When you run a local business, your reputation is everything. And where you once relied on word-of-mouth recommendations from happy customers, today’s digital landscape has changed that.
Now, reviews live all over the internet—from Google, to Yelp, to Facebook, and other industry-specific sites. Online reviews are now pivotal to getting your business seen and helping it flourish, over 99.9% of customers read reviews when they shop online. However, it’s not enough to just get reviews, you also have to manage them properly, or they could end up being more hurtful than helpful.
So, we’re going to go over the importance of responding to online reviews (both positive and negative!) as a local business owner in this blog post.
[Related: How to ask your customers for reviews]
Should local businesses respond to negative and positive online reviews?
Yes. As a local business owner, you should absolutely be responding to every review you get online. That doesn’t mean just the positive ones that are easy to answer and make you feel good, but you need to respond to those negative ones as well.
Why? Let’s dive into that a little more.
[Related: Five Reasons Why Reputation Management is Crucial for Your Local Business]
Why should you respond to all online reviews?
When you respond to each and every review your business receives, you make it clear that you care about your customers, their experience, their satisfaction, and how your business operates. Fostering a positive atmosphere encourages potential customers to give you a shot and turns repeat customers into loyal ones. In fact, in a survey on this subject, 56% of consumers had changed their perspective on a business based on how they responded to a review.
While taking the time to respond to your reviews definitely demonstrates your commitment to customer service, that’s not the only reason it’s important to do so.
These are a few more reasons why responding to online reviews is a good strategy for your local business:
1. Customers expect you to
That’s right, when customers leave a review, the majority of them are expecting you to respond. The data tells us that 89% of customers expect a response from businesses to their online reviews and 63% of consumers expect a response to their online review within 2-3 days up to a week. So not only are they expecting a response, but they’re expecting a response fairly quickly too.
Potential customers reading reviews want to see your responses too, with a whopping 96% of consumers saying they read businesses’ replies to reviews.
Don’t let current and potential customers down by ignoring the reviews they took the time to leave you.
2. It improves SEO
As a local business, your visibility depends on where your Google Business Profile (GBP) shows up on the search engine results page (SERP). And reviews are one of the things Google takes into account when ranking. In fact, 15% of Google’s ranking algorithm is derived from online reviews of local businesses.
The more reviews you have and the better they are, the more likely you are to be ranked higher on the SERP. Responding to reviews plays a big part in that. 33% of customers who got a response from a company after leaving a negative review turned around and left a positive review, while 34% deleted the original negative review.
Additionally, one major facet of SEO is using the right keywords in your content that will get you found. Your business’s reviews are also part of that content. And while you can’t control the reviews your customers write to ensure they’re using the keywords you want to rank for, you can control that keyword usage in your review responses.
3. Helps you get even more reviews
When you take time out of your day to respond to reviews, whether they are positive or negative, customers notice.
A simple “thank you” response on a glowing review from a satisfied customer helps them feel appreciated. Working with a customer who left a negative review to find a solution or gain a better understanding of what went wrong leaves customers feeling seen.
Both of these things matter to potential customers researching your business, with 70% of customers saying they’re more likely to leave a review when the business account is responsive to reviews.
And those additional reviews matter, because 59% of consumers expect a business to have between 20 and 99 reviews to trust the average star rating.
4. It increases your business’s bottom line
Studies have shown that taking the time to respond to reviews yields a significant return on investment.
By responding to online reviews, you work to build customer trust, increase loyalty, and improve local search rankings. All of these factors contribute directly to your bottom line because they increase leads and encourage repeat business. Which in turn leads to positive ROI. Businesses that have more than 82.5 reviews earn 54% more revenue than average.
[Related: Is Your Online Reputation Costing You Customers?]
Responding to negative reviews
Seeing a negative review about your local business come through can be disheartening and maybe even a little frustrating. But we just gave you a whole host of reasons why it’s important to respond.
Here are a few tips for responding to a negative review:
- Lead with empathy – show understanding for the reviewer’s experience
- Keep calm and professional – the feedback may be harsh, but be sure to maintain a respectful tone.
- Acknowledge the issue – validate the reviewer’s concerns.
- Apologize – when it’s appropriate, offer a sincere apology for the issue.
- Offer an offline resolution – encourage the reviewer to give you a call or send an email to resolve the issue privately.
- Personalize your response – be sure to tailor your response to the specific situation.
- Focus on solutions instead of blame – don’t try to throw anyone under the bus, outline the steps you’re taking to address their concerns.
This type of response communicates to future customers that you’re committed to listening and evolving. Also, don’t forget that negative feedback can be a great growth opportunity for your business. You see first-hand where the kinks are and can then work to improve your products and service.
Responding to positive reviews
Replying to positive reviews is equally as important, and usually a little more fun. Here are a few tips for responding to positive reviews:
- Keep your response timely – try to respond within a couple days of receiving the review.
- Thank the reviewer – offer a genuine thanks to the reviewer for taking the time to leave feedback.
- Personalize your response – use the reviewer’s name or mention a particular detail in your response.
- Invite them to take an action – such as visiting, booking, or calling again.
- Be genuine – craft a response that communicates your genuine appreciation of their business and review.
Hibu One makes responding to reviews easy
Keeping up with your reviews is crucial to maintaining a positive online reputation for your local business, but it can definitely be time-consuming. Between all the other duties you need to perform as an owner trying to keep your business running smoothly, responding to online reviews might be way at the bottom of your priority list.
But we’re here to help. Powered by AI and backed with decades of local experience, the Hibu One Platform includes everything you need to manage your online reviews and your reputation. We make it easy for you to monitor your online reviews, respond in a timely manner, request reviews automatically, and share them on your website.
And you can do it all from one single, unified dashboard. It truly takes the stress out of your review marketing strategy.
Not to mention, Hibu One can handle other parts of your digital marketing like website creation, SEO, ad campaigns, and more.
Want to learn more about how Hibu can help with responding to reviews and taking your entire digital marketing strategy to the next level? Fill out our Get Started form or call 877-237-6120 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
