Google “bad church reviews on Yelp” and you’ll get more than 800,000 results.
Yikes. That’s not a good sign for the future of our congregations.
Many people see Yelp, Facebook and other online review platforms as unfiltered resources, an antidote to savvy marketers that pick and choose which interactions and comments to showcase about their business/organization.
Yet the freedom and anonymity social media allow also presents challenges. Anonymous reviewers can publicly criticize your organization with little to no consequences.
On the other hand, anonymous online reviews offer pastors and members alike an honest view of the thinking of the masses (or at least, some of them). Online reviews are valuable tools that offer insight into how, where and in what ways your congregation can grow. For today’s post, we’ll be focusing on Yelp.
If one person has a bad experience at your congregation, they can hurt your online reputation pretty quickly. While it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get the review removed by Yelp, there are many ways you can provide Yelp visitors with an alternate viewpoint.
- Take control of your congregation’s business listing. Doing this will allow you to respond as your congregation aka “business owner.”
- Reply – objectively. The internet is no place to fire off an angry response that will live in infamy (purgatory?) forever. An understanding, compassionate and even-tempered response will speak volumes. Keep in mind James 1:19 – “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.”
- Be honest with visitors and congregants about the poor review and ask them to review your congregation. Additional reviews can help balance out viewpoints and show that this one review is not the majority’s experience.
- Take this opportunity to examine what might have led to this person’s experience. Ephesians 4:15 calls for us to speak the truth in love, and that may have been the reviewer’s intent. If they were a first-time visitor, maybe the welcome team could benefit from the feedback. If this was a long-time member, you probably know more of the back story, but a public “we’re sorry to see you go” is another way to show your faith community is sad to see them leave.
- Take it offline. At a certain point, online conversations can devolve into back-and-forth mud-slinging messages that are pointless. The business owner for your congregation’s account can message the reviewer privately and encourage an in-person meeting or phone call to resolve the problem. If that person continues to post negative comments, a simple public message of “we’ve reached out to this person and look forward to a dialogue” can work wonders.
Remember that while a bad review may feel unfair, it still reflects what that person perceived as true and thus deserves a response like any other miscommunication.
When your congregation does receive a good review, it is important to thank that reviewer. Yelp recommends doing this privately, but many businesses chose to do so publicly for outside visitors.
In addition to Yelp, there are many other tools for congregants (or visitors) to review your congregation online, including FaithStreet, ChurchRater, Facebook and Google. It is always a good practice to check in on your listing periodically to address any concerns and ensure people aren’t turned off before they even walk through your doors.
