In today’s marketplace, online reviews are one of the more crucial components of operating a successful business. According to a survey performed by BrightLocal, 93% of consumers say that online reviews influenced their purchasing decisions.
A key differentiator in giving your business a competitive edge is making sure you respond to customer reviews, both negative and positive. Surprisingly, some businesses don’t respond to reviews at all, so by making an effort to reply, you’re already providing your business with an advantage.
Rick Walz, the president of the Better Business Bureau, serving Northern Indiana, offers some suggestions on how small businesses might handle customer reviews for their overall benefit:
Recruiting customer reviews. It’s crucial for you to have a formal process for asking customers to share their feedback after a transaction is complete. Otherwise, the few reviews you do receive will be from upset customers.
Encourage everyone to submit a review, that way you garner a wide range of sentiments, which can directly influence feelings of legitimacy. For example, some potential customers may view too many perfect five-star reviews as a red flag. Customers want authenticity.
Whether you choose to send a follow-up message using email or SMS, make sure it’s delivered promptly after the customer’s interaction with your business. Try to keep the messaging short without sacrificing warmth or sincerity and encourage details. If you’re able to purchase a service to help you collect more reviews, it’ll automate the process for you and send friendly reminders.
How to respond to online reviews. Even the best businesses receive negative reviews on occasion, so don’t be afraid when one is directed at your company. Reviews that are critical of your business are a chance to publicly right a customer service wrong. No business is perfect. Negative feedback is an invitation to prove your business prioritizes its customers, even when circumstances are less than ideal.
Similarly, don’t forget to respond to positive reviews as well. Those comments should be recognized as feel-good moments for you and the person sharing their experience. Taking time to appreciate a warm exchange with your team can turn a happy reviewer into a loyal customer.
If you can, assign one person on your staff to monitor and respond to all reviews posted. Not only will you have someone ready to respond, but your messaging will also be consistent.
Try sticking to these tips when responding to customer reviews of their operation:
Thank the customer for sharing their opinion while specifically addressing their topic of concern.
Be friendly, helpful, and energetic. Offer an initial resolution and then show a sense of urgency in helping reach a speedy conclusion.
Stick to facts and data, not people, personalities, and emotions. Maintain a high level of professionalism, respect, and decorum, while being friendly in tone.
Set an expectation for next steps the reviewer can prepare for, including any needed follow-up. Always leave the response open-ended to allow for any additional action.
Take it offline when necessary. Some customers will want to argue and have the exchange displayed for everyone to see. In those instances, provide direct contact information for the customer to follow up.
These are some approaches to responding you should avoid:
Quoting policy or practice. This is risky because you are setting yourself up for further ridicule. Explaining why you do something is a much better approach.
Using canned responses that are not specific to the concern addressed. Other users will read responses every time they read reviews. If they see responses that aren’t addressing the specific situation, they will expect the same. Nobody wants a one-size-fits-all solution.
Rambling communication. Reviewers are frustrated as it is, and any long response will feel clouded. This also leaves an opportunity for the reviewer to distort the overall reply. Show empathy, stick to facts, and keep responses simple.
How does BBB handle customer reviews? Every customer review of a business that’s submitted through BBB.org is fully vetted by BBB staff to ensure its legitimacy, and that an actual interaction took place between the business and the consumer.
Here’s how that happens:
The reviewer is required to provide an email address and then verify their review submission via email.
The reviewer must certify that the review is truthful and accurate.
IPs are tracked and monitored, and users can be prohibited from additional review submissions.
Businesses can challenge the review if they believe there was no interaction with the reviewer. BBB will reach out to the reviewer and request substantiation of the marketplace interaction.
If a customer files a complaint with the same email address about the same issue, the customer review is suspended. Customers cannot submit both a complaint and a negative customer review.
Business advice from the Better Business Bureau, serving Northern Indiana.
