Most consumers will buy from a product or service with online reviews than those without because through the reviews, they will know if it’s worth spending money to purchase it or not.

Getting reviews about the products and services you’ve displayed online is essential, and so is responding to them. It doesn’t matter if they are positive or negative reviews; you need to respond to every one of them. For one, according to Google, responding to online reviews helps to improve your local SEO. When people search for businesses related to your near them, your business comes up in the search result.

In this article, we are going to discuss the importance of online reviews, why you should respond to them, and how to respond to positive and negative reviews. Keep reading to learn more:

Importance of online review

Online reviews help your online and offline businesses grow. Nowadays, almost every consumer that has access to the internet check out the reports about a business before they purchase anything from them. And leaving reviews is something consumers do if they get prompted, happy about the product purchased, or extremely dissatisfied with it.

The reviews left by consumers who have previously purchased a product or service has a significant influence on the buying decision of those trying to buy.

Why you should respond to all online reviews

Responding to online reviews shows the credibility of your business. It shows how much you value your business that you are willing to set out time to respond to both positive and negative reviews. And Google will only recommend credible enterprises to those searching.

It also shows your commitment to satisfy your customers. Responding reviews means you care so much to get feedback from people who have used your products what they experienced using it.

Responding to your reviews also signifies that your brand endorses open communication, which further strengthens its authenticity and encourages more people to purchase.

You might get tempted to respond to only positive reviews and ignore the negative ones, but when you don’t respond to negative reviews, you lose more than half of your prospective customers. If you react nicely to negative reviews, there is the possibility of retaining dissatisfied customers and even get them to delete previous comments.

Google encourages responding to reviews

Responding to reviews is essential from businesses, and even Google encourages it. They made this clear on their Google My Business support page, where they urged companies to respond to reviews left by their customers as a way of interacting with them. Because it will show how much value you place on customers and their feedbacks about your products or services. They also added that positive reviews would increase the visibility of your business and get you more customers.

How to respond to positive reviews

Responding to positive reviews online is the easiest since it’s something good said about your business, and so it’s all about happy emotions. But you have to be careful not to smother the customer leaving the reviews with appreciation because it could look creepy. Here’s how to maintain your brand reputation while responding to customer reviews:

Include keywords

Before you start typing out your response, think about how you can include your business name and other related keywords in response to make it searchable. This method increases the chances of your review to appear in the search result.

Thank the customer

Show your customer appreciation for leaving a positive response by replying “Thank you” like you would in real life. Let them know you appreciate the time and effort it took them to leave a review.

Add a personal touch

You might be trying to respond to get with other business activities quickly, but you need to make sure every response you give carries a personal touch directed to the customer. Address the customer by their name to add more personalization and avoid giving them generic answers.

Give them hints to return

You can also let your customers know that you’ll be happy if they check out more of your products and services. If they were pleased with a particular product, inform them of the availability of the same product in different colors or features. You can also tell them of time settings for new arrivals or updates.

Be polite

Above all, remember to show professionalism by being polite and ensuring the replies are short and straight to the point, even if it’s a friend.

How to respond to negative views

No one likes negative feedback, even if they are going to help us improve our current position. It’s like a dark cloud hanging over your head on a sunny day. And some days, you might not even be emotionally prepared for it, and then it hits you harder than it should. 

When responding to negative reviews, you need to be in control of your emotions to avoid unnecessary spillage. Luckily, it is easier to control one’s emotions online rather than offline since you can have the time to review what you’ve typed before pressing the send or post button.

Here is how to respond to negative reviews online:

Apologize

But before apologizing, you need to thank them for leaving feedback. Then the next step is apologizing genuinely for any inconvenience they might have experienced. Tell them you understand their dissatisfaction and avoid any attempt to be defensive. Also, let them know how beneficial the feedback is to your business. Ensure you are polite and keep the reply short.

Avoid dragging the issue

Remember, the feedback is online, and you don’t want to dent the reputation of your company by arguing who is right or wrong with the customer. All you need to do is acknowledge their review and invite them for further discussion through direct messaging or give them the contact information to your customer service so that the issue can get resolved.

Offer a solution

If it’s something you can resolve on the spot like offering a refund or replacement, don’t hesitate to do it. The customer needs assurance that all hope is not lost, and he or she didn’t spend their money on something worthless.