Insights | How to Guide:
Responding to reviews PT2
Following on from our Top tips on Responding to customer reviews, we provide some guidelines and steps to consider implementing as part of your own review management process.
With this guide, you will discover:
- Templates to follow that help you and your team craft an effective reply, to both positive and negative reviews,
- Easy steps to streamline your internal processes.
Template: Responding to a positive review
Make the most of positive reviews by putting together a personal response that will not only ensure your current customers keep returning, but it will also attract new ones too. Responding to online reviews doesn’t need to be time-consuming, you can create a brief, friendly, and individual response by following these simple steps
“We look forward to welcoming you back again soon!”
Template: Responding to a Negative Review
Whilst it’s much easier to respond to a positive review than a negative, but in order of priority, it’s essential you tackle these first; quickly and professionally. Whilst emotions can be quite high during this point, it’s most important to respond sincerely and offer a solution while remaining professional and courteous. Never forget to think how your response is perceived by passing traffic — namely your potential customers.
“That must have been extremely frustrating.”
What to do if things turn ugly
Despite your best efforts, it can happen that a negative reviewer can’t be placated, and where any interaction may fuel further negativity. You need to assess the incident in order to ascertain whether it’s productive to respond or refrain from making a comment. In many cases, you can escalate the incident appropriately and offer a resolution.
However, there are some cases when you need to stay level-headed and refrain from responding.
Check list: Initial assessment
We’ve put together the following questions and comments to help you come to the right conclusion for you.
- Is there any truth in the review or comment?
- Is it related to a specific issue or a general complaint?
- Do you have, or can you find, a helpful answer?
- Can you correct or clarify a misconception?
- Is it generating traction from other consumers who see the post?
Check List: When to respond
As a general rule, it’s advisable to only respond to a negative review if you can offer the following:
- Express empathy
- Apologise for their frustration
- Provide a solution or fix
- Gently clarify a misconception
- Assure them you care and are escalating their issue Humanise yourself and the company
- Divert further negative comments by inviting the reviewer to take the topic offline
Check List: When to refrain
You need to spot the occasions when replying will cause you more problems than benefits:
- The attacks are simply for the sake of it, and you cannot offer clarity, a solution, or an apology. In this case you could always use a simple boilerplate to express your regrets and move on
- A thread has already gone off the rails and posting would be counterproductive or impact your brand adversely
- You have already offered clarity, a solution, or an apology and the customer is not showing any signs of positive engagement
- The review is genuinely threatening or violates the platform terms of service. In this case you may wish to report it or even contact the authorities
- You find yourself feeling hot headed and wanting to be defensive or score points. Remember, the world is watching
Review
The confrontation of any kind is not a pleasant experience, so it’s important to put it to good use and learn from the incident. Monitor trends and address patterns, so you can avoid future problems and share the findings with your team.
How can White Pages Connect help?
Think of White Pages Connect Reviews as a key part of your review management team. The platform provides you with everything you need to implement an effective review strategy, freeing up valuable time and resources to engage with your customers.
Effective Monitoring
Monitor and reply to all your customer reviews and comments from one inbox for all of your locations across many platforms, including Google, Facebook, Foursquare, and more.
Timely Responses
Streamline Internal Processes
Consider these 10 factors when creating a plan to streamline your processes
- Gather the relevant stakeholders who will form part of your review management team.
- Monitor all places online where local reviews can be left, such as Google, Facebook, Foursquare and Yelp, as well as local directories.
- Create and distribute verbal identity guidelines to ensure the tone of voice is consistent and your brand is positively represented.
- Assemble a team to write and publish the responses, using workflows if necessary, to edit and approve replies across locations.
- Assign a team member who will be responsible for tracking and monitoring the timeliness of your responses.
- Create a simple mission statement to guide the efforts and ensure there’s
no confusion. This could be something like; “We want to ensure problems are solved within two days, we thank everyone for positive reviews, and we mention our company values in every response.” - Establish clear rules for implementing solutions, including how to add value and when to escalate.
- Create a log of issues raised in reviews, and track changes and patterns.
- Analyse results on a monthly basis to ensure you’re meeting your objectives and adapt processes accordingly.
- Generate and distribute reports across the business to ensure stakeholders are coming along for the journey.
Need help managing your customer reviews?
Contact us today to find out more