Online reviews come in various forms: good, glowing, negative, and even unfair. Responding correctly to each review is crucial for your business’s success. In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of replying to reviews, identify which reviews are essential to address, and offer practical tips and review response templates to kickstart your reputation management system.
4 Benefits Of Replying To Reviews
4 Benefits Of Replying To Reviews
Replying to customer reviews has many benefits, but the following reasons sit at the top of the list.
1. Meet Your Customer’s Expectation
You’re not meeting your customers’ expectations if you don’t reply to reviews. 86% of consumers of consumers who complain expect a response within 3 days. Plus, if you don’t have a process in place for customers to give feedback directly to your business they will be driven to air grievances via online review sites.
There’s no excuse to let customer feedback go unanswered across the web. Use an online review monitoring tool like GatherUp to alert you when a new review is posted so that you can respond promptly. Your reviewer will appreciate the attention, and your business will meet customer expectations.
2. Positively Influence The Conversation
There are more than 100 online review sites, and you have little to no control over any one of them. The fact that brands can’t control what’s posted is exactly what makes these sites build trust with consumers.
The one thing you can do, as the business owner, customer support team, or in the company’s name is reply to reviews posted on its business profile. These replies don’t go unnoticed either––97% of consumers who read reviews also read businesses’ responses.
Replying to online reviews lets you influence the conversation positively, and that’s a big win. You can provide clarity to both the reviewer and other potential customers by offering additional information, context, and support. Just like the customer experience is there for all to see, so is your review response.
For this review, Clean Juice does a great job of letting the customer (and reader) know they’ve noted their experience and will prevent it from happening to others.
3. Drive Brand Loyalty
By replying, you create a two-way connection that helps improve customer relationships and loyalty.
Brand loyalty is driven by emotional connections, so make happy customers by making them feel validated, excited, or appreciated by sending them kind words in response to their valuable feedback.
4. Increase Visibility In Local Search
Google has three main factors for local search rankings; proximity, prominence, and relevance. Prominence is measured using signals, including inbound links to your website, user engagement, and reviews.
According to Moz, review signals are the third most important factor for local pack rankings and are seventh for local organic search.
When you reply to online reviews, other customers can see you acknowledge their opinion, and so are more likely to leave a review themselves. More reviews mean better SEO for your business profile, which impacts your review signals and increases your brand’s visibility in local searches.
Not sure how you can keep in top of so many reviews? US Storage Centers responds to reviews for over 120 locations from a single interface using GatherUp. Their Google reviews have increased by 167%, so they have the top organic spot in local search results.
The Most Important Reviews to Reply to
It always feels good to reply to a wonderful review about your product/service from a great customer. But, five-star reviews are not the most urgent ones to reply to from a review management perspective.
Usually, the most detailed reviews don’t hold a 5-star rating. They likely carry valuable insight, so they’re are the most important to reply to first.
Here’s how to prioritize your review responses:
1. All Negative and Neutral Reviews
If nothing else, make responding to all negative and 3-star neutral reviews your top priority. A bad online review results from an experience so negative that your customer has taken the time to post a review.
Neutral reviews often come from loyal customers invested in your brand because there’s something they love, but there’s also something that isn’t quite right. Your brand needs to acknowledge the review and take responsibility. Your future customers are watching.
Austin Bike Tours’ response to a 2-star review shows empathy, offers a solution and takes responsibility for the problem. They already have a 4.8-star rating from 49 reviews, but this response shows that they care and will make things right where they fall short.
2. Direct Feedback
If you have a way for your customers to contact you, such as a form on your website or customer service number, or are actively requesting feedback using email or text, direct feedback from a customer is a call to action. Complaints need immediate attention. They can be a buying signal that a customer wants to continue to do business with you but is feeling so much frustration that they are not sure they can. Plus, taking care of product or service issues is just good business.
Take Clean Juice, they respond to a review with clear details about what happened at the moment of the customer complaint. The response helps prospects understand more about the context of what happened. Plus, the response encourages the customer to return in the future.
3. Google Reviews
Google is the world’s most used search engine, so it’s not surprising that Google reviews have surged in popularity. Google Business Profile, formerly Google My Business, is the top-ranking review website in the United States.
Reviews on Google appear next to your listing in Maps. Responding to these reviews can help the SEO of your business profile and improve your local ranking on Google.
Dispatch Health responds to all Google reviews with a 2-star rating or below. In this review reply, an executive addresses issues with a new location and invites the customer to contact them directly.
4. Facebook Recommendations
Facebook is the most popular social media platform the world, with billions of users, many customers choose to leave reviews here. The switch from reviews to recommendations in 2018 introduced a text modal to the review process. Now, Facebook requires users to provide at least 25 characters of content to post a recommendation.
The popularity of this site, its social nature, and required review content make replying to reviews here a win for your brand.
In this recent negative Facebook Recommendation, Hi-Wire Brewing acknowledges issues adjusting to the impact of the economy and asks for forgiveness.
