The occasional negative review on online review sites, such as Yelp or TripAdvisor, is nothing to fear, according to a report by Forrester Research, which recently studied the issue.

In its report, Forrester evaluated 4,000 reviews in the Electronics and Home & Garden categories on the Amazon.com site and found that more than 80% of the reviews were positive - and the negative reviews were generally considered helpful to consumers. While the data was derived from a retail Web site, Forrester says these findings are applicable to any vertical site from travel to auto, financial services, or healthcare.

Tell that to companies that are anxiously monitoring these sites for customer reviews - and resorting to unusual tactics when they don’t like what they see. Two lawsuits have been filed against Yelp alleging the company pressures companies to buy advertising in return for maintaining good reviews - allegations that the review site has vigorously denied.

Backlash

On the other end of the spectrum are those industries - a Washington Post article singles out the hotel industry - that pressure clients to write good reviews - even before their stays are over in the case of the hospitality space, according to the Post.  When such pressure is made public, though, the backlash against the company can be severe - much worse than any one negative review could have been.

New Ideas

Another reason why companies shouldn’t be so hyper sensitive to the impact of negative reviews is that they can actually lead to new marketing or product development opportunities, according to Pehr Luedtke, CEO of PowerReviews. " While many retailers might fear "negative" reviews, it is this type of specific feedback that has oftentimes uncovered invaluable opportunities for many of our clients."

It was through the power of customer reviews that branded retailer Wine Enthusiast was able to uncover a huge unmet need in wine storage, he said: multi-purpose shelving and dual temperature. "The retailer developed what ultimately became their most successful product line to date - the NFINITY line of wine cellars."