Getting more product reviews is vital when you build an online store since it makes your store look more professional, trustworthy and ultimately get more conversions. But did you know that handling existing reviews also highly contributes to your success?
Once your store is actively receiving orders, you will be getting product reviews quite frequently, especially if you have automatic review request emails scheduled to send to past buyers. Like most online stores, you’ll receive all sorts of product reviews, both compliments and complaints. We highly recommend that you reply to all customer reviews that you receive. Why? Because this attentive action lets your customers know you care about them and are doing everything you can to create a positive shopping experience.
Now let’s discuss the best practices when it comes to replying to different types of product reviews.
Replying to positive product reviews
Show gratitude for any reviews you received
First and foremost, send a “thank-you” to your customers when you receive any reviews from them. It makes your customers feel valued, respected, and appreciated when choosing to shop at your store.
Highlight the positives mentioned in the reviews
When you receive a positive review about specific features of your products, it means that your customers are happy about these features. You can build more hype around your products by giving details on how awesome these features are in your reply. Here’s an example:
Customer review: “I love this water bottle, it can lay on its side without leaking a single drop!”
Your reply: “Thanks for loving our stainless steel water bottles. We have carefully researched and closely monitored the manufacture at the factory on making our bottle lids the tightest ones on the market!”
Express emotions to make your replies engaging
Emotions shorten the distance between people. So, don’t be afraid to express your emotions by using words like “love” and “thrilled” and “excited”. When a customer is excited about your product, make sure to keep their hype by showing the passion you have for your products in your reply. Here’s an example:
Customer review: “These are the best running shoes I’ve ever owned, they are so comfortable to run in!”
Your reply: “We are so excited that you love our running shoes! Our triple-layer soles feature a layer of memory foam, a layer of breathable polyester, and the outer layer of high-resistance rubber, and this patented combination of materials makes our running shoes very light and comfortable.”
Bring up related products when possible
You can mention related products or services that the customer (and others who read it later) may be interested in. Here’s an example:
Customer review: “Great water bottle, probably the best I’ve ever owned.”
Your reply: “If you love our insulated stainless steel water bottle, I’d recommend looking at stainless steel to-go coffee mugs! They are spill-proof and will keep your coffee or tea hot for 6+ hours!”
Encourage positive reviewers to add media to their reviews
When a customer leaves a positive review, they are a great candidate to be encouraged to update their review with a photo or video. The Judge.me app allows you to remind reviewers to add media to their reviews via media reminder emails. We strongly suggest utilizing this feature if you are on our Awesome plan ($15/month)!
Following these tips, you can maximize the benefits of the positive reviews you received by reengaging with your customers and maintain a strong relationship with them. Now let’s discuss the more challenging product reviews to respond to, and that’s the negative ones.
Replying to negative product reviews
Thank the reviewer for taking the time to leave a review
Although you receive a negative review, you should still thank the reviewer for taking the time to share their feedback. This may help you smoothen their anger before you can take further actions to resolve their issues.
Avoid being defensive in your responses
Wherever the problems come from, you need to avoid being defensive in your reply to angry customers. This comes off as unprofessional and will turn them off completely. Here’s an example of how you can handle a negative review more constructively:
Customer Review: “Cheaply made, do not buy!”
Your Reply: “Sorry to hear that you’ve had a bad experience with our product. We work hard to make our products with the best materials available, but realize that issues can still arise from time to time. Can you reach out to our support team at [support_email] and we’ll help you to get the issue resolved?”
Try your best to resolve the issues
We recommend that you reach out immediately to any customers who left a negative review and offer to resolve their issues. If you can help resolve the issue(s) they complained about, you can suggest they update their review. In this case, you can revert a negative review into a positive one! If the issue can’t be resolved, you still show that you are doing your best to help, and your customers will appreciate this.
Automate the outreach to help unhappy customers
In addition to responding directly to negative reviewers with an offer to help, you can also automatically send an email to anyone who leaves a negative review to offer to help make things right. You can do so by creating a segment of those who left 1-star reviews so you can send them automatic follow-up emails. Judge.me currently offers the following integrations to accomplish this: Klaviyo, Omnisend, or ActiveCampaign.
Negative reviewers are oftentimes the best brand advocates for you if you’re able to assist them and make them happy, so in ways, it’s even more important to respond to negative reviewers than to respond to positive ones!
Wrap up
Responding to your product reviews is important if you want to build trust with your visitors and turn as many as possible into customers. Follow the advice we’ve shared in this article to respond to your product reviews and you’ll be on your way to increase customer engagement and boost your sales.
