Online reviews are an important part of a successful marketing strategy, yet many businesses overlook the importance of responding to reviews. It can be daunting to manage reviews for large organizations with many online listings, but it’s important to at least make time for Google reviews as they are the most influential and the place potential customers are likely to first encounter your company’s reputation.
Our prescription for online reviews is simple:
- Respond to every review you can, even if it’s a week or two after it is posted.
- Remember your response is for future customers who see the review, not the person who wrote it.
- Be professional and leave emotion out of the response, positive or negative.
- Thank the person for taking the time to leave a review or share their experience.
- If they leave a four- or five-star review that shares great feedback about an employee, be sure to tell the employee and write that you shared the feedback in your response.
- If the review is one or two stars, talk with those involved to learn more about the situation.
- Acknowledge and take ownership of mistakes and be appreciative of any feedback that helps you improve.
- Don’t be defensive or blame the customer.
- It is okay to professionally point out when the review is wrong, inaccurate or doesn’t fairly represent the situation.
The most challenging responses are for one—and two-star reviews. We believe the customer isn’t always right when they leave reviews, and we’re not afraid to point that out confidently and professionally on behalf of our clients. Remember, people who read the review and the reply don’t have the full story—and you shouldn’t share it, either—it just looks defensive.
Finally, remember that all reviews are an opportunity to improve your business – good reviews highlight what customers value, and you can focus even more energy on those areas. Bad reviews can showcase employee training opportunities, changes to business processes and even help refine qualifying questions to avoid future customers who aren’t a good fit.
If you haven’t scanned your reviews lately, put 30 minutes on the calendar this week and do it. If you need help, give us a call.
