Which types of reviews should you respond to?
In an ideal world, you should try to respond to all of the reviews you receive. That said, prioritizing those that have the highest impact on customer experience (and SEO performance) is a good starting place. Yext research* suggests responding to:
Which sites are the most important? Again, in the age of generative AI, the answer is "as many as possible." But make sure to take into account your vertical, and where your customers are most active, to see the maximum benefit.
Regardless of platform, an effective review response is prompt, thoughtful, and assistive. Provide information that a customer might be seeking, and in the case of a negative review, apologize earnestly and offer the customer a chance to return.
Keep in mind that this only works if you have a process for who on your team(s) addresses the reviews that need a response. It should be a customer care team, a local manager, or a trusted partner — and determining who is responsible is an important part of building your reputation management strategy as a whole.
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Review personalization best practices
Address each customer by name
Acknowledge their feedback: call out specific points they made or parts of their experience that they chose to highlight
If they had a negative experience, be empathetic. Apologize, and make your apology about the specific issues they faced. (If possible, offer a path to reconciliation)
If an issue is significant, take things offline and provide an email address or phone number for them to discuss with you
Addressing both positive and negative feedback shows a commitment to customer service, which impacts how customers perceive your brand and their willingness to do business with you going forward.