DTC778: Tips on Dealing With Negative Reviews

Good morning,

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:

⭐ Reframe Bad Reviews
How brands spin negativity into positive PR.  

💡 Amazon Tariffs, AI, & Tactics
What’s changing—and how to stay ahead.

⏱️ 2025 Brand Strategy: Lead with Value
Why your value prop is your biggest lever.

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You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: MyFitnessPal, Louisville Paving, and and-OR-Collective. 👋

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💡 Is Your Brand Getting Hit With One Star Reviews?

Reviews can make or break how well your product sells, so ensuring customers are happy with the product is key.

Here’s how you shouldn’t reply to reviews. 👇

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While this brand replied, it’s the same canned response for any negative review.

Even when the customer explicitly says, ‘Don’t bother with your canned response.’ 😬

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Here are a few different ways to address negativity while building rapport with your audience:

1️⃣ Be Transparent: If you reformulated or redesigned a product and customers are unhappy, give a reason behind your thought process.

Customers appreciate transparency, and if they understand your challenges, they are more likely to hear what you have to say.

2️⃣ Provide Product Education: Perhaps people are frustrated because there is a lack of education about how the new product is supposed to work. If it differs from the old version, let them know.

3️⃣ Commit To Improving: Whether users had problems with the product itself or shipping woes, now is the time to communicate how you will do better in the future. Tell them how you are committed to winning over their trust.

4️⃣ Spin The Negative Reviews Into A Positive: After Glossier reformulated one of its best-selling lip products, it was immediately flooded with scathing comments.

Rather than hiding them, the brand took this customer feedback seriously and went back to its OG formula, using the negative comments as part of their comeback campaign.

Poppi also recently addressed how their OG Root Beer flavor wasn’t up to par with these Instagram carousel posts, highlighting negative feedback and using it to show they are listening to customer feedback.

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The post got tons of engagement from followers who appreciated that Poppi wasn’t above roasting themselves.

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The takeaway?

Getting a one-star review happens to every brand, so don’t sweat it.

Craft a personalized reply that makes customers feel seen and heard rather than a canned response.

Adding positive humor helps build a rapport with your audience and humanize your brand.

Instead, look at it as free customer feedback and spin it into a positive moment if you can.

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🔎 Is BeReal Having A Resurgence?

While BeReal’s popularity has declined in the U.S., it's seeing a growing number of Gen Z users in Japan.

Why? Japanese users enjoy using the app as a ‘group experience’ shared with friends.

BeReal currently has more than 4.5 million monthly users in Japan and 90% of users “actively create content.”

🎧 How to Win on Amazon in 2025: Search Volume Declines, Tariff Pressures & Brand Equity

The Amazon game is changing.

You’ve probably noticed that search volume is down for the first time in years.

Consumers are pulling back, competition is heating up, and costs are rising—so how do you stay profitable?

In this episode of DTC Podcast, we sit down with Rob & Clifford from Pilothouse, Amazon growth experts, to tackle strategic ranking, conversion optimization, and leveraging off-platform brand awareness to dominate search results.

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In this podcast, we cover:

• Amazon Ad Spend Isn’t Always About Profit. Investing in ranking campaigns can lead to long-term organic growth.
• Why Amazon Search Volume is Declining and how brands can compete for a smaller share of buyers.
• Tariffs Chaos. How brands are adapting to unpredictable costs and logistics.
• AI Optimization on Amazon: How Amazon Rufus improves listings and answers consumer questions before they ask.
• Winning on Amazon: Learn how brands with strong external awareness convert better, rank higher, and spend less on ads.

👉 You can listen to the full episode with Rob and Clifford here.

⚡ QUICK HITS

👂 Do you know what your customers are saying about your brand? Syncly helps modern brands gain fast, in-depth market insights through social listening. Stay ahead of trends and get your FREE TRIAL here. *

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📰 NEWS

• Perplexity AI is in talks to raise up to $1B at an $18B valuation.
• The Ordinary sells eggs for $3.37 in NYC during egg shortage.
• Lipton’s early April Fool’s campaign ‘Rest in Peach’ goes viral.

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🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE

What does it take to build a successful brand in 2025?

Building an online business takes a lot of work, but clarifying your value proposition is key.

Customers need to know what sets your brand apart from competitors and if you relate to their pain points.

Click on the link below to read Kyle’s full post and give him a follow!

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📅 EVENTS

Google Cloud Next 25 - Google Cloud Next '25 is a large-scale event showcasing Google Cloud's latest technologies and solutions. Attendees can expect to learn about advancements in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics.

🗓️ Apr 9-11, 📍 Las Vegas, NV 💰 Free - $2,099

AI Expo - AI Expo is a series of events focused on artificial intelligence and its applications across various industries. The event includes presentations, workshops, and demonstrations showcasing practical AI applications.

🗓️ Apr 18, 📍 Austin, TX 💰 $29

📥 Got a B2B Biz?

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Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• ⭐ TWBERP 25: The Role of Email in Branding and Retention
• 🥤 How Simple Modern Scaled To $1B Without Relying on Paid Ads
• ⚡ AKNF 490: How Meta’s Advantage+ Update Impact Advertisers
• 🤖 TWBERP 24: Solving the Attribution Puzzle with Triple Whale
• 👋 Salty Britches Organic Growth Playbook: Path to 500+ Retailers
• 😃 AKNF 488: How Founder Led Content Can Lower CAC

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Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)‍

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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.

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