Like it or not, cultivating reviews is an essential part of an online marketing strategy. Countless studies show that customers look at reviews before purchasing, or deciding which businesses to contact or visit.
The review rating is important, but why and how you respond to reviews is even more critical. Your public replies have multiple benefits (the “why”), including:
- SEO – Showing Google that you are actively managing your online presence.
- Customer Service – Reviews let others see how you respond when there is a problem and the extent to which your business takes responsibility for its actions.
- Opportunity to Shine – Responding to positive reviews lets you express gratitude to your customers.
- Employee Recognition – Reviewers often mention employees by name, and your reply lets you recognize and praise employee actions.
If replying to reviews is important, how you do so is where businesses receive more value. Here are a few tactics we recommend:
- Personalize – Use the reviewer’s name in the reply to make the response more personal.
- Vary the Responses – Using the same cookie-cutter response to each review is tempting. That approach quickly feels generic and uncaring to potential customers. Instead, reference something in the review, if possible, to make each response unique. If there isn’t enough detail in the review, at least word your reply differently for each review.
- Show Appreciation – Genuinely thank the reviewer for taking the time to share their positive or negative feedback. Reviews are like free marketing and deserve appreciation. If it makes sense, also thank the customer for choosing your company.
- Apologize – If there is a complaint, apologize to the reviewer for their bad experience with your business. Note, if the customer’s concern is not legitimate, you can apologize without admitting you were wrong. Often, customers want to be heard and online venting is easy. A bad review can sometimes be retracted with a phone call (see the next point).
- Call the Customer – Negative reviews (three stars or lower) deserve a phone call to the customer. Ask them about their experience, apologize and take ownership of the situation. In many cases, the reviewer will remove or change their review. Call to listen and understand, not to argue.
- The Customer Isn’t Always Right – Recognize that sometimes reviews are made in error (for the wrong company). Others are left in an attempt to bully the company to give a discount or to cover the customer’s own bad behavior. Don’t be afraid to call out misrepresentations or falsehoods, but always do so with a professional message.
Finally, remember that your reply to negative reviews is for future customers, not the person leaving the review. Positive review responses are for the customer and future customers.
If you aren’t sure how to handle a review or reviews, get in touch with R2R Marketing. We haven’t seen it all, but there’s a good chance we can help.
