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Saturday, March 24, 2018

Help! My Yoga Students are Yelping Me!

negative reviews
By Bhavan Kumar

As a yoga teacher, you are your own brand. You might be stationed at a specific studio, but students can opt to attend your class. As a result, it's not uncommon for many teachers to build a strong fan base and following. After taking this into account, it's important to recognize that your students might leave a review on Yelp.com about you. After first, this can seem a little nerve-wracking. However, there are a few good ways to handle this reality. 

One of the parts that gets most people concerned is the negative review. Just by nature, people want to hear really good remarks about who they are and what they bring to the world. It can be really challenging to hear negative feedback. On top of this, it can be really challenging to read negative feedback on a public platform. This means that other people can see it. Furthermore, the feedback will influence a person's desire to work with a specific teacher. So, a good or bad remark can make the difference in whether or not you receive a sale. This can be understandably challenging. So, there are a few ways to approach this ordeal. 



1. Take note of the criticism. 

While it can be tough to read negative reviews of your service, it's best to use those uncomfortable experiences and allow them to refine you. Use the negative reviews as notes on how you can improve. Run the reviews past a few of your most trusted colleagues and friends. If they are able to agree with the sentiments in a gentler way, it's time to step your game up. Keep in mind that you'll always continue to learn and grow. Knowing this, don't get too hard on yourself. Come up with an action plan to help you become proactive about improving. As you learn more about the process, you can shift your mindset and look at the criticism as a great way to become the best yoga professional you can be. 

2. Be responsive on Yelp. 

Whether the review is positive or negative, make sure to leave a comment. It helps users realize that you see their feedback and have a desire to be responsive. Attentiveness is very important. When a brand lets anything go unchecked online, it's bad for optics. Instead, sign up for Google Alerts or another service that notifies you when someone leaves a new comment or review. Promptly respond to it. If it's a positive review, make sure to express gratitude to the person who left it. If it's a negative review, it might be a good idea to approach it in a different way. A negative review might cause you to have a similar reaction. Your response can make a big difference in whether or not other reviewers are attracted to your brand. Apologize for the person's experience. Offer an opportunity to connect offline so that you can learn more about what they would've wanted to experience. In some cases, the reviewer might not even respond. However, if they do, they'll appreciate the fact that you were responsive to their experience. In many cases, negative reviewers want to be heard and understood. 



3. Make it a part of the narrative.

Whether you like it or not, you're living in the digital age. Social media and the internet are here to stay. Additionally, there are so many ways people benefit from these entities, so embrace the fact. Instead of fighting against it, adopt the narrative and make it work in your favor. At the beginning of each class, make sure to introduce yourself. At the end of the class, reintroduce yourself and encourage students to leave a review of how the course went for them. In this case, you get to welcome and encourage positive reviews. It's all about making the experience work for you!

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