How to Deal with a Client That Badmouths Your Agency
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Something transpired and your former client walks away unhappy. More than that, however, they’ve threatened to badmouth your agency.
What do you do?
This is one of those hard-to-find topics on the internet, so I’m excited to present this client-fire fighting episode of the Happy Client Show.
But before we dive into the overview, let’s just get this out of the way first: if you’re consistently receiving bad reviews then there’s probably a good chance that it’s not the client—it’s you. If that’s the case, work on improving your services and resolving whatever processes (or lack thereof) that are yielding unhappy clients.
Overview
In this episode we discuss:
- A step-by-step approach to dealing with published bad reviews and comments about your agency by a former client
- A script for responding to bad reviews publicly
- How to prevent and prepare for the fall out of a bad review
- When it’s time to escalate it bad mouthing to the legal platform
Big Concepts
- It’s important to respond to bad reviews in public places. In public relations, if a reporter asks a question, you never say “No comment.” Present the other side of the story in a respectful manner.
- Be actively gathering testimonials and kudos from happy clients. This way, if you do receive a bad review it won’t destroy your rating.
Resources
Script to respond to bad reviews via Millo.com:
“Dear Mr. Prospect,
I’m sorry you had a bad experience with us.
Unfortunately, you had some demands which our firm wasn’t prepared to accommodate. While we understand that limitations can be frustrating, we ask that you please try to keep your temper under control in the future.
The young woman you spoke with was pretty shaken up for the next hour or so after speaking with you. The hostility and insults you directed at her were very uncalled for. Unfortunately, because of this, even if we could meet your demands I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to work with you.
With that said, I’m sorry again that you felt you had a bad experience, and wish you the best of luck.
In addition, if you’d like to discuss this further, we’d be happy to. Please email me to schedule a time.
Warmly,”
Connect with Ben and Andrew
- Twitter – @BenButlerPR
- Twitter – @AndrewJDymski
