Today, reviews have become an important part of every customers’ journey, and they influence purchase decisions to a great extent.
When you are in a store, you can experience a brand first hand. The shopping experience is much easier because you have the help of the shop assistants. But when you are online, you have no way of experiencing a product or getting that help from a shop assistant.
In such cases, reviews are the closest guidance customers are going to get, and since it’s left by other customers, they are unbiased. They have a direct influence on whether someone picks you or your competitors and have the ability to make or break a sale.
Wait! It’s not just the reviews that matter. How you respond to your reviews plays an even more significant role in influencing customer decisions.
Potential customers give equal importance to how a company treats an online review – whether they acknowledge it or respond to it, do they heed customer feedback? All these play an essential role in influencing a customer’s purchase decision!
In this read, we’ll be looking at how you should be responding to customers’ reviews, and we’ve included a couple of review response templates for you – replies for both positive reviews and negative reviews!
Responding to online reviews like a PRO will make your business look good and skyrocket your sales figures and trust factor!
That said, let’s get started, shall we? We’ll quickly cover the basics and then move on to the main part of the read.
Why Is It Important to Respond to Reviews?
The success of your online reputation heavily relies on how you manage your reviews.
Granted, many review platforms don’t offer brands the option to respond to reviews, but popular platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp do.
If a potential customer comes across unanswered reviews, especially negative reviews, it will dampen their perception of your brand. They have no way of knowing whether any action was taken to rectify the issue or if the customer who left the review received any acknowledgment.
The cost of not responding to reviews is that you might lose the customer you dedicatedly worked to gain, including potential ones.
Nurturing your existing customers to establish a relationship is more profitable as attracting a new customer can cost five times more than retaining existing customers.
Now that you know why you should be responding to online reviews, let’s look at how you should respond to them before we get to the review response templates part!
How to Respond to Customer Reviews Online?
Let’s get straight to the point!
1. Develop a plan that includes multiple scenarios
Create a list of brand-approved responses for various scenarios so your agents can be prepared and respond to customers’ reviews efficiently.
Pro Tip: Check what reviews your competitors are getting, create a list of FAQs and keep the answers ready.
However, delivering a cohesive and consistent brand experience ensures that the responses align with your other customer service processes.
2. Always acknowledge customer reviews
Regardless of the sentiment, always thank customers for putting in the effort to share their experience.
It’s always important to reference details about their experience mentioned in the customer’s review. For example, if they have specifically mentioned an employee they appreciated, include that person’s name in your response.
3. Offer an invitation to discuss their review further
If you receive a poor review, ask the customer to contact you through a customer service channel. This is especially helpful for negative reviews that are a little hazy. It shows the customer that you are interested in learning about their experience and working to improve it.
4. Look into adopting a platform to manage reviews
Review management is a pretty complex process, especially if you have multiple locations or your business is growing rapidly. A review management software could relieve the stress of operational processes and help you focus on what’s important. Reducing the workload is just one of many benefits of adopting review management software.
A review management platform automates the majority of the grunt work, like routing, tagging, and much more. Most review management platforms also offer automated responses to reviews. SimpliReviews is a one-stop shop with a centralized inbox for all your reviews from various sources.
You can learn more about SimplyReviews review management software here!
There! With that, we’ve covered the basics! Let’s look at the review response templates now.
15 Review Response Templates For You to Use
First, we’ll look at a couple of responses for 5-star reviews followed by positive reviews and negative reviews at the end.
5-Star Review Responses
1. The Glowing Review
This is the type of review every business wants from all of their customers – it’s positive, insightful, and has some helpful feedback. You might think this review doesn’t warrant a response but since the customer has claimed to be a fan, responding to the review is the first step in solidifying an everlasting relationship with the customer.
5-Star Review Response Template
Thank you <Name> for sharing your experience with us! We are super happy to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us. We look forward to welcoming you back soon!
2. The Superfan Review
Your brand champions enjoy every aspect of your company and are eager to share their appreciation with the rest of the world. These types of reviews make you happy, so take a moment to be polite back!
5-Star Review Response Template
Hello [Name],
We’re glad to hear about your good experience with us, and we’re delighted that you’ve recommended our [add product/service]. Thank you for making an effort to share your thoughts and experiences. We hope to see you again sometime soon!
3. The Review That Puts a Smile On Your Face
Reviews like these just hit home and add a smile to your face. It is always great to see customers express your brand or store’s impact on them.
5-Star Review Response Template
Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. We’re glad to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us and we hope to see you again soon!
4. The Objective Review
This is a perfect example of a review that can make a massive difference for your brand; it’s not overly enthusiastic and more to the point. It’s a straightforward review that hits all the important points like customer experience and quality of service.
5-Star Review Response Template
Thank you [Name] for sharing your experience with us – we greatly appreciate it! We strive to create great experiences for our customers, and your feedback makes it worth it. We look forward to welcoming you in the future!
Positive Review Responses
5. The Polite But Honest Review
Of course, it’s impossible for customers to like every single dish you offer. If a customer comes across this review, they will probably be swayed to follow the recommendations. However, you could also take the initiative to respond and request the customer to visit again to try the dessert they didn’t particularly like.
Positive Review Response Template
Hi <name>,
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We are glad to hear that you had a great time and enjoyed our [add product]. We are sorry to hear that you didn’t particularly like the [insert specific product name], please do revisit us and give it another try.
