Are You Allowed to React to the Google Reviews?

Being a business owner, you are allowed to respond to the reviews posted on Google about your services and products. This engages your customers while promoting your business. You can respond to the reviews either from the desktop or via My Business account of Google. Mobile devices can also be used to accomplish the activity.

Google is the most reliable platform that is used by millions of users on a daily basis to seek proper information on various services and products. When the targeted customers of your business search the similar products in Google, it not only provides a list of those products but also the associated ratings and reviews. According to a research commenced by the BrightLocal, 85% of the customers trust the online reviews. These are treated equivalently to the word of mouth and personal recommendations. Hence, it is inevitable to sort the reviews in the section of My Business in Google to give your business a positive turn.

Even a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review has proved that the businesses who respond to the reviews on a regular basis have better ratings.

Reviews not only help you exhibit the business in an elaborate platform but also assist you to learn from the loopholes. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to enhance the positive aspects of your service while working on the negative attributes to overcome the hurdles on the path of success. Responding to the customer reviews enhance the trust of the customers on your business, improving the comprehensive experience and overall search engine visibility. Check the ultimate guide to the Google Reviews in order to get a firm hold on the platform.

The Process of Responding to the Google Reviews

Follow the three steps to reply:

1. Navigate to business.google.com and log into Google My Business.
2. Select the three horizontal bars located at the top left corner of the page to check your listing.
3. Select the option of Manage Reviews. This will take you to the page of reviews. Select the View & Reply to respond accordingly.

However, it is important to set up the notification feature of Google My Business. This will notify you the moment a customer posts a review.

Responding to the Google Reviews through a Desktop:

• Go to the page of business.google.com from where you will be able to access the My Business page. Select the three horizontal lines on the top left corner of the page to select All Locations, if you have a single location. Otherwise, you can select your desired location. Click on Manage Reviews after choosing the location.
• Check the reviews on the page and select the option of View & Reply to respond to a particular review.

Responding to the Google Reviews through a Smartphone:

• Install the Google My Business application on your smartphone.
• Click on the menu icon which is the horizontal lines.
• Select the Respond Now option in order to respond to the customer reviews.

Responding to Negative Reviews

There are numerous kinds of customers present in the market who have various opinions of diversified kinds of businesses. It is natural to get negative reviews but a few of the business owners refrain from responding to the same due to the digital confrontation. They feel that poking a small hole may lead to bigger concerns. On the contrary, the negative reviews should not be a reason for concern. Rather, these should be treated as a gateway to achieving success by rectifying the shortcomings of your business. Let us check the strategic ways to deal with the negative reviews.

• Try not to be impulsive

It is important to implement a sensible approach while dealing with the negative reviews. The customers are very powerful and can highly influence the other users. Therefore, you must administer proper care and caution before responding to the reviews. Even if the customer is unfair in the review, reacting in an insensible manner will fuel the anger, resulting in harsh outcomes. Geoff Toff has stated that if the negative reviewer is agitated from your end due to the lack of empathizing while replying, it may spread a negative word about your business. This will sabotage your efforts immensely. Hence, it is important to keep the emotions at bay and incorporate strategic approach while responding to any review.

• Respond Publicly

It is important to take care of the platform while responding to a review. Refrain from responding privately. Face the digital confrontation if a customer has left you with a negative review either in Google or in Capterra. If you respond to the users publicly, it will exhibit your dedication and attention towards every customer. This will not only enhance the trust in your business but will also help gain a positive impression. This will elaborate your customer database without having to invest an extra marketing effort. In fact, Cornell University has revealed that the TripAdvisor scores of a hotel increase when the hotel management responds to the negative reviews.

• Empathize & Give Relevant Solutions

The prime focus while responding to a negative review should be to empathize with the users. However, while addressing the concerns avoid using fluffy words that fail to connect with the complainers. Rather, provide a relevant reply to the concerns that will not only deliver the customer with a proper solution but will also deplete their agitation. Whether you connect to the customer offline or give the contact information of the relevant source, you must never fail to soothe the agitation.

Responding to Positive Reviews

Along with replying to the negative reviews, it is also important to recognize the positive reviews. However, the latter is easier to address than handling the agitated customers. There are various companies that prefer responding to the negative reviews to solve the concerns of the users. On the contrary, responding to the positive reviews accelerates the best practices of your business. This aids in creating a stronger customer database while strengthening the foundation of your business. Let us check the procedures to respond to the positive reviews:

• Personify the Acknowledgement

It is important to address the customers by their name in order to let the customer feel special and make your response genuine. It triggers the attention immensely, which has also been proved by a research conducted by Michael Lewis and Dennis P. Carmody. They have proved that the brain gets activated the moment a person hears own name.

• Express your Gratitude

It is important to reciprocate the customer’s version. This will help you earn gratitude in exchange for your products and services. Expressing gratitude to the customers who are given a positive review about you explains that you are attentive towards every review posted about your business. This makes the customers feel special while elevating the trust on you.

• Offer Additional Value

A simple way of expressing the gratitude is not capable enough to do the trick. Rather, if you introduce a strategic approach that will enable you to create a friendly relationship with the customers will help you get through the odds seamlessly. Provide valuable offers to the clients in exchange for the positive reviews. This will motivate the others to post positive reviews about a recent product or app launched. You can offer them to be a beta tester of the upcoming releases.

Responding to the Google Reviews as an Owner

In the Era of Digital Marketing, being a business owner, it is inevitable to respond to the reviews with immediate effect. The prime concern of responding to a review is to offer a proper solution, irrespective of the tone of the review. This activity will depict your engagement with the customers whether or not they are giving a positive feedback to your business. Let us check a few ways of responding to the positive as well as negative reviews as a business owner:

• Customizing the Responses

Follow a simple yet prompt template to respond to the customers. However, make it a point to customize every response in order to make the users feel important. For an example, if a customer writes a positive review about a newly released feature of your business, rather than expressing a simple gratitude, express how excited you are to know about the fact. Also, remember to state that your team worked restlessly to achieve the success of your launch. Respond to the negative reviews by empathizing with the reviewers.

• Apologize

Never step back from apologizing or admitting to your mistakes that have agitated the clients. This adds humanity to your approach.

• Resolve

It is essential to address the concerns with a proper solution. This helps transform the negative experience into a positive one. In fact, offering a proper resolution can offer enhanced benefits by depleting the customer churn. As per the HelpScout, responding to the negative customer reviews will ensure the customer remains loyal to your business 70% of the time.