Jane, Responder and first employee at Widewail, has responded to over 50,000 reviews on behalf of our customers. Here are 20 of her favorite lessons and tactics you can implement today.
Originally Published on October 20th, 2020 and updated on May 28th, 2024.
Hey all, this is Jane.
In the two years I spent as a member of the Widewail review response team, I responded to over 50,000 online reviews.
Now, after almost 6 years as a company, we've responded to over 1,000,000.
As you can imagine, our team has learned a lot from this experience. We have seen and answered every type of review out there–from happy customers to angry customers and customers somewhere in between.
I spent 4,000 hours at my desk tuning and fine-tuning my responses. I shared these online reputation management insights with my team, and now, I’m going to share them with you.
Here are my 20 review response lessons you can apply to your business’s online reviews today.
Make them feel like part of the family
You probably already know this, but to confirm I’ve witnessed it firsthand. Customers love to feel special, and thanking them for their review is one of the simplest ways to accomplish this. I can’t count how many times someone has replied back to our response with additional comments, more gratitude, and, of course, emojis. It means a lot to customers to hear back from the business they love.
When it comes to negative experiences, sometimes all people need is for their complaints to be acknowledged. We’ve witnessed people upgrade their star rating as a direct result of our response. In a lot of cases, a 1-star review turns into a 5-star. Even for customers who are looking for more than an apology, answering their review is an important first step to earning back their business.
A 5-star rating just isn't realistic
When it comes to running a business, negative reviews are a part of the deal. While we’ll talk more about how negative reviews affect your business in the following sections, we’ll start with this truth: You can’t expect people to trust your business if it has never been contested.
Customers would much rather see you handle negative interactions professionally than not at all. By accepting negative feedback and dealing with it appropriately, you demonstrate to your customers that their input matters, which builds trust.
Imagine you’re trying to find a coffee shop to work in. The first one you come across online has a 5.0-star rating and 10 reviews–none of which have been responded to.
The second one has a 4.5-star rating and 100 reviews–all featuring personalized responses. The first few reviews mention good coffee, ample table space and a productive work environment. A recent negative review has a response from the owner, offering to make things right for the customer.
Yes, Coffee Shop 2 technically has a lower star rating, but it has also garnered realistic customer feedback. It has been tested, and while not always perfect, the responses from the business demonstrate credibility, authenticity and a willingness to work with customers.
Your customers are world-class bot detectors
People know when they’re talking to a robot, and they also know if the person responding doesn’t care.
That’s why at Widewail we personalize all of our responses. Using the reviewer’s name, repeating details they included in their post, and mentioning the staff they worked with are all ways to demonstrate that we actually read their review. Treating each review with the same undivided attention takes more effort, but it leaves a great impression.
Give your customers some guidelines
Reviews hold a lot of power for your business, so why not make them as memorable and influential as possible?
While there’s only so much control you have over what your customers are saying about you, there are multiple steps you can take to encourage the right feedback for your business. Ideally, your reviews will showcase your business’s core values and strengths.
When asking your customers for a review, either via SMS or in person, provide a list of questions to help get the ball rolling. Leaving a review doesn’t feel natural to everyone; by prompting customers with targeted questions, you eliminate some of the pressure and encourage them to share their experiences.
Even asking something as simple as “What was the purpose of your visit?” can turn a good review into a great one.
Contrary, negatives can be good for business
Nothing looks worse than a Google Business Profile list of reviews where every 5-star is responded to and every 1-star is ignored. Potential shoppers will look at the disparity and assume that the business doesn’t care about customers who need support. This is the last message you want to send to the people you are trying to impress.
We all know that everyone makes mistakes, and owning up to these mistakes or at least recognizing a customer’s frustration is much more commendable than looking the other way. Show your prospects that even if they have a poor experience they can still expect to be treated well. Plus, we have some good news about negatives in point number four.
The key is to respond quickly
When someone who originally posted a one-star review updates their review and increases the rating after they receive a response we call it a “Widewail Save.”
This happens more than you might think.
Again, customers want to be heard, and the one-two punch of answering their review and following up by phone can make a world of difference. Stepping up to assist unhappy customers could mean a higher rating on Google and their future business.
To execute on this a timely response is key. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. You’re pissed off. Fuming. Appalled. And you get a response three weeks later. You’ve moved on.
Respond quickly for the best opportunity to engage with a customer that is willing to work it out.
Don’t air your dirty laundry in public
While important to provide a substantive response online, the GBP review section is not where problems should be solved. Offer to reach out to the customer or give them contact information so they can get in touch. Once you’re out of the view of the public, you will be able to discuss the situation in further detail and take real steps to address it. This will limit the amount of unnecessary and potentially unflattering information published on your review sites.
Voicemail will not make the situation better
A follow-up to number five.
If you want to help a customer, make sure that they can actually contact you. This means providing the best number, clearing your voicemailbox, and reaching out when you say you will.
People who are already frustrated quickly become irate when they feel they are being lied to, and nothing is more disappointing than being told to expect a call that never comes.
Be proactive
Almost every negative review should be responded to publicly, but in some cases, it’s best to reach the customer directly first. This is especially true when the customer has had issues getting in touch with your business previously. Promising to get in touch is one thing, but speaking with them offline and then following up online with information about your conversation is much more effective. For those reading reviews, these responses are especially impressive and prove that your business cares about customer satisfaction.
Monitor your reviews for patterns
Your reviews contain a wealth of information regarding your business practices and the customer experience offered by your team. By investing in the right reputation management tools to monitor your reviews at scale, you can identify review trends and areas for improvement down the line.
A review aggregation tool is a great way to start the review monitoring process. Reputation management services like Widewail let you manage all of your business reviews at once, from a centralized dashboard. Get more done, save time and ensure no review goes unanswered.
