How to Respond to Positive and Negative Reviews

When you put your heart and your soul into your business, you like to know that your work is being appreciated. Seeing a positive review on Facebook, Google, or Yelp can make your day. But what if they aren’t so great?

Every negative thing that is said about your business is visible to current and potential customers. Moreover, according to Review Trackers, 52% of customers expect to hear back within 7 days of publishing a review, especially if it’s negative. 25% expect a response within 3 days, and 21% within 24 hours. Timely and thoughtful responses are critical to proper customer service.

Let us help you understand how to handle both positive and negative reviews.

Positive Reviews

Positive reviews mean that you are doing your job right. Positive reviews are like compliments to you and your business that everyone can see. That’s why responding to them is important, it’s the polite thing to do. Not only you will be thanking the reviewer, but you will be showing all the readers that you are a business that cares about your customers. In addition, positive review response allows you to improve your SEO ranking, build relationships with your customers, and leave a friendly impression.

In a response:

Thank the customer for their feedback
Personalize your message to their review, and directly address their comment
Share something new with your customer, like features or a little behind-the-scenes
Keep your response short
Be kind and respectful
Emphasize your company values
Include keywords such as business name, category, and location to boost your SEO rankings

Negative Reviews

Once in a while, a business will have an unhappy customer. Though it may feel offensive, unjustified, and/or like a personal attack, these reviews are even more important to respond to. Ignoring the review will not make it go away, it can only make things worse and make you look untrustworthy. This is your opportunity to change customer perspective (and maybe also their review!) and make things right. Once again, you are speaking to all the people who are reading the review. They want to see that you are alleviating this issue, improving your business, and are committed to an exceptional experience.

You should:

Apologize, even if you think you didn’t do anything wrong!
Be polite
Offer to discuss the issue further and provide contact information
Fix the issue and offer a solution
Keep your response short and simple
Avoid sounding defensive
Reassure that you are working on improvements

Regardless of whether your review is good or bad, make the most out of it. Showcase your company in a good light and demonstrate that you care. And remember to use the keywords suited for your business such as your company name, category, and/or location to increase your search engine optimization.

Learn more about Why Reviews are Crucial for your Business and the Bottom Line and How Reviews Boost Local SEO here!

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