- Interview with Christina Kouni Giannis Protopapadakis, Professor of Marketing and writer
“Bad reviews are not necessarily … bad. Instead of being scared or trying to “bury” them, hotels can use them as a tool of improvement and promotion, “explains Yiannis Protopapadakis, a marketing professor and writer, in an interview with Tornos News. Through examples, he shows how even the stricter or excessive reviews can cause creativity, differentiation and enhancement of the reputation of a business.
The full text of the interview is as follows:
Many businesses are afraid of negative reviews and often try to avoid them or “bury” them. Why do you think this tactic is finally turning boomerang?
The truth is that we have demonized negative reviews. They often ask me, “Did we get a 3 in Booking, to give them a free night out to erase it?” They do what they can to erase them. However, bad reviews are not necessary to be … bad. If they are benevolent, they will help us improve. In addition, they will turn other positive reviews into more authentic. A few times, such a criticism persuades the platforms themselves that the rest of the reviews are genuine.
Negative reviews often act as valuable feedback. How can a business use them to improve its services and enhance its reputation?
Our reviews offer valuable information. They teach us how visitors see our hotel, what they liked, what they didn’t like. This perception can be far from what we believe as owners. For example, if we have many negative reviews for cleanliness or rude staff on the night shift, this is a bell, a reminder that we must take action if we do not want to become recipients of such critics.
Can an excess or extreme bad criticism ultimately work in favor of the hotelier? And how can it be turned on the occasion to highlight the positive elements of a business?
Naturally! First of all, let’s say that extreme or irrational reviews are slightly influential, as most users ignore them. Whatever the case, we always respond with calm and kindness. And through the answers, we can also highlight the advantages of our business. For example, in the criticism of “hotel in the middle of nowhere, away from everything and with annoying cicadas”, we can exaggerate what our visitor enjoys, for example tranquility and relaxation near nature.
Beyond the immediate management of a negative comment, in what creative ways can a business turn a criticism into a marketing or differentiation tool?
Bad criticism can also be commercially exploited. Often, bad criticism becomes a “flag” of the advertising campaign, as Vienna did a few years ago, presented in the ads of extreme/irrational comments of visitors. Recently, as a rapporteur I have received a very strict criticism from someone who wrote: “Far! He has no experience or knowledge! Halfway through the seminar, I left. ” Absolutely understandable. We can’t like everyone. In my next seminar, however, I am thinking of using it. This kind of actions have one purpose: to show that we have nothing to hide.
Today, artificial intelligence enables businesses to analyze thousands of online comments and detect patterns of resentment. Do you think this can radically change the way we deal with reviews in the coming years?
Good or bad, artificial intelligence has also penetrated the e-refutation. More and more companies are raising fake reviews from AI and responding to Chatgpt again. Maybe in the later years, criticisms are not as influential as it is today. On the other hand, AI helps us to “analyze the emotion” as it can easily, quickly and simply read hundreds of reviews and give me valuable information.
(*) Yiannis Protopapadakis, author of the book “Online Reviews. An ally or Nightmare” and manager of marketing-tips.gr
