Negative reviews are valuable. 

Such a bold, yet controversial statement, right? 

You might be thinking, “Why in the world would negative reviews be valuable? Shouldn’t my business be striving to gain only five-star reviews?” 

Actually, no. Having perfect five-star reviews is not necessary. In fact, people don’t believe businesses that have only positive and five-star reviews. Studies show that customers trust online reviews much more when they include both positive and negative reviews. 

Nearly 80% of people research a company before they make a purchase. They read reviews to determine what the product does, what other people have to say about it, and if that is the product they want. Two-thirds of all purchases online are made by what people have read online. Isn’t that crazy? 

Many businesses think that the only way to get those conversions is to have only positive reviews listed on their site. But, that’s not necessarily true…

This thought process is the reason why so many small businesses tend to rely on positive reviews to boost their business. Reviews can indeed make or break your brand’s growth. But, it’s not totally dependent on positive reviews. Negative reviews actually help your business in more ways than one. 

1. Negative reviews show that your business is imperfect

Before you say anything…This is a good thing! It shows your human side! There isn’t a business out there that is perfect in all of its endeavors. Businesses who receive ONLY five-star reviews may seem suspicious. In fact, customers think that five-star reviews are hard to believe. You may have experienced this while researching a product. You find a product you like, just to find only five-star reviews with similar verbiage in each one. It may have looked like the seller appointed their friends to write reviews or maybe wrote one themselves. Nobody trusts a company like that! Negative reviews are a good thing because it shows that your business is real and flawed. Responding to those negative reviews also shows that you’re professional, responsible, and reliable. You also have the chance to “right the wrongs” and show other shoppers that you’re responsive and helpful, regardless of the situation. 

2. It shows potential buyers that your review section is honest and reliable

Negative reviews and your response to them display your business’s character. A business whose review section is littered with only good reviews might be guilty of staging, using fake reviews and testimonials, or censoring the bad reviews. People are not looking for only good reviews! They are looking for a business to trust. Customers want to see that your reviews are reliable. They want to see how you respond to them! How are they going to see that if you censor your reviews or hide the downfalls of your business? Customers appreciate and trust a business much more when they can visually see that their reviews are honest and helpful. By keeping those negative reviews, you are helping your business look better online. Leave your reviews where they are and respond to those that express concern or negativity. Customers are also looking to see how you responded to those negative reviews.

3. Negative reviews educate your customers

Negative reviews help enlighten your customers on something they would not have otherwise known about. They show the flaws of the product or service and educate potential buyers about those downfalls before they make a purchase. The flaws mentioned may not have been something you noticed before. Keep in mind, a negative review isn’t specifically something negative about the product. It may be about their customer experience. Regardless, your negative reviews reveal real-life experiences and information that they would not have known about from your product description. This is another way that the bad reviews show that your business is honest.

4. Negative reviews help you find the weakness of your product 

Negative reviews are exactly like constructive criticism. It’s a great opportunity for you to look at your product from the eyes of a consumer. A negative review might not be a put-down, as much as it is an opportunity for you to better your product. Keep in mind, that not all negative reviews are “negative”. It depends on the contents of the review. A customer could be reviewing a bad experience, reviewing a product politely, comparing a first model to a second model product, or listing the pros and cons of a single product. Negative reviews come in various forms. Although reading positive reviews might make you feel like you did something right, you need negative reviews to know what you need to fix. They help you learn from your mistakes.

5. It’s an opportunity to engage in conversation with your customers 

Twice as many consumers look for negative reviews before positive reviews. Consumers are looking for validation before they make a purchase. Because so many people are already looking for negative posts, it puts you in a great position to engage with new or recurring customers. Negative reviews give you the chance to talk to your customers about their experience with your business and your product. This is not the time for you to hide the review so others cannot see it or respond to the comment with another negative comment. Neither option will solve the problem. This is an opportunity to hear them out, provide a solution, and make things right. This is also a great way to show that you are responsive and invested in your business. So, even if they had a bad experience, they received help and a viable solution.

6. It Boosts Website Conversions

Conversions occur when people spend more time on your website and view more pages. It takes some convincing content and some helpful reviews to get those website surfers turned into conversions. A website conversion is when someone completes an action on your website, such as buying a product, signing up for a newsletter, or sharing your content on social media. Conversions are incredibly important! You need them to make business! Oddly enough, customers who look for negative reviews are the reason for a 67% increase in website conversions. So, negative reviews actually help score your business more conversions. It must be something about the authenticity of your business… But, we’re just thinking out loud!

