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How to Respond to Reviews

As a business owner you have a great opportunity to build relationships with your customers when you respond to their reviews. Even though it is a little bit unpleasant, especially when you have to deal with bad reviews, the way you respond can get you a customer for life. Remember that people will read your response if it made it publicly.

Responding to reviews shows that you care, so try to follow this guidelines:

Positive Reviews

Thank the reviewer for the review

Make your customer feel special by thanking them genuinely. Don’t use the same message for everyone. Even if you use a template, customize your response. Be authentic.

If one customer gives you a 5 star review and you want send him/her an automatic thank you message click the link Send a Thank You underneath the review.

Read the entire review

Even if the review shows five stars it doesn’t mean the customer doesn’t have anything useful to say or don't want to address a concern about your business.

Keep it short

Don’t overwhelm your customer even if you appreciate his/her review.

No Giveaways

Since you have a customer that already likes your business, you don’t need to give them anything else, but a genuine thank you. A gift may look like a bribe or an incentive for the review.

 

Negative Reviews

Don’t take it personally: be calm and not emotional

Remember that the customer didn’t receive the service that he/she expected. If you feel angry about the review, don’t respond at that moment. You will not win your customer over by ranting or arguing. Don’t pick a fight. It’s very difficult to win an argument with a frustrated customer. So Take a deep breath and respond when you think objectively about the review, trying to understand the customer frustration.

Be professional and polite

Acknowledge the mistake, apologize and offer to personally take care of the situation on a conciliatory tone. Remember “the customer is always right”, unless he/she is wrong!

Make sure your responses are readable, Grammarly correct, and useful. Keep it short and genuine. Show that your customer is important and address him/her by name. And be nice!

Respond as soon as possible

Unfortunately, ignoring a bad review can make more harm than good. So don’t ignore them. Remember people are watching how you treat and handle your customers, and it is bad to see an unresolved issue.

When you are ready, respond as soon as you can. Show that you care and you appreciate their opinion. Explain what went wrong and show in your response how you solve the problem so others know you followed through.

Use private message

If you feel that there is no need to respond the review publicly, send a private message to the reviewer (click Send Author a Message, underneath the review), not forgetting the advices already given. Leave your contact info if they want to discuss the problem in person.

Business goes on

You will never please everyone all the time. Just do the right thing by your customer  when you have a mistake and go on with your business providing the best service you are able to.

Most of the time customer are reasonable and understand human beings are prone to mistakes. Nobody is perfect! They just expect the business to have the proper response to those mistakes.

 

False Reviews

If you ever find a review that is clearly false, don’t respond or attack. Please contact us so we can evaluate and remove it.