How To Respond to Online Reviews (Good and Bad)
93% of surveyed shoppers make buying decisions based on online reviews. That is a huge percentage! If you run a business, your reviews are vital to your success.
You may think that you are sure to only ever get positive reviews because your products or services are fantastic, so you should not bother monitoring them. In reality, knowing how to track and how to respond to online reviews is a must. One bad review can make a huge negative impact.
You need to have a reputation management strategy in place and you need to know what to do when good or bad reviews start popping up. Let us talk about it! Read on to learn all about responding to online reviews (good and bad).
Why Is It Important to Respond to Reviews?
There are many reasons that you, as a business owner, should be responding to both positive and negative reviews. That is right, even positive reviews deserve responses!
While responding to positive reviews gets less valuable as time goes on, in the beginning, it will help you establish yourself as responsive and kind. Responding to negative reviews is important long-term.
Here are a few (but not all) of the reasons why it is so important for business owners to respond when they get a good or bad review online.
It Improves or Solidifies Your Online Reputation
Your reputation is everything as a business owner. You could have the best products or services, but with a bad reputation, you still will not gain customers. Public opinion is a driving factor behind your success.
Let's say you are not paying a lot of attention to your reviews and they are starting to lean negatively. Your star rating has gone down. Every low rating or negative review is a sign to potential customers that your business is not worth using.
When you respond to negative reviews, you show customers that you are making an effort to improve. Even if nothing needs improvement, you are clearing the air so that the commenter does not have the final word.
When you respond to positive reviews, you are showing customers that you are listening to them.
Both of these things will make huge improvements to the reputation of your business and online branding.
You Will Build Trust and Relationships
Part of owning a business is building relationships and trust with your customers. Responding to reviews (both negative and positive) is a great way to do that.
When you respond to someone who is upset with your products or services, you are showing them that you want to make it right (or at the very least, explain the situation). Someone who was previously angry may calm down and see you and your business in a better light. You can regain their trust.
You Will Give Yourself an Opportunity to Grow and Learn
Reviews are gifts. Even negative reviews are opportunities for growth, so try to see them that way. They may feel like personal attacks (and in some rare cases, they may be), but they are learning experiences.
When you actively engage with a negative review, you are letting an unhappy customer teach you something that may improve your business. At the very least, you are learning an important lesson in politely and respectfully communicating with others.
Some Tips for How to Respond to Online Reviews
Responding to online reviews is tricky. There are infinite possible responses you can give, but if you want to make a good impression, you have to be careful.
Remember, you are representing your business. Your response will determine how customers see you, and it may sway them toward or away from your business.
Here are a few helpful tips that can improve your responses to online reviews.
1. Respond Quickly
It is important to respond as quickly as possible (without being too rash). When you let a bad review stay up for too long without responding to it, more people will see it. This is bad for your reputation.
You may also forget about it. It is easy for reviews to slip your mind when you have so many other responsibilities as a busy business owner.
Take a brief amount of time to decide how you are going to respond. While you should respond quickly, do not let yourself be careless. Give yourself time to cool off (if the review was inflammatory) and decide what the best response would be.
Ignoring bad reviews will not make them disappear, especially if you do not have many reviews to start with. Even if you are feeling anxious, responding within a few days (if not a single day) is a good move. Get it over with.
2. Learn From Your Reviews
When you get a review, try to take something from it.
If the review is positive, keep in mind what you are doing right and make a note to continue doing it (or even expand upon it).
If the review is negative, determine what you can change. In some cases, negative reviews are not actually your fault, but do not jump to that conclusion right away.
3. Be Polite
Politeness is key when you are responding to online reviews regardless of whether they are positive or negative. Even if a review is downright mean or inappropriate, you need to stay as professional as possible.
You have your reputation to consider. While it is tempting to respond to negative reviews with the same energy the customer used, you are running a business. Consider how that would look to other people.
Your response is public, so it is best to take the high road.
This can also help you diffuse the situation. Often, people who leave negative reviews just want to know that someone is hearing their concerns. When you respond with kindness, their motivation to "fight it out" may dissipate and they may open themself up to a rational and calm interaction.