When you see that your business has gotten a bad review, don’t panic! It’s all about how you respond. First, you need to acknowledge their concerns and sympathize with them. Next, explain what customers usually experience and apologize that they didn’t receive that same treatment. You should then provide your contact information and offer them the opportunity to discuss the problem further. Finally, make sure your response is short and sweet. You don’t want to say something that might trigger the customer to be even more upset. A good rule of thumb is to keep your response to three sentences. As difficult as it may be to hold back those fire fingers, just stop and give yourself some time to respond. Combating negativity with more negativity or an attempt to prove the customer wrong will not only show that you’re unprofessional, but you’ll lose a lot of business. What you post online is there forever! 

Remember, negative reviews aren’t always a bad thing and they don’t always mean the same thing. Negative reviews can come in the form of a good negative review and a bad negative review. Just because somebody writes a negative review, doesn’t mean it’s true. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and sharing their own experience. People don’t always agree with somebody else’s reviews either. So, just because a negative review is posted, doesn’t mean others are going to agree with it. 

Reviews are absolutely essential for your business because they shape how customers view your business. It helps consumers create an opinion about your brand and your business. As previously mentioned, nearly 80% of consumers research a company before they make a purchase. Before you go deleting your negative reviews, think about all the ways they will help you and your business grow! 

Handwritten letters are a lost art of the modern century. Nowadays, it’s almost unheard of to receive such a golden egg. It’s a rare commodity. Although they are not as common as they once were, we can all relate to the excitement that comes along with opening an envelope addressed to us. If we find them so exciting, then why are they so rare?

Handwritten letters symbolize so much more than simple thoughts penned to paper. They symbolize the thought and effort that went into the jumble of words that ended up in your hands. They stand for deliberation and purpose. 

We live in a world that is purely reactionary. As much as we love technology, it has altered the world in which we live. It has caused us to expect quick replies and receive fast solutions. We live in a world where news and information can be accessed with the touch of a finger. We live in a world that refuels itself through an instantaneous response. Things like texts, emails, and calls demand our immediate attention. Face it, our lives are a whirlwind of swift acknowledgment.

Handwritten letters are gentle reminders that it’s okay to slow down and pause to think. They are physical proof of our intention to tell a person how we really feel. Taking the time to write a thoughtful note displays the importance of the relationship. 

We recently received a short, yet immensely appreciated “Thank You” note from a customer a few weeks ago. She praised the work and support of one of our NOC Technicians. The gesture was so unexpected. It made our day to receive a handwritten note and to visually see how this customer was appreciative of a member of our team! It got us thinking about how one simple action can change somebody’s day and overall point of view. It sure changed ours! 

We feel inspired to now pass on that same act of kindness. If you ever have the opportunity to write a note to someone you’re thinking about or thankful for, do it! Don’t let that opportunity slip away! Instead of sending a text, send that friend, family member, or business a letter of your gratitude. We promise it won’t go unnoticed. If you’ve ever received a letter, you know how special it made you feel. Despite the expectations of our current world, we encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and send a letter of gratitude! You never know whose day you might change. 

If you were to call the Hostirian Customer Support line on a Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday you would most likely talk to Praneeth Jasti, or known to the Hostirian team as PJ. A former biomedical engineering student at Michigan State, Jasti has been one of Hostirian’s leading Network Operational Center (NOC) Technicians since March of this year. The 25-year-old says that even though he’s only been a part of the team for almost 5 months, he feels well adjusted and ready to take on the challenges that each day brings. 

“I answer calls, help people out with basic email support, do password resets, several troubleshoots, and answer chats,” Jasti said. “If there’s an attack going on or high traffic, I alert people if they don’t know already.” 

He says the problems on the job are usually the basic things, such as troubleshooting a device that’s facing issues. He says the best part of the job is that it allows him to learn what he wants to learn. Just recently, Jasti decided to change his academic path and is now pursuing a degree in computer science. Jasti says he’s always been interested in computers and this position has helped him understand what to expect as a student. 

He accredits his keen interest in computers to his father, who runs a tech company in South India. 

“I’ve always been a computer guy. Strangely enough, that’s why I went into biomedical engineering because I was trying to get into robotics and prosthetics,” Jasti said, “I had my first computer in the first grade, in India. It was from my dad’s office. It was this old, beat up, huge box of a computer and it had like 128 MB of Ram. We started playing games and I started fixing network stuff at home, like configuring WIFI when it first came out in India.” 

Born and raised in South India, Jasti moved to the United States 11 years ago to begin secondary education. Since then, his entire family made the move to America. 

“I didn’t like school there (In India), because our school was about 12 hours each day… We started school at 8, it ended at 5 and we had a study hour for 2 hours after. You study whatever you learned that day then you have an exam at the end. Then you start again the next day, ” Jasti said.

