There are many online vehicles for customers to review your business today. For this reason many businesses are afraid to put themselves out there for fear that a bad review will destroy them.
But it is far more beneficial and lucrative to create a strong image online than to allow the risk that a bad review will ruin your business for life. Sites like Yelp.com, Yahoo Local and Google Places have given business owners tools to combat site like ConsumerAffairs.com. When business owners actively seek good reviews from customers, the good outweighs the poor, the business image is protected and the bad review is answered indirectly.
There are numerous other ways to combat a poor review. Business owners can ask to be a guest blooger on a highly ranking blog in their category where they can portray their business and answer to a unflattering review. They can request that the site owner or webmaster remove a review that is not substantiated.
For some of my clients I have created a system where they can thank the reviewer for their feedback and get an offer in their hands to try the product again. I find that when a review has been answered in a professional manner it sends a message to all who view it that this business owner cares about how their business is portrayed and how it operates. These reviews, good or bad, can be instrumental in the business owner correcting problems on site that will make the business stronger and more lucrative going forward.