Use restraint.
Some brands can get away with "sass" in their responses, but this is a risky move and that sass has to be part of their preexisting brand image. It is also carefully crafted, not just an "off-the-cuff" remark.
4. Keep It Brief
For both positive and negative reviews, it is best to be brief (while still being thorough).
For positive reviews, a quick "thanks!" and perhaps a CTA of some sort (such as asking the customer to tell their friends or check your shop later for new products) is more than enough to make an impact. Most people do not expect responses to positive reviews at all, so you will stand out.
For negative reviews, you will need to go into more detail, but not too much. Make sure you address the problem, apologize, and give your customer steps to take.
It is often best to save the longer conversations for private messages or emails so you do not draw too much attention to the review but you still pay enough attention to the customer.
If you are defending your business against a troll comment, you may have to go into more detail, but just offer enough information to clear the air. Remember that most people will not sit and read long comments, so you do not gain anything from writing several paragraphs in response.
5. If It Is Negative: Make It Right
If someone leaves a negative review (and the review is legitimate, of course), you are being given a great opportunity to make things right. How will you do that?
Again, it is often best to take this conversation into private messages or emails to make sure you can fine-tune your next steps to the disgruntled customer's needs.
Sometimes being heard is enough and the customer will not want anything else. Telling them that you are going to make changes to ensure the problem never happens again can be comforting.
In other cases, you may want to offer a coupon, replacement item, or service (depending on what it is your business offers). Note that discounts, replacements, or "freebies" might seem bad for business, but this is not the case if it means salvaging your reputation and making a customer happy.
6. Be Authentic and Empathetic
Customers value honesty and authenticity. While you should be professional in all of your responses, you should also be human. Many customers respond negatively to responses that seem too "corporate" because they seem inauthentic.
Connect with your customers and you will gain their trust.
Responding to Online Reviews Is Essential
Learning how to respond to online reviews is tough, and it will be a trial-and-error process. As you progress, you will discover the best ways to communicate with both happy and unhappy customers while maintaining your professionalism and your reputation.
Speaking of your reputation, are you in need of a reputation management strategy? We want to help. Learn more about our services so we can start working together today.
You may think that you are sure to only ever get positive reviews because your products or services are fantastic, so you should not bother monitoring them. In reality, knowing how to track and how to respond to online reviews is a must. One bad review can make a huge negative impact.
You need to have a reputation management strategy in place and you need to know what to do when good or bad reviews start popping up. Let us talk about it! Read on to learn all about responding to online reviews (good and bad).
Why Is It Important to Respond to Reviews?
There are many reasons that you, as a business owner, should be responding to both positive and negative reviews. That is right, even positive reviews deserve responses!
While responding to positive reviews gets less valuable as time goes on, in the beginning, it will help you establish yourself as responsive and kind. Responding to negative reviews is important long-term.
Here are a few (but not all) of the reasons why it is so important for business owners to respond when they get a good or bad review online.
It Improves or Solidifies Your Online Reputation
Your reputation is everything as a business owner. You could have the best products or services, but with a bad reputation, you still will not gain customers. Public opinion is a driving factor behind your success.
Let's say you are not paying a lot of attention to your reviews and they are starting to lean negatively. Your star rating has gone down. Every low rating or negative review is a sign to potential customers that your business is not worth using.
When you respond to negative reviews, you show customers that you are making an effort to improve. Even if nothing needs improvement, you are clearing the air so that the commenter does not have the final word.
When you respond to positive reviews, you are showing customers that you are listening to them.
Both of these things will make huge improvements to the reputation of your business and online branding.
You Will Build Trust and Relationships
Part of owning a business is building relationships and trust with your customers. Responding to reviews (both negative and positive) is a great way to do that.
When you respond to someone who is upset with your products or services, you are showing them that you want to make it right (or at the very least, explain the situation). Someone who was previously angry may calm down and see you and your business in a better light. You can regain their trust.
You Will Give Yourself an Opportunity to Grow and Learn
Reviews are gifts. Even negative reviews are opportunities for growth, so try to see them that way. They may feel like personal attacks (and in some rare cases, they may be), but they are learning experiences.
