What are the consequences of fake reviews? | Lisnic

Is your business getting hit by ‘fake reviews’? Is someone leaving nasty comments packed with lies? This happens all the time and it can ruin a business if you are unwilling to defend your reputation and shed light on the truth.

Online reviews are one of the most reliable ways for customers to make a decision these days so it’s important to cut through the crap. Whether it’s becoming a new customer or researching their options for a certain product or service, a customer will read your reviews.

Found on places like Google and Yelp, online reviews will give someone a preview into your business. They’ll read everything from your customer service interactions to how your products and services have benefited past customers.

You may run into ‘trolls’ that will give your business a bad name for no apparent reason. It’s your job as a business owner to shed light on the truth and debunk the phony.

How do fake reviews affect businesses?

Fake reviews can turn away potential customers who are looking for a solution to their problem. If they read multiple one-star reviews, they’ll probably take their business elsewhere.

Fake negative reviews will usually occur when someone wants to ‘troll’ your website or any online presence pertaining to your business. These are people who have probably never even been to your business and will prove it by leaving reviews that sound absurd as opposed to authentic.

When building a business, you’re coming up with an idea on how to serve the customer. You never would have thought that people would take the time to write a fake review…let’s just say they have less on their plate then you.

On the other hand, business owners have also been guilty of using fake reviews themselves. Specifically, hiring a freelancer to write positive reviews to inflate their numbers. To the trained, observant eye they’ll smell that BS and bolt (so don’t do it).

Fake reviews can go undetected so it’s up to you to address the issue and point them out to customers.

Help customers spot fake reviews

It’s important for your customers to know the difference between a real and fake review.

A fake positive review probably won’t mention anything like a detailed pain point that lead the customer to your business. They may also leave reviews that sound copy and pasted.

Fake negative reviews are easier to spot. The reviewer will usually leave one star and will not have a symbol that confirms that they were a verified customer (Amazon users).

It is difficult to stop people from leaving fake negative reviews so it may be a good idea to delete them (if needed) whilst discussing the situation on your social media pages (this could make for a great hilarious post). State your case as to why they are fake as opposed to real and authentic.

It will also help to include a verified badge so that your potential customers know which reviews to trust.

Getting rid of fake negative reviews can be a pain. Especially if one person has left them under several sock puppet accounts. Business owners like yourself have more important priorities to worry about, so enlist the help of a service like removify to help.

Don’t lose business because of fake reviews! Get in contact with us today and we will make sure you are on the path towards business success.