April 26th, 2016

Research shows that many customers rely on online reviews in their decision-making process. 67 percent of users are influenced by online reviews when making a purchase (Moz). When you think about it, this startling fact can really affect a businesses' bottom line. If businesses ignore their online reputation, they may not only even realize that there are issues within their business operation, but that they are losing a substantial amount of revenue from potential customers who get scared away by negative reviews. Thankfully, SocialOwl has reputation monitoring built right into the platform's business portal. :) You and the businesses that you work with can easily keep tabs on reviews from Yelp, Google, Facebook, and Foursquare all in one place. Additionally, users can set-up email alerts so that they can be alerted each day any time any new reviews come in. But enough about us, let's talk about how to actually respond to these reviews.

Responding to reviews is a great way to learn from and build goodwill with vocal customers. However, contacting reviewers should be approached with care; internet messaging is a blunt tool and sometimes good intentions come across badly. 

First things first -- Read the review carefully

This may seem obvious, but let's admit it, few of us read digital content word-for-word. Mostly, we skim copy for content we are looking for. If you skim through a negative review, you may miss a lot of valuable information that could really help you in responding such as:

• The date of the incident
• The writers tone -- were they being serious, comical, etc
• Names and/or descriptions of witnesses or employees
• Finer details of the incident that spurred them to write the review in the first place.

If you need to defend your position or refute the claims made by the reviewer, these key pieces of information can help. By picking up and highlighting your understanding of the accusations within the review, then you will come off as informed, aware, thoughtful and engaged. This will all help you to hopefully win over the reviewer and/or readers of this particular review. So, again, read carefully. Take notes if you need to. Remember that in the age of the internet, things don't just disappear.

Do your research

If need be, find out what you need to know from anyone and everyone who may have been involved with the reviewer's transaction. Get their take so that you have a full understanding of the situation. This way, when you go back to respond to the reviewer, you'll have a better explanation and or way to discuss the causes of the complaint.

Start with "I'm Sorry," continue with...

Apologies go a long way, but you don't want to apologize for something that you didn't do, right? Regardless of who's at fault, offering an apology will create a sense of goodwill and sympathy. If you are at fault, be upfront: "I'm sorry we dropped the ball..." If you're not, consider phrasing your apology something to effect of: "I'm sorry that you feel that way..." Either way, you're able to be sympathetic to the reviewers concerns and begin to build that goodwill that you want out of review responses.

Explain the issue and your solution

Here is where all that research and diligence pays off! Explain what happened that spurred the review in the first place so that the readers (remember it's not just the reviewer who will be reading this) see that you have a firm grasp on exactly what happened. Then offer a specific solution so that you can ensure the readers that it is not something that will happen again. This will show that you take customer concerns seriously, you take the business seriously, and you are committed to the best possible customer experience each and everytime. Furthermore, it will continue to build upon the goodwill you created with the apology.

The cherry on top

After you've promised to make it right, invite the customer back to show them. A gentle, warm invitation back may suffice for those less concerning reviews. For those who had bigger issues, consider offering an incentive to come back such as a gift certificate. This will be the final component to your effort to build that goodwill in this public forum.

Keep these three things in mind as you're crafting a message to your customer:

• Reviewers are paying customers
• Reviewers are human beings with (sometimes unpredictable) feelings and sensitivities
• Reviewers are vocal and opinionated (otherwise they would not be writing reviews!)

Keep tabs on online reviews on yelp and elsewhere. Remember that those very reviews could be hurting the bottom line of a business. As such, great care should be taken in responding to reviews. The end goal is to create that sense of good will so that the reviewer and all readers come away feeling good about the business.