6. The Sweet and Short Review
This is one of the nicer reviews to get – it’s not overly enthusiastic, nor is it negative. It’s a simple and honest review with a relatively neutral tone. This is another type of feedback every business wishes to receive! It’s so nice and easy to respond.
Positive Review Response Template
Thank you [Name] for taking the time to provide us with your review. We’re delighted to hear that we fulfilled your expectations, we hope to welcome you back soon!
7. The Vague Review
The best way to approach a review like the one above is to simply ask the customer for more feedback – ask them what you could improve on specifically. It’s not a bad review, but it’s also not a good idea to leave a review like this unanswered. You can easily change the narrative of this review to improve your brand image with a simple response.
Positive Review Response Template
Thank you [Name] for taking the time to share your feedback with us, we apologize our service did not meet your expectations. Please do contact us [insert contact information] to learn more about your experience and how we can improve our service.
Negative Review Responses
8. The ‘Professional’ Review
Reviews like this will usually be balanced to bring up both the pros and cons because it comes from an influencer or someone whose opinion is respected by peers. It necessitates a well-crafted positive answer that addresses the specific points.
Negative Review Response Template
Hi [ Name],
We are happy to hear that you enjoyed [experience detail]. We are grateful for your detailed feedback.
We appreciate your feedback and for drawing our attention to where we can do better. Your review is really valuable in identifying new ways to enhance our service further, and your suggestions are being addressed.
We look forward to seeing you again soon!
9. The Brutal Review
A review like the one above can be tough to read and may feel harsh. However, the customer is clear about what in particular dampened their experience. Before responding, ensure you select the suitable template and maintain an empathetic tone. In these cases, it’s also best to ask if they need any additional support. Here’s a suitable review response template for such types of reviews.
Negative Review Response Template
Hello [Name],
We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with feedback. We apologize that your experience did not meet your expectations on this particular occasion.
Your input has been shared with the team so that we can address these issues internally and improve our service. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance by contacting us at [insert contact information].
10. The Harsh 1 Star Review
A review like this can be challenging to digest, but the best way to move forward is by responding and not reacting. So before responding, take a minute and then use the template to draft a calm and empathetic response.
Negative Review Response Template
Thank you [Name] for taking the time to share your experience with us. We’re sorry to hear that your experience hasn’t met your expectations on this occasion.
We have shared your feedback with the team to take the steps needed to improve. Please do reach out to [add contact info] if you need further assistance.
11. The One With No Review just A Rating
Many businesses would not make an effort to respond to reviews like the one above. Often, these reviews need to be from an actual customer of yours. However, since it’s still a low rating, responding to the customer just to understand what happened can make a difference.
Negative Review Response Template
Thank you for rating us. We apologize that our service did not meet your expectations. Please do contact us at [insert contact information] to help us understand your experience better and how we can improve.
12. The Ones Where You Need More Information
The reviews are usually written when the customer’s experience with your brand is still fresh, so it may not always contain the information you need. The best way to move forward would be to ask the customer to reach out to you on a customer service channel to understand their experience further.
Negative Review Response Template
Hi [Name],
We are sorry to hear about your experience; this is not the level of service we strive to provide. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our service. We would like to understand your experience better. Please do contact us at [insert contact information] so we can address the issue.
Thank you for your feedback; we hope to hear from you soon!
13. The Red Flag Review
A review like this can be detrimental; it needs immediate action and escalation. Even though the customer has stated that they will not revisit the store, your response and how you take the case forward can make a huge difference.
Negative Review Response Template
Hi [Name],
We are extremely sorry to hear about your experience, this is unacceptable, and we will be looking into this further. We have ensured that your review has been escalated to our team and will be looked into soon. We aim to give our customers the best experience, please do contact us [insert contact information] so we can gather more information and fix the situation.
14. The Painful Review
A review like the one above is disappointing to read, it’s sad to see a customer coming with high expectations only to be disappointed. The best way to respond is to simply apologize and let the customer know that you have taken their feedback into consideration.
Negative Review Response Template
Hi [Name],
Thank you for sharing your feedback; we apologize that your experience did not match your expectations. We are sorry that you did not enjoy the [product name], we have shared your feedback with our team to address the issue.
15. The Slightly Unfair Review
The customer has highlighted a few things that should be addressed; however, the review’s tone is a bit harsh. The important thing to remember is to keep your cool and respond to the review politely and professionally. Simply apologize and ask the customer if you could be of any further assistance.
Negative Review Response Template
Hi [Name],
Thank you for sharing your feedback, we apologize for the experience you have had with us. We strive to provide the best service and experience to our customers. Please do reach out to us [insert contact information] if you have any concerns.
Conclusion
A knowledge base including review response templates for positive and negative reviews is valuable for effective online reputation management. Predefined responses make the entire process less intimidating.
It improves your ability to write personalized, professional responses that express your appreciation for the feedback—whatever it may be.
Since you’re reading this, here are a couple of other blogs we thought you’d be finding useful,
How to Create an Online Review Management Strategy for Your Business5 Reasons Why You Need A Review Management Platform8 Proven Ways to Get More Reviews for Your Business
Now that you know how to respond to customer reviews and have a couple of review response templates, you start responding to all those online reviews you’ve missed!
Start increasing your brand reputation and sales figures on the go!