9 Out Of 10 Consumers Read Reviews Before Making A Purchase
Building a loyal customer base is the key to growing your business, and you can’t build one without engaging with customers and their concerns online. Respond to their reviews — both the good and the bad in a way that impresses the current and potential customers. Your responses better present your company as responsible, caring, and trustworthy. Read on to learn the rules to successful reviews.
Why Does Responding To Reviews Matter?
Responding to both negative and positive reviews is vital for a business. Yet, many organizations wonder why. If a customer leaves a great review, you shouldn’t leave it at that. Responding to a positive review benefits your business and strengthens the relationship with your customers. Since most reviews are public, other people see the positive conversations, which can do wonders for your business. As for the negative reviews — you can’t ignore them. If you disregard other customers, this may negatively affect your business. Always respond to every review because:
- Responding to a positive review is simply polite. Imagine if someone gives you a compliment in real life — the right thing to do is to thank them. Since the reviews are public, being nice is easy.
- 90% of people read online reviews before purchasing a product or service. There’s a high chance that both the existing and potential customers will see the review and the response.
- Active online engagement can draw others to join in, which creates higher visibility for the business. This mostly applies to positive reviews that lead to greater participation and generate more buzz for your company.
- Responding improves the SEO ranking, which makes positive reviews pop up when people search for the business.
- Responding to a customer means you respond to everyone reading the review, including the potential clients.
- Replying gives your business an opportunity to correct any mistakes. Even though online reviews are impersonal, they are the same as real-life complaints or compliments. You can change the complaint’s nature by responding and making things right.
- Responding to negative feedback shows that you don’t neglect your client’s needs. It also shows that your business takes responsibility and provides top-notch services.
Make Your Responses Personal and Authentic
Your responses don’t need to be long, but they better show that you engage with the reviewer thoughtfully and personally. Never use boilerplate responses. If they sound chatbot-made, you’re basically telling customers that you don’t really care. Address the main point of the review directly and never try to sidestep an issue or weasel out of giving a real, substantive answer.
Respond Right Away
Never wait over 24 hours to respond to negative reviews. Same works for 48 hours and the positive ones. Delaying responses shows reviewers and potential customers that your company doesn’t really care about them.
Make Real Change After Reading User Reviews
Even if a reviewer is unreasonable, make things right if you can. Change the product description on the website. Replace defective products or offer a refund. If the complaint concerns customer service or something else that’s intangible, offer a discount for future purchases. The reputation your company will gain offsets the money and time you spend.
Respond To Both Positive And Negative Reviews
62% of consumers say they won’t buy from brands that hide or don’t respond to bad online reviews. Responding is important since it’s a form of damage control. Doing so with positive reviews is essential as well. When you respond to such, you encourage other customers to leave more positive reviews — people like feeling noticed and appreciated. It is also important because if you put your company’s name and email address in response to positive reviews, search engines will rank those reviews higher, which makes them more visible.
Stay Sympathetic
No matter how inappropriate or disrespectful the reviewer is, your response should be sympathetic and polite. This shows the reviewer that your company values their concerns and takes their complaints seriously. It also shows everyone that your company is fair and reasonable.
Responding To Fake Bad Reviews
Sometimes dishonest customers will post fake bad reviews, trying to get discounts or merchandise from your company. If you’re sure that a negative review is fake — say so in your response as long as you keep it polite. This will show readers what reasonable behaviour is.
Final Thoughts
Online reviews are the basis for making purchases for most people. Your responses are an important part of how people view your company.
Give them a good reason to like it.
How can positive reviews help you grow your business?
Book a free intro call with our expert and find out how.
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