If you wished someone good morning and they ignored you, you would be offended. Why?
For one, it’s rude. And in a way, their silence says a lot.
By not returning your greeting, that person is saying that they don’t care about you.
The same is true for online communication. We may have grown comfortable with an email going unresponded for a few days, but if that email remains unresponded for an entire week, someone’s feelings are going to get hurt.
This logic also applies to online reviews. Ignoring your reviews won’t be written off as laziness, it will make a poor impression on both your current clientele and potential customers. In fact, 71% of people who read online reviews say they are more likely to patronize a business that responds. Responding could be the competitive advantage you need to win more customers.
Let’s get a bit more detailed and discuss the messages you might be sending by not responding to your online reviews.
If you’re doing things right, most of your online reviews will be thank yous from happy customers. They may mention details about the facilities, the names of the employees they worked with, and the products they purchased.
Overall, reviewers provide the information that influences 97% of consumers’ buying decisions, quite literally bringing you more business.
How not responding can be perceived: not responding to positive feedback can be perceived as impolite and suggests that you don’t value your customers. Thank them for their support, acknowledge what they’ve written, and encourage them to visit your store again.
A smaller portion of your reviews will be critical feedback (~12% is the benchmark).
To a certain extent, this is a normal and expected aspect of online reputation management. Not responding, however, can make a negative situation worse. If an upset customer airs their grievance and you don’t answer, you are telling them that you have no interest in correcting your mistake.
More broadly, you are telling potential customers that you don’t care whether you provide a good experience or a bad one.
How we recommend handling negative reviews: we recommend you offer an immediate apology along with a solution to make things right - a proactive next step is key. Provide contact information, or better yet, reach out to the customer offline so that you can ensure all of their concerns are addressed.
Negative online reviews are an opportunity to earn back a customer’s trust, but they also provide insight into how you can improve for all of your guests.
When someone takes the time to share helpful feedback and you don’t respond, you’re sending a message that your business doesn’t want to grow.
Instead, show your appreciation. Explain that you will take what they’ve written into consideration moving forward and offer contact information in case they want to discuss anything else. Better yet, follow through on your promise and use your customers’ suggestions to improve your business.
If you’ve been overlooking your online reviews, it’s time to take action.
Remember: no response is a response.
Hey, Jane here. Thanks for reading. Next, I recommend Widewail's Review Response Examples guide. The response team and I have responded to over 1 million reviews since Widewail's beginning. In that time we've developed, practiced, and perfected the techniques explained in this guide. Learn review response from real-world examples, covering how you can handle 56 unique response scenarios. Download the Guide 👇