Best Practices to Manage Reviews

Understand the Complaint

Try to look at reviews as a free consumer research tool. Keep a record of your reviews and note any suggestions, tips, questions, or problems people mention. Often, the issue of one reviewer may be the same reason you’re losing other customers.

Respond

Keep your response brief and respond publicly so others viewing your reviews see that you acknowledge your customer's concerns. Your response should be professional, empathetic, and realistic.

Professional: Remember that your response is public and can be viewed by anyone, including current and potential new customers. Even if a review has incorrect information, always avoid being defensive.

Empathetic: Start the review with things like “we apologize,” “we are sorry to hear that,” or “we appreciate your feedback and the opportunity to improve our service” so the reviewer feels that they were heard.

Realistic: If the reviewer identifies a problem that can be solved, let them know the solution. If the problem is bigger, be realistic and don’t promise anything you cannot deliver.

Follow Up

If possible follow up with the reviewer by email or phone to ensure a positive experience moving forward. If you can come to a resolution, you can ask the reviewer to follow up online with a positive comment or edit their review so others know the issue was resolved.