No one likes a bad review. In fact, personal injury law firms, with their short client-acquisition process, can generally do without them. Bad reviews can harm a personal injury firm’s reputation and may dissuade potential clients from hiring the firm. However, just as you can’t really determine what a good reviewer will write, there’s nothing you can really do to prevent a negative review. 

But rather than feel down in the dumps over a bad review, you should cheer up instead. You’ve just been handed a golden opportunity to score a big PR win for your firm. When handled properly, that negative review can spawn a marketing advantage that will drive even further business for your law firm. How do you do this? That’s what we’ll discuss here. 

In the first of this 2-part series we study the science and research behind reviews as it pertains to law firms. 

The science of law firm reviews – Why bad reviews matter

There’s no doubt that reviews can make or break a law firm. For personal injury firms especially, most potential clients are looking to hire a lawyer now. Either they themselves or someone they love has suffered a possibly life-altering injury and want an attorney to make it right… immediately. Their opinions may be swayed a lot faster than family law prospects, for instance, who often need a lot more nurturing. Due to this, bad reviews can have a deeper effect for personal injury firms when they’re noticed. 

And there’s almost no way they won’t be noticed. According to research, 75% of clients use online resources to find their preferred lawyer, and 65% indicate that their decision is influenced by online reviews. 

Potential clients don’t want just any kind of reviews either. 83.5% of consumers of legal services indicate that a law firm must have a minimum of 4 or 5 stars before they would consider hiring the firm. All of this points to the fact that bad reviews will often be major bad news. However, bad reviews are not always the disaster they seem. In fact, they can be a good opportunity for your law firm to spin this into positive PR and a marketing win. Here’s why. 

The research reflects the importance of reviews  

A 2018 consumer review survey found that while 86% of consumers read reviews of local businesses, 89% watch out for how businesses respond to reviews. And once they have made their conclusion, 91% of those aged 18 to 34 will trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. 

So, what a bad review essentially does is put your law firm in the spotlight. What you do while you’re there – whether to constructively engage the reviewer or give them the silent treatment – is then up to you. 

Now that we know why reviews matter, and who is using them we will look at exactly what you do with reviews. Stay tuned for Part 2 where we explore how to handle these situations and How to Turn Negative Reviews into Big Wins for Your Personal Injury Law Firm