If you feel determined to try to get a negative or inaccurate review deleted, here are the steps to take for several platforms. Keep in mind, though, that it’s very rare that these sites will remove negative reviews. There must have been a flagrant violation of site policies.
Again, you can follow the steps outlined by each social media platform to lodge your complaint, but don’t get your hopes up if all you are contesting is that a client didn’t like your service and said so.
So, what next? The key is to proactively prepare for a negative comment before it happens! That’s why it’s important to create a social media plan in advance, so you’re not caught flat-footed by a negative review. If you’ve been in business long enough, even if you’re the greatest attorney that ever lived, there’s probably going to come a time when someone, somewhere, posts something negative about you. It’s the world we live in. So, it’s best to be prepared. As they say in sports, anticipate your opponent. What that means here is the more positive reviews and testimonials people write about you, the less a single negative comment matters. Not only is that true in the minds of readers, but it’s also true in numeric review scores.
One negative comment matters on social media when there are only three reviews of your firm – it pulls your overall favorable score down. But one negative review barely moves the needle when there are 75 reviews. Think of it this way. Remember when your mom made a pitcher of Kool-Aid when you were a kid? If you dump a packet of cherry Kool-Aid into 10 ounces of water, it will be really red! But if you dump a packet of cherry Kool-Aid into 3 gallons of water, it just turns a pale, watery pink. Why? Because it’s DILUTED. The same is true of negative reviews.
A negative review, with only a few positive reviews to offset it, will not only hurt your brand, but it will also reduce your leads. Imagine seeing the stars rating in Google for your firm vs. your competitors. You have 4 reviews — 3 are 5 stars, one is 1 star. Your average score is 4.0. Your two main competitors have a total of 12 and 25 reviews respectively. Perhaps they, like you, each have a 1-star negative review, but all the others are 5 stars. Their respective average scores are 4.7 and 4.8. The math is simple. What’s more, when a potential client sees that your competitors have so many reviews and your firm has only 4, they may conclude that few clients choose your firm. Or worse yet, they may think that the clients you do have don’t feel like your service is valuable enough to take time to leave a positive review.
So, this means you must be proactive and intentional about getting positive attorney reviews online. Nobody can do it for you because nobody knows your clients like you do. If you’ve won a large settlement or have a particularly positive client experience, ask the client to spend 3 minutes writing a review online. In your last meeting with a client, tell them that you’ll be sending them a review reminder and encourage them to write one. Tell them how important it is to you. In one of your news emails to clients, you can offer clients the chance to post a review and provide a link where they can do so. As an attorney, you are not allowed to actively solicit positive reviews, but you can remind clients that posting a review is an option and make it easy for them to do so.
Remember to think of your firm’s web presence as a living, breathing thing that needs to be tended regularly. It’s like a garden that must be cultivated. If you don’t check it regularly and provide sustenance, lots of weeds can grow. Tend to your brand like a garden and it will grow. If you receive a negative online review, respond to it quickly and positively. It sounds easy – and in many ways, it is – but it takes consistency, and it must be a priority. If you do this, the return on your investment will be worth it. If your law firm would like guidance in responding to negative reviews, developing a social media strategy, or building a comprehensive digital marketing campaign, Gladiator Law Marketing would welcome the chance to partner with you. For a free initial consultation about your marketing goals, contact us.