This Is How to Respond to Google Reviews

This Is How to Respond to Google Reviews

Google is the most popular search engine in the world. With billions of searches a day, Google has become one of the top authorities on the Internet.

One of the most popular features on Google is reviewing. Customers, clients, and other consumers can leave reviews for all kinds of businesses on Google. The best part is that other consumers can see these reviews and try to make the best decisions for their consumption based on them.

But, many business owners are lost on how to respond to Google reviews. Responses are exceedingly important as customers value honesty and trustworthiness now more than ever.

To learn more about responding to Google reviews, keep reading. We’ll cover everything you need to know.

How to Respond to Google Reviews

Logistically, responding to Google reviews is very easy. You just need to follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to your Google My Business account
  2. Click the three horizontal bars that are on the top, left corner of the screen
  3. Click the “manage reviews” button
  4. Choose the review that you want to respond to and click “view and reply”

By following these steps, you’ll be able to leave a reply to the customer’s review.

If your company wants to keep up with every review (as you should), turn on Google My Business notifications. This will ensure that your business will receive a notification every time a customer leaves a review.

How to Respond to Positive Reviews

Positive reviews are the best kind of reviews, so we’re going to start with how you should respond to those. It may seem self-explanatory, but a simple “thank you” isn’t enough.

Following the following steps whenever you get a positive review:

  1. Respond as quickly as you can
  2. Use their name when you’re writing your response as this keeps things personal and shows that you’re addressing this individual in particular
  3. Say “thank you” and show them how happy you are that they took the time to write a positive review of your company
  4. Provide an additional sentence that gives more to the reviewer, like a sneak peek on an upcoming sale or a beta-testing spot on the new app launch
  5. Remind them to tell their friends and family about your company, whether it be through word-of-mouth or social media
  6. Sign your name and position in the company so they know who they’re talking to

Taking the time to craft a nice response to positive feedback will only create a better relationship with a customer who already loves the company.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

Unfortunately, you can’t please everyone. No matter how perfect things may be going for your business, you’re likely to have a negative experience with a customer from time to time.

When someone receives a negative review, the first instinct is to freak out or apologize. You absolutely shouldn’t react out of worry.

Follow these steps whenever you receive a negative review:

  1. Read the review a few times and take some time to collect your thoughts
  2. Get in the right mental headspace to respond to the review rationally and professionally
  3. Try to suggest a one-on-one conversation so that you and the reviewer can work together to solve the issue at hand
  4. Be clear about any mistakes that you feel your company made
  5. Ask questions if the reviewer wasn’t clear about something in their comment
  6. Show empathy towards the situation and offer a few solutions that can help the reviewer fix their problem
  7. Provide an incentive that could convince the reviewer to give your company a second chance
  8. Sign your name at the bottom of the review and include your company title
  9. Request that the reviewer reach out to you to resolve the issue together

By taking the time to go through each of these steps, you’ll find that you can work through and solve problems much quicker. Plus, by taking all of these steps yourself, the reviewer is much more likely to give your company the benefit of the doubt no matter what the problem was.

Why Responding to Reviews Matters

You may be wondering why we’re so passionate about you responding to reviews.

This is because 93% of consumers say that reviews have influenced their online purchasing decisions. Yes, that many people are looking at your company’s reviews to determine whether you’re the right business to buy from.

While they’re looking at reviews, they’re also going to notice whether or not you cared enough to leave a response for those people who took the time to leave you a review.

If you leave a helpful response, the readers will associate your company with positive characteristics. This is especially if you’re keeping your calm when you’re discussing issues with a customer who is speaking negatively about your organization.

If you’re thanking every positive reviewer for their input, this shows that you’re grateful for every customer that you have. You’re going to bring in more buyers by having this positive outlook about your business.

Arguably, responding to the reviews is just as important as the initial review itself. If your company doesn’t have enough reviews on Google’s platform, you should consider checking out these tips on how to collect more Google reviews in 2021.

How to Learn More

Learning how to respond to Google reviews has now become one of the most important steps you’ve taken as a business owner. Being able to read and respond to these individuals while maintaining a positive view of your company is important to your company’s reputation.

You’ll find that responding to Google reviews will help turn any negative conversation about your company around. Although, hopefully, your company is getting mostly positive reviews. You can’t please everyone, but you can try to fix every problem that comes up.

As you continue to get Google reviews, keep up with your responses. You never know how many people are seeing your responses.

In the meantime, you can learn more about running a business and creating a positive persona by checking out the rest of our blog.

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