The Importance of Responding to Online Reviews

9 Nov

Have you ever left a customer on seen when they’ve left a bad review about your business? Ahh, stop right there! If you want to enhance your overall reputation and build a loyal customer base - you’ll need to stop ghosting reviews…ASAP. Today we’re diving into all things reviews, why you should respond to them and how you can use them to help your business. Let’s go!

Responding to reviews can help to enhance your online reputation.

Did you know that 1 in 5 customers expect to hear back from you when they leave a review? If the customer hears crickets… 🦗 They're likely to continue to have negative thoughts and opinions about your business. Plus, this unhappy customer will be happy to share this negative experience with others. Either by word of mouth or with further social media. We do not want this! I repeat, we most definitely do not want this! 🙅‍♀️

Brands don’t have control over what people say about them online…But thankfully, we do have control over how you respond to online reviews. ✅ In fact, how you respond can even help to enhance the overall reputation of your business.

By responding to all kinds of reviews - you show your customers you’re the real deal.

Uh-huh, honey.

Reply promptly to show the customer that you’re taking steps to rectify the issue to avoid it ever happening again. In this response, you want to make sure that the customer feels heard. You also want to reiterate that this is not the standard for the business. You don’t want to message back and forth in the comments section of the review for other people to see. Be open to further discussion about the review and provide the customer with an alternative email to discuss privately. Alternatively, pick up the phone! Or provide them with a phone number so they can give you a ring. 📞

It’s important to note: Don’t mention your business name in response to this review. You don’t want this bad review to track in the search engines.

Positive reviews reassure potential customers about how good your product or service is, and why they should come to you.

Positive reviews are powerful. The more positive reviews you can collect - the better! Positive reviews will help to boost your sales and retain new customers. This helps to improve brand awareness and increase brand loyalty.

“How should I respond to a good review?”

Firstly, congratulations if you’ve received a positive review. It means you’ve made an impact on someone’s day, and that's something that should be celebrated! It's really important that you respond to your customer who’s left you a positive review. First, thank that customer for taking the time to write you a good review. Acknowledge their kindness and reward them with a discount code! This invites the customer to come back and gives you a chance to build a positive customer relationship! Make sure you mention the business name to enhance your SEO. 📈

How to Reply to Google Reviews? (Thanks, Hubspot!)

Sign in to Google My Business by going to business.google.com.
🧡 On the left sidebar, click 'Reviews.'
🧡 A list of your recent reviews will come up. Find the review you want to reply to.
🧡 Click 'Reply.'
🧡 A message box will open for you to write your response.
🧡 Click 'Post reply.'

We hope you’ve enjoyed this blog. Remember that every review you receive is the opportunity to positively market and promote your business (yip, even the bad ones). Track your screen time to become more aware of how often you’re picking up your device.