- Sign in to Google My Business by going to business.google.com.
- On the left sidebar, click "Reviews."
- A list of your recent reviews will come up. Find the review you want to reply to.
- Click "Reply."
- A message box will open for you to write your response.
- Click "Post reply."
Responding to Google reviews is extremely important. Google is the world's most popular search engine so your customers will definitely use this as a source of information when researching products and services.
According to BrightLocal, 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. The reviews on your Google My Business profile can have a big impact on you finding new customers. Google itself has disclosed that responding to reviews — good or bad — increases your ratings.
Research shows that customers are 1.7x more likely to visit your business if your company responds to negative reviews. But just how do you respond to a negative review? Here's our best next steps:
Publicly respond to the review.
- Do not avoid the digital conversation. Responding publicly to bad reviews shows your customers and potential customers that you care and are attentive. A study conducted by Cornell University revealed that responding to negative hotel reviews "appears positively related to the consumer's view of the hotel, as measured by increases in the TripAdvisor score."
- Google Reviews aren't always the best place to host a customer service conversation. Move your customer support to channels like phone, live chat, and email, to solve the problem.
- Being transparent is the best course to take when responding to a negative review.In fact, research shows that over 90% of Americans say brand transparency is an important factor when making purchasing decisions. Customers know your team isn't going to be perfect, but they expect you to take responsibility for your mistakes when they occur. This builds customer rapport and leads to long-term, loyal advocates.
- Ask questions and get more information from the customer! This will start an open dialogue that will help us figure out the issue at hand. Once we know the problem, we can provide a solution.
- Don't just apologize. Suggest some sort of a solution to make it right. Use action verbs in your response. Do your best, but remember some people you just can't please. Your customers and potential customers will typically see the customer is being unreasonable.
- This is a small detail that goes a long way. Signing your name after each response shows the customer that you're a real person. It's easy to be a keyboard warrior when you forget there's an actual person on the other end. Remind your customer that you are real and have real feelings!
- If you feel like the customer is satisfied with your team's response, ask them if they'd be willing to update their review. Since you've just changed their perspective, it's the perfect time to ask them to edit their original feedback. Remember, that review is still public and future leads may not read the whole thread and see the positive outcome. Updating the original review is the best way to prevent you from gaining a negative reputation online.