While reviews can be a great way to promote a business’s positive reputation, negative reviews can cause sales declines or even worse. This article will explain the various types of reviews as well as provide a guideline for how to respond professionally to each.

We hope every customer review we leave online will be five-star testimonials about how great our business is. However, this is not always the case.

Online reviews, especially in today’s digital age, are abundant and can express customer experiences, both good and bad. If not managed well, the impact of customer reviews online can be devastating and even fatal.

There are many ways to respond to negative reviews. These strategies can help you build a stronger relationship with your customers and improve your online reputation.

This article will explain:

• How to respond to reviews

• What should you do to remove negative reviews

• Reacting to negative comments: Here are some tips

• Formats to respond to negative comments

• Reacting positively to compliments: Tips

It is tempting to ignore responding to negative reviews. These strategies will allow you to manage both positive and negative reviews and keep your online reputation in check.

React to your Reviews

Where do you start when you are looking for a restaurant or a service provider? The best place to start is online.

The average customer today is connected online. Customers search online for businesses, connect with them, and communicate with them via a variety of channels and platforms. 86% of consumers say they read reviews about local businesses.

Businesses should actively monitor and respond to reviews online as there are so many people who check them out. Your responses can be a strategic (and even free!) marketing tactic. Marketing tactic to communicate to customers how you operate, what your values are, and the level you can offer them from your business.

Your reviews must be responded to.

What is the best time to remove a negative review?

Although it is a good rule of thumb to respond to reviews, there are some situations where it might be better to ignore a negative review.

These are some common scenarios where negative reviews could violate a platform’s rating policy. It is acceptable not to respond, and instead flag for removal.

1. A conflict of interest

Google, Yelp, and other platforms may remove reviews if they believe that the review was written by someone else, instead of a consumer. This policy applies to reviews written by dissatisfied former employees.

You should avoid reviewing your business, as it falls under the same conflict of interest category.

2. Fake or inaccurate reviews

Reviews that are false, inaccurate, or unrelated will be removed by platforms. If you believe that a review is false or inaccurate, follow the instructions provided by the platform to remove it.

3. Inappropriate Content

A review that contains offensive or derogatory content can be removed from the site or flagged.

Abusive content could include personal attacks, slanderous allegations, inappropriate language, or threats. Do not respond to abusive content found in your reviews.

Review content can be flagged and removed, in addition to the above.

7 Tips for Responding to Negative Reviews

Resolving dissatisfied customers can prevent you from losing repeat customers or a customer referral.

A quality response to negative reviews will communicate to potential customers the commitment, care, and dedication that your business shows to each customer experience. These reviews may be the reason a potential customer chooses your business when browsing online.

These seven strategies will help you respond thoughtfully to negative reviews. They will also show consumers that your company is committed to solving any customer problems.

1. Recognize the issue and offer an apology

Resolving customer problems is the first and most important step in dealing with negative reviews.

Make sure you identify the problem to the customer so they can understand what happened. Follow up with an honest, sincere apology for the customer’s experience.

2. Show empathy to your customers

Online reviews can be improved by showing empathy. If you show your customers that you care about them, they will be more open to working with you.

Before you create a response or solution, take a moment to imagine yourself in the shoes and thoughts of your customer. You’ll be better equipped to communicate with them and offer more customized solutions.

3. Avoid confrontation

It’s difficult to ignore negative comments about your business from online users. Negative reviews can damage your business’s reputation and make it difficult for you to continue your business.

Be sure to take a step back before responding. You can take a deep breath, and then let go of the emotion. Your responses to reviews can be influenced by your emotions.

It is possible to be more objective and empathetic by taking a short break before you respond.

4. For offline support, please share your contact information

Sometimes you might want to have a conversation offline with customers, away from social networking and other review platforms. While we don’t recommend being confrontational with customers, it is best to keep the conversation private if things get worse.

Instead of ending the interaction with a comment, you give control to the commenter and provide another way for them to express their concerns. If you ask a consumer to join your offline conversation, make sure to include a phone number or email address so they can reach you.

This information is more important than asking consumers to call you or to reach out to you.

5. Resolve the Problem

You can take steps to improve the customer experience offline. If you don’t have any follow-up actions offline, then make an effort to improve the situation on the review platform.       

After acknowledging the problem and offering an apology, make an offer to the customer that will win them back their trust. Offering a positive response can improve the customer’s perception of your company. This tactic can also show your commitment to solving customer problems and your desire to provide top-notch customer service in the future.

Never make an offer that could be interpreted as bribery to get a positive review. Before you make an offer to a customer, be strategic in what you offer.

6. Show your gratitude

No matter if the customer is disgruntled or updated on their negative review, you should respond with gratitude.

Each review is an opportunity to learn or improve your business. We thank each customer for allowing us to improve. You may not have found an area for improvement if you didn’t ask them.

This genuine, professional approach makes customers feel valued and creates strong feelings for potential or future customers.

7. Get a Status Update to Refresh Your Response

You can update your response by adding a status if you are making progress on a customer’s problem. In your reply, highlight the status of the complaint. This is an easy and effective way to highlight your customer service efforts to other users browsing the platform.

Your future customers will see how hard you work to solve customer problems and that your company won’t ignore any complaints.

Bold text or other special characters such as an asterisk are great ways to communicate the status and urgency of a complaint.

Template to Respond to Negative Reviews

You should include a few key elements in every negative review response. You can also customize your responses using the tips above.

This template will give you an idea of how to approach a negative review.

You’ll impress both potential customers and existing clients by implementing the above tips.

These are the foundations of a high-quality negative review:

• Address the customer by his/her name

• You should thank them for taking the trouble to bring this issue to your attention.

• Empathic empathy allows you to acknowledge the customer’s problem.

• Information for further support

• We offer a solution

• Personalizing with a salutation

Even if the above steps have been followed, a customer may not update their review. You should update the status of the review to reflect the “attempted resolution” and “resolution” as well as the following:

• The status of the resolution

• This is a description of the steps taken toward resolution

• All customer service efforts are admirable

• Addressed by the first name of the customer in question

• A personal salutation

These tips will help you show that you are still committed to solving the problem.

We have now established a basic format for responding negatively to reviews. Let’s move on to the tactics to respond positively to reviews.

Three Tips to Respond to Positive Reviews

Even if the customer doesn’t report an issue in a review it is still important to take time to thank them for their experience with your company. Positive reviews can be a fun way for customers to interact with you, and it can also be a great incentive to get more of them to leave positive reviews.

Customers and people love positive attention. It is easy to convert satisfied customers into advocates by rewarding them for leaving great reviews online.

1. Thank You to Your Fans

Online reviews are important in today’s digital age, as we have already mentioned. Positive reviews can make a big difference in your business.

Make sure to show appreciation for your customers.

2. Highlight another perk

You don’t have to give thanks for the positive customer experience. Use it as an opportunity to showcase other benefits of your business.

This tactic is great for keeping customers coming back and communicating to potential consumers the many benefits of your business.

3. Promote Your Referral Program

Referrals from positive reviewers are a great way to get referred.

Ask positive reviewers to refer others or give access to your referral program to them in your positive review.

Bottom line: Reviews matter

Customer reviews, whether positive or negative, can make an impact online. It’s vital to establish a standard operating procedure for reviewing customer reviews. With so many people relying on reviews to help them make informed decisions, it is important to ensure that they are included in your business’s review process.

Your online reputation can be enhanced by responding quickly to customer concerns and expressing appreciation to your fans. This can help you to get more business.