Customer behavior

Power of negative Online Reviews Internet has become a vital determiner in business success or failure. This is because it exposes small, medium and large companies to prospective customers, investors, watchdogs, and the society at large. A company’s reputations can either be destroyed or promoted depending on how best it attends to customer needs. The easiest way of altering reputation is through internet where people can either defame the company or glorify it.
1. Steps of handling negative reviews
Business owners must remain calm down before writing back. This is to make sure emotions are eliminated and thinking is based on real facts (Cheng et al, 4). By cooling down, one is prepared to answer back courageously and explain exhaustively if the statement is untrue. It must be understood that some customers make negative comments in order to trick hotel management into offering them discounts, free visits to the hotel, and money back guarantee.
Review customer service policies to make sure the methods used in settling indifferences with customers who come over after reading such negative reviews is consistent and logical in application.
Make professional responses (Cheng et al, 5). Customers are ken on any statement made in favor or against the allegation. Therefore, hotel managers should show empathy and concern to show customers’ feelings are respected. Offer a long lasting solution when necessary and be willing to learn from what customers comment. However, in cases where defaming statements are made, it is good to request review sites administrators to evaluate its credibility and remove such comments if they are not worth.
The hotel management must make sure customers are engaged by promoting positive feedback but responding and appreciating criticism.
2. Making decisions based on online reviews
In most cases, customers buy commodities depending on what others have commended about them. I can only buy items through an online platform if am guaranteed quality. Therefore, I will check what previous buyers have said about it. The same applies to hotel bookings. When visiting new places for a tour, it is always difficult to tell where to spend the night. However, through the help of travel directories and customer reviews in regards of hotels in that location, it is easy to make an informed decision on where to stay depending on cost, customer service, and comfort.
Conclusion
Consumer behavior is shaped by what people hear, see, and read about products they intent to purchase. Therefore, marketers must be keen in making sure customers get the very best out of the products. However, it is almost impossible to avoid negative online reviews. Therefore, companies must be ready to learn from the reviews in cases where they make sense and explain to customers where there is misunderstanding.
Work cited
Cheng, Vincent TP, and Mei Kun Loi. ” Handling negative online customer reviews: the effects of elaboration likelihood model and distributive justice.” Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 31. 1 (2014): 1-15.