When it comes to online reputation management, opinions vary, experiences differ, and advice keeps coming! However, common sense should always be the primary compass. The million-dollar question is: “Should brands respond to every online review?”
Here’s a brain teaser for you, according to a 2018 Localyser study conducted internally in the UAE: only 20% of brands regularly respond to online reviews posted on sites such as Google, Zomato, and TripAdvisor, and the average response rate among these brands is about 40%. No wonder we’re always pleasantly surprised when a brand actually responds to us online — it remains an exception, not the norm. That said, here’s our two cents:
Read carefully. Respond selectively.
While responding to reviews is indeed beneficial, it only holds true up to a certain point. Studies show that revenue increases as management response rates to online reviews increase. Yet, after a response rate of about 40%, returns seem to diminish, meaning that even if you respond to more reviews, there will be no positive impact. In fact, the opposite may occur, as strange as it sounds!
Some say it’s worse to give too many responses than to give none at all, both in terms of ratings and revenue; brands should focus on providing constructive responses to negative reviews and acknowledging the most positive ones.
Acknowledging feedback is always essential.
On review sites, it can sometimes be disheartening to see the lack of interaction between brands and their communities. We often see brands posting infrequently or with a content style that is openly repetitive and promotional. Every time a user leaves a comment or complaint unanswered, it raises the alarming question: “Is this brand listening to customer feedback?”
Speed matters!
Online reputation management is now considered a crucial differentiator for brands in their marketing strategy, impacting customer service and delivery, public relations, sales, and even recruitment. After all, consider that TripAdvisor alone has 315 million unique monthly visitors — all potential readers of those scathing reviews and glowing remarks alike! When management responds, it not only provides context to the user’s review but also demonstrates good customer service.
It’s important to respond to reviews, but not to all, especially since a brand must have a specific tone and appropriate manner to ensure professionalism. Just like you would respond to a customer at a reception desk... except online, where there are countless readers every day!
Is there a rule of thumb?
Brands should absolutely respond to all 1- or 2-star reviews, respond to 3-star reviews with a negative trend, and differentiate between 4- and 5-star reviews to decide which to respond to based on content and context. Ultimately, brands should aim to engage in ways that contribute to business growth, choosing to respond only when they are sure that a reply will add value to the customer experience while supporting brand awareness. Simply put!
Why not respond to every review?
Among the options, using a template is the only solution if a brand wants a 100% response rate. However, the page may appear robotic or somewhat boring. Especially if we consider this from the perspective of a new customer whose only way to get familiar with your business is to browse the brand page. Before establishing any trust relationship, a new customer reads at least 10 reviews. Also, 89% of newcomers read the brand’s responses to reviews — studies show this!
People don’t expect a brand to respond to every review, especially those that are just ratings without text. That said, people expect a kind, caring, appropriate, and courteous response.
Are response templates okay?
The premise is that every review, comment, and feedback is unique, and therefore, the response should be the same. Nevertheless, templates can still be used smartly! This means a brand can occasionally use templates, such as a “thank you” template, an apologetic template, an offer template, and so on. As long as the template is not used to respond to a unique or specific case, to avoid sounding like a machine!
In the end, brands should engage in ways that foster business growth; this can be achieved by choosing to respond only when the reply will add value to the customer’s experience while supporting brand exposure. Successful brands are those that constantly adapt to their business sensitivity to better understand what it takes to achieve excellence. Rest assured, decisions on how to engage are not made based on organizational charts. The primary goal should be to provide every customer with the best possible experience at every stage of their engagement with the business.
