Online reviews are very important for drawing new customers, but can also discourage new business. Which reviews should you provide a response to and how should you respond? The following graphic from ratings and review software provider bazzarvoice, provides some valuable insights. Negative customer reviews stemming from a misunderstanding of how a product or service works, provides a huge opportunity. If you can respond to the negative review by providing explanations and tips (without sounding condescending), then those reading the company’s response to the review are likely be very positively impacted.  These company responses generate almost a 200% increase in reader intent to purchase products or services from the company. If someone is unhappy, try to give them a reason to be happy. Companies that responded to “make it right” by offering the authors of negative reviews refunds, free upgrades, or exchanges, did well in the eyes of those who read the company review responses. However, only half as well as the company responses that offered educational help. A company can diminish the effectiveness of their responses to online reviews by making the reader or negative reviewer “work” to get satisfaction.  Including instructions like “contact customer service”  in a response diminishes its effectiveness by about 20%. Fit Small Business has written about getting and dealing with reviews on Yelp and Manta in previous articles.

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