The internet has done amazing things for businesses and their ability to connect with their customer base. For perhaps the first time in history, businesses and both their current and prospective customers can speak to each other with no restrictions. This has been especially beneficial for the latter. As studies show, most of us look online for reviews, no matter what we are purchasing. And thanks to the feedback of those who bought before us, we can be steered in the right direction.
But now, we have to deal with the phenomenon of review-bombing, which has impacted everything from restaurants to blockbuster movies. In this guide, we’ll touch on how this can impact Web3 businesses and how they can navigate the issue.
What is Review-Bombing?
Review-bombing is a situation in which a significant number of people deliberately inundate review platforms with overwhelmingly negative reviews of a product or service. This is done with the intention of tarnishing its online/offline reputation and/or discouraging others from purchasing it. People who engage in review-bombing may or may not have actually purchased the product or service in question, but are more concerned with crafting an online narrative about it. Review-bombing is typically a way to express disapproval for the product or service itself, the company behind it, individuals associated with it, or all of the above.
The often divisive nature of the internet means that more businesses of all types can be subject to review-bombing, even Web3 businesses. As such, you need to know ahead of time what to do if that happens. This is especially true if you deal in a Web3 niche that is considered controversial or intend to embark on any potentially divisive projects.
How Web3 Businesses Can Handle Review-Bombing
In the unfortunate event that your business is review-bombed, here are a few steps you can take to protect yourself and your marketing efforts.
Document Evidence
No matter what course of action you pursue, the first thing you want to do is document the evidence of the review-bombing. If you’re reporting it to the platform, you’ll need to show them evidence, and if you’ll be handling it yourself, you still want to have it documented for future reference. For this purpose, assign someone from your team to save screenshots and web files of the reviews for easy retrieval.
Report to the Relevant Platforms
Because review-bombing is, unfortunately, so common these days, various platforms have created avenues to combat this. If you find yourself a victim of this, you should certainly take advantage of them. This could mean reaching out to a customer support representative, filing a report (which is where your screenshots will come in handy), or whatnot. Hopefully, this can get you the help you need. There have been incidents of platforms deleting the false reviews after they were reported, and this is what you want.
Temporarily Disable Accounts
If the platform’s support team takes a while to address the issues you’re facing, another option would be to reduce interactions on your account. Some platforms allow you to disable reviews, and if this is an option, you might want to go for it. You might also limit comments on your social media if you are being inundated with negative messages there, as this should help as well. If all else fails, you could delist the product/service or disable your accounts. This means that there is nowhere for trolls to review-bomb your product, which may weaken the momentum of a hate campaign.
Put Out a Statement if Needed
In some cases, putting the right kind of publicity on the review-bombing is exactly what you need to combat it. It has happened in the past that informing the public that you’re being review-bombed helps to turn them to your side and garner sympathy. It might help to put out a statement acknowledging that you are being treated this way. If you can, identify why this is happening (if you think the reader will sympathize) and say that you are taking action to combat this. You might even get a counter wave of people leaving positive feedback.
Secure Review Channels
Sometimes, addressing review-bombing is not just about removing false reviews in the moment but also stopping them from happening in the future. This is most effectively done when you secure your various review channels. For example, some consumer sites require proof of a verified purchase before anyone can leave a review. You can also assign someone on your team to look through reviews periodically and manually report false or sketchy ones. It is also worth noting that more platforms are starting to detect review-bombing, and so, such a campaign will be much harder to pull off in the future.
Take Feedback
While review-bombing can be a negative experience, there is also a chance for you and your team to learn from it. In many cases, hidden amidst the negativity are valid criticisms of the product, service, or Web3 business. This is why it is important to not only document the reviews but also look at them critically. Sure, a comment might be calling your business trash, but it might also highlight how your choice of spokesperson is perceived as problematic. A review might be overly harsh, but it might also note that your customer service is poor. Look through these, try to highlight legitimate criticisms and turn these into actionable steps.
Conclusion
Web3 businesses already have several challenges they have to navigate, and sadly, review-bombing is a part of this. Whether it is a targeted campaign from competitors or a group of consumers looking to make a statement, it can and does happen. But because it has happened in the past, we have a framework of how to navigate it. You want to document the event while also letting the relevant authorities know about what is happening. The next thing you want to do is stop the review-bombing while also being transparent with your audience and learning practical lessons from it. If you can do all of these, you should come out relatively unscathed.
