As consumers in today's socially savvy world, we often rely on other opinions and experiences—via Yelp reviews, product reviews, etc. Bad reviews about your products or service can bite, wound and sting. Worst of all, a mountain of them can appear in a matter of seconds. Social media, it's a wonderful thing, until it turns against you.

Yesterday, Promotional Consultant Today shared five steps for managing your online reputation when someone turns against you. Today we share five more tips:

Step Six: Involve your team and communicate your improvement plan. You will reach your goal faster if everyone in your organization understands what it is and is working toward it.

Step Seven: When you are interacting with people, ask them what they think. You already know some of them have no problem sharing their opinions with the world, so they will probably be willing to candidly tell you the good, bad and ugly. Asking your customers or clients for help can prove extremely beneficial.

"We are working hard to improve. Would you be willing to talk to me for a few minutes? Thank you. What two or three things could we have done differently in order to make you experience with us better?"

If at all possible, have these conversations verbally. You may be surprised by the quantity and quality of information you are able to quickly gather.

Step Eight: Once you have a clear sense of what is going on with your business and are on the road to smoothing out the rough spots, get back to the reviews. It's time to answer them.

First, thank the reviewer for letting you know about a problem and include something positive about your business, too. Second, describe what you have done to prevent the issue from occurring again. Third, ask the person to give you a second chance.

Resist the urge to be snarky, judgmental or to correct your customers. Lots of people are going to be watching how you respond to others. Take advantage of the opportunity to be polite, helpful and solution-focused. People who rely on the reviews can often tell when other customers are being difficult. If you are gracious in your dealings with them, you will win in the long run.

Step Nine: Ask your happy customers to post reviews. Over time, your average will improve. Obviously this approach only works if you are indeed making changes and removing the causes of bad evaluations. If you are not, prepare for more of the same reviews you've gotten in the past because they're coming. You simply cannot turn off the social media tap.

Step Ten: As tempting as it may be, do not post fake reviews or go to a service to get others to do the same. Apart from the fact that it's dishonest, it's also dangerous. If you get caught, you will look even worse than you did before. Instead, get busy writing more content to post on your site, news release sites and other appropriate places.

Followed closely, this 10-step plan for a reputation overhaul could earn you five stars.

Source: Kate Zabriskie is the president of Business Training Works, Inc., a Maryland-based talent development firm. She and her team help businesses establish customer service strategies and train their people to live up to what's promised.