Moving to America gave him the freedom to choose his own path. Jasti says that things are different in India. He said that once you choose a career path, you have to stick with it. He says he has enjoyed living in America and having the freedom to learn what he wants. 

“Here, I can switch midway,” Jasi said. “I can switch from biomedical engineering to computer science and I don’t have to lose much of my educational credits.”

He said working for Hostirian has given him a more structured schedule. He schedules his life around his job. When he’s not working for Hostirian Customer Support, Jasti spends his time boxing, working out, and running his own photography business. Jasti says he is looking forward to finishing his degree. One thing that most people don’t know about him is that he can understand four languages: Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and English! 

If you have ever had a good customer service experience with PJ, let us know about it in the comment section! 

When deciding on a domain name for your website, there are a few things you should consider. First, think about the brand of your website and how the right domain name will reflect your brand. Second, choose a recognizable domain extension that is easy for people to remember.

What is a recognizable domain extension, you may ask? A domain name extension is the ending of a website domain, such as .Com (The golden standard of all extensions). Some other examples of domain extensions are .Edu, .Org, .Net, and .Info. One of the most common misconceptions is that domain names have to end in one of these options, especially .Com. Surprisingly, there are many more extension options (280 total to be exact)! Did you know that there were that many extension options? Did you happen to think that the only compatible ending to a domain name was .Com? If so, you are not alone. A majority of people are under the impression that .Com is the only purposeful domain extension out there. There are many others to choose from. Domain name extensions may not even be something that you notice, but it has a big impact on the traffic to your site. 

It’s no secret that .Com takes home the trophy for the most well-known domain extension. That extension is the single most “accidentally” successful digital revolution to exist today! Well… we might be biased. But we challenge you to find something that rivals the explosive success of the .Com. There is no competition! Many people tend to think that there are only a few domain extensions to choose from, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! You already know the most popular extensions. Less common extensions that you might see tailing the end of domain names are .Club, .Download, .Site, .Loan .Store, .Men, .Biz, .MOV, and .Free. The less common domain extensions are typically very low cost or free, while the more popular extensions can cost you something fierce (only sometimes). All extensions are different and vary in price based on what extension you choose. 

Depending on your website, it may be worth the money to invest in a .Com domain name, because, as you already know, it is the most well-known domain extension out there! When choosing your domain, keep in mind that a popular domain extension, such as .Com, will help drive more traffic to your site. Regardless of whether or not you are using a .Com extension, the fact is that people will just assume that your website ends in .Com. If your website ends in any other extension, you will need to make sure that you market your site very well! For example, let’s say that Besty owns a Bakery named Betsy’s Bakery. Her website domain name is BestysBakery.Food. If Betsy only marketed her website as Besty’s Bakery, then naturally, a person’s first instinct would be to look up BestysBakery.com. Unfortunately, in that scenario, the customer would be directed to a different site and Besty would lose the sale. We’re not saying it’s a bad thing to have a lesser-known domain extension, we’re just saying that if you choose to have one, you better market it well! 

The .Com extension dates back to 1985 when it was meant to represent the commercial intent of a website. The .Coms were not thought of as businesses where consumers could buy things. Many companies with a .Com extension were doing government work. The 

Internet at the time was not yet a place where businesses marketed or tried to sell their things. It was built around educational and governmental entities. The extension quickly became one of the top-level domains, as it started being used by actual businesses. The .Com extension grew and became known worldwide as the most recognized extension of a website. The extension has since altered the way people think, live, and connect with others. As you can see, the evolution of .Com has some history behind it. Now three and a half decades later, .Com continues to be known as the top domain name extension. Think of .com as the Ferrari of all domain names…

Other reasons you might consider leaning towards using a .Com extension are because it leads to giving your brand better credibility. Many people are not familiar with less common domain extensions, which means people may have a difficult time trusting your site if you’re not using a .Com extension. This extension also implies that you are more established as a business and as a website. Some search engines even favor .Com domain extensions over others! This is not always the case, but studies show that search engines like Google have ranked non-country-specific domain names better in universal search results. 

There’s no rule out there stating that you absolutely need to have a .Com domain extension. There are 280 different extensions to choose from! Keep in mind that the .Com domain extension will most likely always be known as the best of the best. Although it is the most well-known ending to a domain name, it will not hinder your business website from growing or succeeding. Only you have the power to decide that! Now that you know more about domain extensions, you can move forward on your domain name and choose the best extension for your website! 

Scope

We are performing emergency network maintenance.

When

Start: Sunday, 07/05/2020, 10:00 PM central
End: Monday, 07/06/2020 06:00 AM central

Impact

We do not expect any service interruption. You may experience up to one, 15 minute instance of degraded network performance during this window.

Reason

Hostirian performs routine maintenance to ensure your services are more resilient and reliable.