Why responding to customer reviews is so important

There are a handful of proven online reputation management strategies to help you achieve this – generating more customer reviews is one way.  In fact, 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.  But, once the review is made, it can’t stop there.  It is imperative your business is responding to those reviews – read more to find out why and how you can respond effectively.

Responding To Reviews Is One of The Best Ways To Boost Your Reputation

Responding to your company’s reviews impacts your business more than you may realize. Did you know that responding to reviews can increase retention rate by 124 percent?  Think about this, when was the last time you didn’t read a review before you visited a business or made a purchase online? Customer review monitoring and response plays a major factor in customer-facing businesses.

Google My Business’ support page states, “When you reply to reviews, it shows that you value your customers and their feedback. High-quality, positive reviews from your customers can improve your business visibility and increase the likelihood that a shopper will visit your location.” This is a prime example right from the source illustrating that responding to reviews is one of the best things you can do to increase your online rankings and boost your search engine optimization (SEO).

Establishing Trust With Your Customers

Enhancing and implementing a review response strategy is one of the best ways to build and improve customer relations, while climbing search rankings.  When a customer leaves a review, it should not just be a one way direct line of communication – you need to engage!   Your business has spent a lot of time, effort, and money in attracting customers, so keeping them is key. 

Here are some tips you should include in your strategy to build trust:

• Assign someone from your team or bring on a professional online reputation management company to respond to reviews.
• Respond quickly and genuinely to show you communicate with your customers and are dedicated to customer satisfaction.
• No matter a positive or negative review, all reviews should be responded to within 24 hours.
• Reply on the review platform, don’t reply in a hidden message that is only private.  
• Attempt to turn any negative reviews into a positive experience for the customer and those reading it.  One of the worst things a business can do is not respond to negative feedback on a review.
  Statistics show that, of the customers who received a response from a company after posting a negative comment, 33 percent turned around and posted a positive review, while 34 percent deleted the original negative review!
• Regularly review the feedback you’re receiving to highlight areas of success for your brand and where you can improve.

How To Respond To Your Customers’ Reviews

Your Happy Customers

Responding to positive reviews from your happy clients is great, but it can even get better. Responding to a positive review is the easiest way to engage with your happy customers and build your relationship with them.  You’ll also boost your business’ search rankings. When you get a compliment in person, wouldn’t you naturally say “thank you!”? Remember, caring and connecting for what your customers have to say will show that you value their opinion. The rest of the “eyes” of the Internet reading your response will see you investing in your customers, increasing their desire to do business with you.

Your Not Too Happy Customers

Replying to a negative review is your opportunity to make the situation right, and even turn it around to a positive. When you receive a bad review, because unfortunately they will happen, you should react quickly and strategically. Public and positive conversations about your business can really make a difference. In fact, 93 percent of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions, and that the minimum rating they’ll engage with is 3.3 stars (Podium).

The best advice for responding to a negative customer review is to start off with an apology and showing the customer that you sympathize with their concerns.  Then, take the conversation offline and offer help in an alternative way versus on the review site. When a customer’s situation is resolved, they are more likely to update their review to a positive one.

Conclusion

Don’t have the time to respond yourself?  Bringing on a professional online reputation management team with awesome customer service skills can make this strategy quick and easy.  Free up your important time for other tasks.  Leave it to the experts.

Google’s confirmation on “responding to reviews improves local SEO” solidifies that every business needs a review management plan. If you want to take the next step to build your brand’s reputation, check out our online reputation management service – Positive Pulse!