Reviews build trust. They provide a window into your business and products from insiders. Reviews provide transparency. Reviews also leave your business vulnerable to the words of others—customers and clients who may be unfairly angry or dismissive of your drive for excellence.
How do you get the last word in the online conversation?
Reply to your online reviews.
What kind of reviews should you take the time to reply to?
Every one of them.
Replying to every review takes time and thoughtful people. Here are three reasons why replying to every review is worth the investment.
1. Replying to Every Review Shows Respect for the Reviewer’s Effort
When a customer makes the decision to leave a review, they are gratuitously providing public feedback on your company and/or product. Writing a review or even clicking stars on Google reviews takes time and effort. Honor the reviewers time by making their narrative a dialogue. Thank them for their kind words or respond honestly to the concerns they address.
2. Replying to Every Review Expands Your Reach with Search Engines
Writing a response to reviews gives you an opportunity to increase the content on review sites for your brand. Review replies add more keywords to be scanned by search engines directing customers to your site. Google says that replying to reviews can improve your business visibility. Good reviews with good replies increase the ranking of your business’s engagement, an important factor in SEO.
3. Replying to Every Review Builds Trust with Future Customers
Most potential buyers read online reviews before triggering a purchase—an astonishing “89% of consumers are ‘highly’ or ‘fairly’ likely to use a business that responds to all of its online reviews,” while 57% of customers would not likely choose a business that does not respond to reviews. [1] Replying to reviews builds trust by showing customers that you care about their experience.
Wondering how you can dedicate time and effort to replying to your reviews? Review Recruiters would love to help. We’d be amiss not to plug our new add-on service to reply to all your online reviews.
We love partnering with companies to give their customers the best service possible and get their positive experiences public to win future business. Contact us today to explore further what partnering with us might look like for you and your business.
[1] https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/