When you actively engage with a negative review, you are letting an unhappy customer teach you something that may improve your business. At the very least, you are learning an important lesson in politely and respectfully communicating with others.
Some Tips for How to Respond to Online Reviews
Responding to online reviews is tricky. There are infinite possible responses you can give, but if you want to make a good impression, you have to be careful.
Remember, you are representing your business. Your response will determine how customers see you, and it may sway them toward or away from your business.
Here are a few helpful tips that can improve your responses to online reviews.
1. Respond Quickly
It is important to respond as quickly as possible (without being too rash). When you let a bad review stay up for too long without responding to it, more people will see it. This is bad for your reputation.
You may also forget about it. It is easy for reviews to slip your mind when you have so many other responsibilities as a busy business owner.
Take a brief amount of time to decide how you are going to respond. While you should respond quickly, do not let yourself be careless. Give yourself time to cool off (if the review was inflammatory) and decide what the best response would be.
Ignoring bad reviews will not make them disappear, especially if you do not have many reviews to start with. Even if you are feeling anxious, responding within a few days (if not a single day) is a good move. Get it over with.
2. Learn From Your Reviews
When you get a review, try to take something from it.
If the review is positive, keep in mind what you are doing right and make a note to continue doing it (or even expand upon it).
If the review is negative, determine what you can change. In some cases, negative reviews are not actually your fault, but do not jump to that conclusion right away.
3. Be Polite
Politeness is key when you are responding to online reviews regardless of whether they are positive or negative. Even if a review is downright mean or inappropriate, you need to stay as professional as possible.
You have your reputation to consider. While it is tempting to respond to negative reviews with the same energy the customer used, you are running a business. Consider how that would look to other people.
Your response is public, so it is best to take the high road.
This can also help you diffuse the situation. Often, people who leave negative reviews just want to know that someone is hearing their concerns. When you respond with kindness, their motivation to "fight it out" may dissipate and they may open themself up to a rational and calm interaction.
Use restraint.
Some brands can get away with "sass" in their responses, but this is a risky move and that sass has to be part of their preexisting brand image. It is also carefully crafted, not just an "off-the-cuff" remark.
4. Keep It Brief
For both positive and negative reviews, it is best to be brief (while still being thorough).
For positive reviews, a quick "thanks!" and perhaps a CTA of some sort (such as asking the customer to tell their friends or check your shop later for new products) is more than enough to make an impact. Most people do not expect responses to positive reviews at all, so you will stand out.
For negative reviews, you will need to go into more detail, but not too much. Make sure you address the problem, apologize, and give your customer steps to take.
It is often best to save the longer conversations for private messages or emails so you do not draw too much attention to the review but you still pay enough attention to the customer.
If you are defending your business against a troll comment, you may have to go into more detail, but just offer enough information to clear the air. Remember that most people will not sit and read long comments, so you do not gain anything from writing several paragraphs in response.
5. If It Is Negative: Make It Right
If someone leaves a negative review (and the review is legitimate, of course), you are being given a great opportunity to make things right. How will you do that?
Again, it is often best to take this conversation into private messages or emails to make sure you can fine-tune your next steps to the disgruntled customer's needs.
Sometimes being heard is enough and the customer will not want anything else. Telling them that you are going to make changes to ensure the problem never happens again can be comforting.
In other cases, you may want to offer a coupon, replacement item, or service (depending on what it is your business offers). Note that discounts, replacements, or "freebies" might seem bad for business, but this is not the case if it means salvaging your reputation and making a customer happy.
6. Be Authentic and Empathetic
Customers value honesty and authenticity. While you should be professional in all of your responses, you should also be human. Many customers respond negatively to responses that seem too "corporate" because they seem inauthentic.
Connect with your customers and you will gain their trust.
Responding to Online Reviews Is Essential
Learning how to respond to online reviews is tough, and it will be a trial-and-error process. As you progress, you will discover the best ways to communicate with both happy and unhappy customers while maintaining your professionalism and your reputation.
Speaking of your reputation, are you in need of a reputation management strategy? We want to help. Learn more about our services so we can start working together today.