How to Approach ECommerce Email Criticism

No matter how dedicated we are to customer experience, there will always be that one review that feels like a punch on the face. A 1-star rating. A public complaint. A disappointed customer. But negative reviews aren’t necessarily the problem. How you respond, might be. Over the years, I’ve found that handling negative feedback the right way can transform an unhappy customer into a loyal advocate. Here’s my 5-step strategy that has never failed: ♦️ Listen First, Defend Later Every review, even the harshest one, holds valuable #insights. Before jumping to a response, take a step back. What’s the real concern behind their words? ♦️ Acknowledge and Empathize People want to feel heard. Even if you disagree, acknowledge their frustration and show #empathy. A simple “I understand how that must have been frustrating” can go a long way. ♦️ Act Swiftly Speed matters. Once you’ve identified the issue, take immediate action to resolve it. A #proactive approach not only impresses the customer but also shows others that you take feedback seriously. ♦️ Communicate Transparently No corporate jargon, no canned responses. Be real, be honest. Let them know what steps you’re taking to fix the problem and how you’ll prevent it in the future. ♦️ Follow Up and  Request an Update Once the issue is resolved, follow up to ensure #satisfaction. If they’re happy with the resolution, don’t be afraid to politely ask if they’d consider updating their review. Not every customer will change their mind but your reputation is built on how well you handle these tough moments. How do you approach negative reviews? Better yet, how do we build a culture of continuous improvement, towards the customers' experiences? I'd love to hear your strategies in the comments! #NegativeReviews #BrandReputation #WordofMouth #VoiceoftheCustomer Anne Nyachomba Mwangi - CCXP, ACIM Mindo Kaziulis Stephen Ouma Sébastien S.

You’ve got a new 1-star review… It’s an email business owners dread getting from a review site. I’m lucky because the vast majority of our reviews are 5 or 4 stars, in large part because we have such an exceptional Customer Success team that takes care of our brands beautifully. Our orders typically go out on time and error free, but when there are issues - they do a marvelous job digging in and resolving things thoughtfully and productively. Almost every email I get from a review site has a strong rating with compliments about the team – I love to see and share these. Occasionally, we get the low ones. In my first few years as a business owner, these negative ratings would ruin my day (sometimes my week!). I’d agonize over how to respond, what actions we can take or should have taken, and where to go from there. These days, I take a different approach when I see a low review: 👉 Appreciation: While I’d prefer that people connect with our team or me directly about issues (as our team is so good at finding positive resolutions), I also know voicing concerns publicly is the right avenue for some people. Anyone who takes the time to give us feedback is helping us get better - and I am grateful for anyone who wants EcoEnclose to continuously improve. 👉 Build the Fullest Picture Possible: A review is only part of the story. When the review warrants it, we dig into the case - what was the specific concern, did we learn about it before the review, did we actively resolve it and if so how, are there actual issues with our product or service that need to be resolved, etc? Sometimes we find that no more action is needed. Other times the review helps uncover to improve upon. If the writer of the review is willing to contact us or make themselves known, we then take the right actions with them. If we identify a flaw in our product, service or website, we can take broader corrective actions. 👉 Perspective: There are some issues we can’t really change (the cost of shipping large parcels, UPS delivering a day later than scheduled, the wrong size being ordered, etc). We can help the customer rectify as smoothly as possible, but resolutions aren’t always perfect. There are also some things we could adjust but these adjustments may create other problems or be too resource intensive. Sometimes reviews are related to our stances (such as recyclable versus compostable packaging) and agreeing to disagree is often the best course of action. Finally, I recognize that behind every review is a unique person - and I’ll never know the day they are having, the stress they are under or the expectations they have. Then I let it go (this is huge growth for someone like me!). We have a wonderful team, a line of sustainable packaging we are proud of, innovation efforts that are moving the needle forward towards circularity, and are constantly improving in response to internal and external feedback.

I received some negative feedback about my Conversation Reviver templates... They hadn't been for sale for more than a day when a customer reached out and said, "Laura, I was expecting to see a template in here for how to revive conversations with prospects who had either ghosted or the trail had gone cold. But these seem more like they're for reviving networking connections. Can you help?" I took a step back and gave this some good thought. See, I love feedback. Especially when it's constructively written, like this customer had done. I'd always thought that one of the templates I'd written was appropriate for reviving sales leads that had gone cold... But I gave it a read through again, and I could see her point. One of my company's core values is to, "Knock Your Socks Off". I want you to be thrilled with Brave by Design and what we deliver. So I put myself in her shoes and began to think about warm leads that had gone cold. How would I rewarm them? That exercise led me to the creation of a new template. I was about to send my customer back an email with this new template, when I stopped myself. I thought, okay, I've written one new template, but it only addresses a particular scenario where you're following up on something they've recently posted online. What if the prospect hasn't posted anything online? What if the prospect is radio silent? What would I do then? I wrote a second template. And then I thought, okay, two new templates is pretty good. But what would really knock the socks off this customer? I thought of a third prospect re-warming scenario and wrote a template. Three new templates, in her inbox, and into the Conversation Reviver Templates December Pack (if you've already purchased them, just go make a new copy of the master file). And with my customer's help, I've been able to rapidly iterate and make my product even better. I am SO grateful for that feedback. I would encourage you think about the customer experience you're providing. And treat constructive criticism like gold. I want to show my customers that this is the crazy value you get for a product under $100, because it's just a small peak at what my clients receive when they work with me directly. How do you deal with customer feedback?