Could making your company shine be as easy as responding to customer reviews? In this article you will learn why simply replying to customers’ reviews is so important in making each customer feel valued, appreciated and ultimately validated. Continue reading to discover statistics, templates and facts that could help you today!
Does replying to your customers’ reviews really matter? The following statistics from the Management Library allows the data to speak for itself:
- 89% of consumers are ‘highly’ or ‘fairly’ likely to use a business that responds to all of its online reviews
- 98% of people read online reviews for local businesses
- 90% of customers read online reviews before visiting a business
- 49% more money is spent at businesses that reply to reviews
- 75% of businesses don’t respond to any of their reviews
Future clients are focusing on reviews and looking at other people’s experiences before they decide to commit to an experience. The data states that consumers are more likely to book with a business that has customer reviews and replies and shockingly 75% of businesses don’t reply to their patrons. Think about how much simply replying to customer reviews could make you stand out!
General Tips
- Address the customer by name. If you can see the customer’s name where they left the review, mention it in your reply. This makes the reply personalized and is a subtle way to show your customers you care.
- Thank them. It does not matter the nature of the review, if the customer took the time to write a review, thank them. It also makes your company appear professional.
- Reply in a conversational tone. Show off your company’s personality with your reply. Responding in this way makes your customer feel like they are talking to a real person instead of a faceless company.
- Respond to specific points mentioned in the review. If a guest mentioned certain things they liked, personalize the response with the specific points. This keeps the replies fresh and more sincere than having a pre-written thank you reply duplicated on many of the reviews.
- Keep it short. These replies do not have to be paragraphs, keep it short and simple, and easy to read.
- Sign your name at the end. This is another strategy that personalizes the experience. It shows the guest that you are taking time out of your day to reply and care about what they have to say.
Good Reviews
- Thank them. If the customer took time out of their day, it is a kind gesture to show your appreciation.
- Encourage them to return. If customers really loved your service there is a good chance they would like to come back, and even if it is a neutral review they might give your company a second chance.
- Personalize it. If they mentioned they liked a specific part of the tour mention it in your response “We are so glad you enjoyed ______”
- Examples:
- We are beyond grateful for your 5-star review. Thank you for sharing your rating and we hope to see you again soon!
- We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed ______. That is one of our favorite parts too!
- Thanks for sharing your experience.
Bad Reviews
- Stay Professional. It can be frustrating when you receive a bad review but it is important to not lash out. Use this as an opportunity to learn.
- Apologize when appropriate. If something happened and it truthfully was your company’s fault or not up to your standard, apologize. It might be a good idea to add how you plan to remedy the situation. If it was not your company’s fault, show compassion and empathy.
- Offer to talk it over. If you would like more information on the complaint, invite the customer to email or call directly so you can sort out the issue.
- Offer a solution. The customer might not understand certain policies or systems, if there is a solution offer it.
- Ask for elaborations. If you do not understand your customer’s complaint, ask them a few questions to understand their feedback.
- Examples:
- Something you cannot control:
- (Customer’s Name), I’m sorry to hear that you were frustrated by (situation). Unfortunately, we cannot change this policy, but we do try to make it clear with signs in our store and on our website so that it won’t be a surprise to our customers. We hope you’ll visit with us again. – (Your name)
- If it was a company mistake
- (Customer’s Name), thank you for bringing this to my attention. We have looked into it and you are completely right (explain situation/mention customer details). This is not how we operate our business and we would appreciate the chance to make it up to you. Please give me a call directly so that I may rectify this for you. – (Your name)
- If you need more information:
- Hi (Customer’s Name), I see you left a 1 star rating, but did not give any details about your experience with us. I would love to hear more about how we can serve you better. – (Your name)
- Something you cannot control:
Fake Reviews
- Try to flag the comment if you can. Depending on where the review is left it might be possible to flag it and remove the review.
- If it is not an option to remove the review, it needs to be addressed.
- Example:
- Hello (name of the reviewer), as a company, we take customer feedback very seriously and would like to address your frustrations and possibly help find a positive solution. At the moment, we are unable to locate any records of transactions or purchases you’ve made with us. For further assistance, please contact (email address/name of service rep) with your full name and email address so that we may move forward with a resolution. Thank you for your feedback. We hope to hear from you soon.
In order to have reviews you must first make sales. For more information on how TRYTN can help with this click here. You can also try:
Use TRYTN post-activity emails or texts to automate and increase reviews.
- Encourage customers to reach out directly to you with any complaints or concerns.
- Use TRYTN user-driven emails or SMS texts to be pro-active and message if something occurred with a customer such as horrible weather, later pick up, etc.
We hope that these examples and tips make it easier for you to engage and reply to your customers. Review responses are a powerful tool and can not only show appreciation and concern for current patrons but greatly increase your ability to attract potential guests. When you reply to reviews it highlights why guests should book with you and stay with you.