Further, with Widewail, you can use AI reporting features to stay updated and in touch with what exactly your customers are saying. Track topics and view sentiment at each stage of the customer journey to identify common issues, highlight which team members are over/underperforming and determine what strategies are working well.
Take the high road
In extreme cases, we recommend that our clients don’t answer the review at all. You might think that this goes against our general philosophy and previous tips, but if responding to a review will lead to an online fight, additional negative reviews, or social media slamming, we know that the customer will benefit from not doing so. These situations come up rarely, and as long as other reviews are responded to in a timely manner, they won’t make a bad impression.
Be alert, stay patient
Spam and fake reviews are an annoying part of the review management process, but they are inevitable. While it’s frustrating when illegitimate reviews take up valuable space at the top of your review list, if you're diligent in monitoring your reviews, they're likely just temporary.
Rather than responding to spam reviews right away, flag/report them. Often, review sites interpret a response as a way of legitimizing spam, which can even hinder your chances of having it removed.
While review guidelines differ from site to site, the best practice for dealing with spam is to report the review and wait 3 business days. If, by then, the review hasn’t been removed, we suggest responding. Check out our blog to learn more about handling a spam event.
Managed services help distance you emotionally
Sometimes the customer is right. Sometimes they’re not.
Regardless, it’s imperative to remain composed and understanding in your response. A number of our customers appreciate the opportunity to express their frustration about the situation to us, after which we assist them to craft a more neutral response.
Remember: responding to negative reviews is only partly about the customer you’re engaging with, it’s also about potential customers reading your response.
Would you go to a business where the General Manager blows up at a customer online?
Probably not.
Even if their argument is logical, a rude response is unprofessional, unappealing, and will live online for prospects to read forever.
It’s important to understand where your customer’s coming from.
We often see reviews that are nonsensical or too vague to provide a direct solution to. While it may seem easier to proceed with a canned or templated response, it’s always better to take the time to ask for clarification–especially for negative reviews.
A vague response to a vague review doesn’t feel very personalized and suggests to customers and prospects that you're just going through the motions, rather than actually seeking to resolve any issues raised.
While the end goal is to move the conversation offline, it’s okay to acknowledge the fact that you might need more details to help a customer. Ask for more information or direct a customer to reach out to discuss a topic with you directly. Being proactive demonstrates a willingness to help and a dedication to the customer experience an otherwise vague response would not.
Some great ways to politely ask a customer for more detail include:
“We can’t wait to see you back for your next appointment”
While writing a response, it might be appropriate to mention upcoming deals or new products if they are relevant to the review. For example, let’s say a poster mentions how much they loved their haircut. It makes sense to share that all haircuts will be 10% off the following month.
Keep in mind that this customer did you a favor by writing a review. You don’t want to come off too strong or like an over-eager salesperson. Still, if you believe they might be interested in an offering from your business, don’t hesitate to pass along the details.
Speed wins
Responding two weeks after a customer posts a negative review might be too late. It’s not uncommon for people to write back saying thanks for the response, but they’ve purchased elsewhere. If they initially had a problem that could be solved, after a couple weeks they usually will no longer be interested in working towards a solution.
In more serious scenarios, customers are offended that they’ve been ignored for so long and add more negative feedback to their review. Just as you don’t want to leave customers waiting in your brick-and-mortar, it’s vital to respond to reviews in a timely manner.
Never let quality social proof go to waste
Every so often, a review makes me emotional.
You can really tell when a customer is overjoyed with their purchase, or if they received assistance during a particularly challenging situation. This is the type of messaging that makes for great advertisements.
Potential shoppers want to hear from real customers; they want authenticity. Share your positive reviews in social media posts, on your website, and even through your paid marketing.
Details, details, details
A slip of the finger could cost you a customer. This might sound petty, but certain people get really offended if their name is incorrect, plus your business will look a bit silly misspelling something that is written out on the same screen.
The simple truth is that spelling, grammar, and punctuation should be a concern for all online marketing. Taking the time to proofread your responses could mean the difference between sounding like a professional or an amateur, and between earning a customer and losing one.
Take advantage of the opportunity
Every time you respond to a review, your business is speaking directly with a customer - and everyone can read the conversation. This is both an opportunity and a responsibility. You have an opportunity to impress the people who are considering your business. You have a responsibility to provide the same level of service online that you would expect for customers in your store.
All of this is to say that you need to take review responses seriously. Don’t dash them off during your lunch hour. Devote actual work time to engaging with your customers online. If you are too busy to give your reviews the attention they need, consider partnering with a managed service like Widewail so that you can feel confident that your business is representing itself well online.
But ask via text
We have an entire guide dedicated to increasing review volume and it all comes down to this: you have to start requesting reviews from your customers.
I can tell you which of our clients ask for reviews and which don’t. It makes all the difference. Not just in volume, but in rating as well.
Learn more about generating reviews via SMS and what it can do for your business.
4,000 hours later…
I’ve put in enough time to say there is a right way to respond. Your customers and your bottom line will thank you for it.
My boss Matt has always stressed from the beginning we need to be efficient but more importantly our responses need to be human. That’s how we set ourselves apart.
Our marketing manager, Jake, digs into this more.
To wrap it all up - be human, be prompt, debate in private, check your work, and always ask for more.
Final note - thanks for reading. Next, I recommend Widewail's review response examples guide. The response team and I have responded to 1,00,000+ reviews since Widewail's beginning. In that time we've developed, practiced and perfected the techniques explained in this guide. Learn review response from 56 real-world examples, covering how you can handle different positive and negative scenarios, industry-specific tactics, and a cheat sheet of words and phrases to get you started. Download the Book Now 👇
Originally Published on October 20th, 2020 and updated on May 28th, 2024.
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