For most lawyers, going into this line of work is mostly about helping out people in need. Dealing with the general public can get a bit stressful at times. Regardless of how hard you work to provide clients with a great experience, you will at one time or another have a complaint about the services you have provided.

Dealing with these types of issues in a timely manner is important. The last thing you want is to handle a sensitive situation like this the wrong way due to the damage it can do to your firm’s reputation. Using various SEO tools like SerpWow is a great idea, but they will be largely ineffective if you have a number of negative reviews online. Here are some of the things to keep in mind when dealing with a bad online review.

Don’t Respond Online

The main mistakes most lawyers make when getting a bad online review are trying to respond to it via the internet. When responding to the review, you will only be giving the search engine’s more reason to index and report it in the searches about your firm. Rather than defending yourself online and drawing more attention to the posting, you will need to avoid engaging the dissatisfied client in this forum.

If prospective customers see you fighting with a client online, they are far less likely to use you for their legal problems. Maintaining a profession image should be something you are passionate about.

Don’t Fire Off a Demand Letter

Most lawyers think firing off a lawsuit or demand letter against a bad review that is not true is the best course of action. The letter you send to the dissatisfied client may make its way online and can show up in search engine results about your firm. Filing suit against a person who leaves a bad review about your site can make matters a lot worse.

The last thing you want is to make the person who has issued the review to feel threatened. This will usually make matters much worse for everyone involved. Taking the time to calm down and approach this matter in a calm manner is a must.

Call the Reviewer on the Phone

When looking for an answer on how to deal with this type of problem, picking up the phone and calling the author of the complaint is a great idea. Be sure to stay calm when on the phone with a dissatisfied client due to the damage that flying off of the handle can cause. Let the client speak their mind and then offer them a solution. Trying to talk over an angry client can lead to them hanging up, which will land you back at square one.

Before you make this call, you will need to take some time to write down what you are going to say. Having a script to work with can help you avoid making mistakes during this interaction. Even if the person who left the review is not ready to make nice, you need to remain as professional as possible.

Getting the Client to Retract the Complaint

One of the most important things to focus on when trying to deal with a client who has left a bad review is getting it retracted. Leaving bad reviews lingering online can lead to a variety of reputation management issues. Making a deal with the client is the best way to get them onboard with this idea. In most cases, the client will have a very specific idea of what they want in exchange for retracting their statement. Listening to them and offering them a viable alternative is important to getting this matter resolved.

If you are looking to enhance the online presence your law firm has, then getting help from marketing professionals is your best course of action.