How To Respond To Positive and Negative Reviews

In this blog post, we will talk about the importance of responding to reviews. 

Reviews are an important part of how potential customers evaluate your business before they make a purchase.

A positive review can generate more sales or strengthen customer loyalty, while a negative review can have the opposite effect. The key is to respond appropriately and professionally so that you can manage your online reputation and give potential customers more confidence in their decision to come into your store!

How to Respond to Negative Reviews?

If you have any negative feedback, it's important to respond with a sense of urgency. You want to reassure the customer that they are heard and their concerns will be addressed in some way. This might include an apology or offer for compensation such as a refund or free service for future visits.

Imagine scrolling through your social media feed only to come across something that made you feel unappreciated by your favorite restaurant chain. We'll go over how we would handle this situation if we were managing the brand's social channels below:

• apologize sincerely
• explain what happened from our perspective
• state why this is not representative of our company values/customer experience standards and then ask them how else we can make up
• next is to make sure they are satisfied with the resolution
• if not, offer to escalate their concern by providing a direct email address or phone number for customer service
• apologize again and mention that we care about our customers
• offer a sincere and personalized response to the review
• address any issues that may have come up in the review, but do not try to make excuses for yourself or your products/services, this will only show you as defensive or unprofessional
• thank them for their feedback without sounding insincere or too robotic (i.e., “Thank you so much! We appreciate hearing about our service from your perspective.")
• include examples of how they might change a negative experience into a positive one if it were possible
• this shows transparency with consumers who are already aware of what was wrong at least on some level, even if they didn't mention specifics, which increases trust in the business
• reassure them with a personal experience they might have that is better or more positive than what they experienced
• finally, include an action step for the consumer to take if they would like to make their next visit even better
  
  

Below are some examples of How to Respond:

"Thank you so much! We appreciate hearing about our service from your perspective. In order to give each customer the best possible experience, we want to know how we can improve in any way. If I were able to sit down and chat with you over iced coffee, it could help me understand your thoughts on this matter and see where there’s room for improvement. What do you think?"

"We're sorry this happened! You can always reach us at [email] if you need any help."

"Thank you so much for letting us know about your experience. We want to assure you that in no way does this reflect on how we treat our guests-in fact, it's against company values and is something we take very seriously."

"In order to make up for what happened, please contact customer service via [phone]. If you'd prefer I follow up with them directly."

To learn more about how LevelUP Digital Solutions can help you realize your website objectives, contact us today at 401-298-9361. Our knowledgeable SEO experts can deliver the results you’re looking for.