5. Industry Review Sites
There are many niche review platforms for industries, (we monitor over 50 of them). You can meet your customers where they are by monitoring relevant industry-specific platforms. Responding to reviews on industry platforms makes your brand a part of the conversation, and it leaves a trail back to your business.
Depending on your industry, these sites can be really important. If you are in the hospitality industry, TripAdvisor is the best site on which to request and monitor reviews. Angie’s List is perfect for service-related businesses. Ensure you know what sites your customers use to share their experiences and manage them accordingly.
Review reply for negative reviews
Believe it or not, there are benefits to negative reviews. A negative review can be tough to receive, and writing a reply can be intimidating. However, a proactive approach goes a long way. Follow these tips to reply to negative reviews successfully.
- Respond promptly: Around 55% of consumers expect a business to reply to a review within 1 day, and over 30% expect a response within 3 days. Negative reviews demand a swift reply and a solution to show action and care from your business.
- Respond publicly: It’s an opportunity to show consumers you’re capable and willing to right a wrong.
- Read the review thoroughly: Using the customer’s own words to personalize your review reply.
- Offer a solution: Showing empathy for the situation and respect is vital to successful response management, but a solution is at the core of the customer’s needs.
- Put the right person in charge: Ensure that the person or entire team replying to negative reviews has the authority to offer solutions.
Here’s a simple 3-step structure you can use to reply to negative reviews:
Introduction and Thanks
- Offer a greeting to your customer that reflects your brand style (playful, casual, official).
- Introduce yourself, including your title, to establish that you have the authority to offer support.
- Say thank you. Thank the reviewer for their time bringing this matter to your attention.
Dear [customer name],
I’m [your name] and I’m the [your title] at [business name].
Thank you for posting a review. I appreciate the time you took to let us know about [review detail].
Apologize and take responsibility
- Apologize. Even if it’s not your fault.
- Acknowledge what happened so that you can take responsibility.
- Address concerns and share a reason for what went wrong.
We’re sorry to disappoint you.
[Share a reason for what went wrong] and we’ve failed to deliver the experience you expect.
Offer a solution or an invitation
- Offer a solution appropriate to the issue and impact of the individual’s complaint.
- Also, if you don’t want to share an offer publicly, invite your customer to contact you directly.
I would appreciate another chance to earn your business. Please accept [solution].
Sincerely, [your name]
Review Replies For Neutral Reviews
Most consumers will only leave reviews if their experience was really bad or bad. Even though neutral reviews are less common, they are just as important to reply to as negative reviews. Because customers often include a compliment and a complaint, your review reply strategy will address both.
Follow these tips when replying to neutral reviews:
- Respond promptly and publicly. Like negative reviews, neutral reviews signal that something didn’t meet your customer’s expectations. For that reason, connect quickly to publicly show consumers you care.
- Celebrate compliments. Let your customer know that you appreciate their positive feedback.
- Resolve issues. There’s something that held your customer back from a 5-star review. So figure out what their complaint is and find a resolution.
- Be specific and concise. Address the positive and negative feedback in 100-150 words.
Introduction and Thanks
- Set a positive tone using your brand voice.
- Include your title in your introduction so your customer knows you’re there to help.
- Say thanks. Show that your business appreciates feedback.
Hello [reviewer name],
I’m [your name] and I’m the [your role].
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Recognize and Celebrate Compliments
- Restate positive feedback
- Thank the reviewer for letting you know about their positive experience
It’s great to know that you are enjoying [review detail].
Validate and Resolve Complaints
- Identify the complaint and offer an apology or other response appropriate to the feedback
- Based on the nature of the complaint, offer a solution or validate your customer. Also, let them know what you’re doing to improve.
We know it’s disappointing when [review detail]. We’re working on it!
We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again.
Review Replies For Positive Reviews
Responding to positive reviews is a great opportunity to build a connection to your brand and make people feel good about being a part of it. Many businesses skip this, but the effort can build a lot of goodwill for your brand. Here are tips for replying to positive reviews.
- Replies to positive customer reviews can be short and sweet. Include a detail from the review for variety.
- Use a conversational tone that aligns with your brand.
- Respond publicly to share in the online conversation.
Offer thanks
- Show appreciation for your customer’s time and sentiment.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your positive experience [customer name]!
Show genuine interest
- Make a comment about the experience your customer shared.
- Tell them something about your brand that is related.
We love it when our customers [review detail].
[Business detail]. It’s great to hear that you noticed.
Add value
- Offer information of value the reviewer may be interested in.
Because you enjoyed [review detail], I recommend [business detail] during your next visit.
See you next time!
Use Our Review Response Templates
Replying to good reviews can help boost customer loyalty and enhance your brand reputation. On the other side of the coin, responding to reviews about negative experiences highlights you care about customer satisfaction.
Replying to all your reviews can feel overwhelming at first. So start slowly and use our templates to speed up the process. Ready to streamline your review management? Schedule a demo today.
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