How to Respond to Google Reviews in 2023 -- With Templates
Google reviews can make or break a restaurant. A bad review can deter customers, while a good review can bring them in droves. So, what should you do if you receive a negative Google review? While it’s tempting to ignore it and hope it goes away, that’s not the best course of action. The best thing you can do is take the high road and respond professionally. Here’s how:
First, take a deep breath. It’s natural to feel defensive when you see a negative review, but getting angry will only make the situation worse. Once you’ve calmed down, log in to your Google account and find the review in question. Next, craft a response that accomplishes the following three things:
- Admits that there was a problem
- Explains what you’re doing to fix it
- Extends an olive branch in the form of a discount or coupon
For example, let’s say you receive the following review: “The service was terrible and the food was cold.” In response, you might say something like this: “We’re sorry to hear about your bad experience. We’ve retrained our staff on proper protocol for handling food so that this doesn’t happen again in the future. We’d like to offer you a 20% discount on your next visit as an apology.”
Receiving a negative Google review can be difficult to stomach—but responding professionally can help turn lemons into lemonade. By admitting that there was a problem, explaining what you’re doing to fix it, and extending an olive branch in the form of a discount or coupon, you can turn a negative review into an opportunity to build loyalty among your customer base.
Why should I respond to customer reviews?
Brightlocal’s consumer review survey shows that responding to reviews quickly is more important than ever.
- 96% of consumers who write reviews expect a reply
- The majority of consumers writing a review expect to receive a response
- 20% of consumers say he does not have to wait more than a day for a reply.
- 26% of consumers expect him to respond within 2 days
The following example will help you always provide a professional, elegant and relevant response regardless of feedback mood or time constraints.
Google reviews are one of the first things that pop up when someone searches for your restaurant. And while you can’t control what people say in their review, you can control how you respond to it.
Chances are, you’ve come across a few bad reviews in your time. But don’t despair! A bad review isn’t the end of the world. In fact, it can be an opportunity to turn a negative situation into a positive one.
Here’s why you should respond to Google reviews—both good and bad—and how you can do it effectively.
The Benefits of Responding to Reviews
When you respond to a review—good or bad—you show potential customers that you value your customers’ feedback and that you care about providing them with a great experience.
Responding also gives you an opportunity to clear up any misunderstandings and offer alternative solutions. Potential customers will see that you take customer service seriously, which can increase their confidence in doing business with you.
Finally, responding to reviews is a great way to build relationships with your customers. Showing them that their feedback is important to you helps foster loyalty and could even result in repeat business down the line.
What sort of review template do you need?
There are many kinds of reviews. They vary from individuals who virtually love your business and simply need to express their joy, to unreasonable whiners.
So you could realistically anticipate loads of overview styles, from “his star review without text” and “Good service” to “long-winded storytelling” and “expressing complaints.”
To cowl this area, you could create your very own custom review template or leap instantly to a few examples and personalize them in your business. Either way, you need to pick a review template for high-quality and poor reviews.
Constructing Your Own Review Response Templates
An exact overview reaction begins with some key constructing blocks:
- An acknowledgement: Good or bad, your reaction has to open via way of means of thanking the reviewer for taking the time to percentage their experiences.
- A connection with their experience: Provided you aren`t coping with a completely fundamental star-simplest overview, it`s an exact exercise to reference any info the reviewer has shared approximately their experience. If they`ve singled out a specific coworker for praise (for example) then call that man or woman on your reaction. If the reviewer located your customer support to be mainly helpful, repeat that during your reaction.
- An invitation to talk about further: If the reviewer wasn`t glad about any factors in their interaction, then invite them to attain out thru email, direct message, or cellphone so you can analyze more. This indicates that you`re eager to apprehend their troubles and that you are open to taking steps to treat them in which possible.
- An invitation to return: End your reaction on a nice notice that invitations the patron to go back soon.
Response Templates for Google Reviews
Business owners have to respond to a large number of customer reviews, not all of which are positive.
Always let your customers know that their feedback is important, and let them know that you are addressing their concerns and taking action to resolve their concerns. It helps you retain customers and shows potential customers that you can be trusted.
Don’t forget to personalize and modify these templates. I don’t want to give everyone the same answer because it looks indifferent.
Now that we’ve gone over some of the reasons why responding to Google reviews is so important, let’s take a look at how you can do it effectively:
Response example and guidelines
1. Thank Them for Their Feedback
This one seems pretty obvious, but it bears repeating: thanking your customers for their feedback—whether it’s positive or negative—shows them that their opinion matters to you. It only takes a few seconds, but it goes a long way in terms of building rapport with your customers.
2. Be Professional
It can be tempting to lash out when faced with a negative review, but resist the urge! Remember, potential customers will be reading your responses, so it’s important to keep them professional and courteous at all times. If necessary, take some time to cool down before responding so that your emotions don’t get the better of you.
3. Keep It Short and Sweet
When responding to reviews, less is more. Keep your responses short, sweet, and to the point so that they are easy for potential customers to read and digest.
4. Offer alternatives
If someone has left a negative review because they didn’t like their food or they had a problem with their service, use this as an opportunity to offer alternatives. For example, if they didn’t like their entree, offer them a discount on dessert next time they come in. This shows that you want them to have a positive experience at your restaurant and that you are willing to go above and beyond to make sure they are satisfied with their meal.
5. Take responsibility for your mistakes
If someone has left a negative review because of something that was within your control—like poor service or long wait times—own up to it! Taking responsibility for your mistakes shows potential customers that you are committed to providing them with excellent service and that you value their feedback.
Hi [Customer name],
Thank you so much for the kind words. We’re very happy to hear that we share the same passion for food and that you had a great experience with us! Our kitchen staff will be especially happy to read this review. Might we recommend you also try our special meal on your next visit? We’re sure you’re going to love it as well. See you soon!
– [Your restaurant name] Team
Negative response:
Hi [Customer name],
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We continuously work to create good customer experiences, and we’re sorry to hear that we missed the mark here. Would you please consider reaching out to us at [your phone number] or email with any further comments or suggestions? We hope we can use this to improve in the future.
– [Your restaurant name] Team
General responses to negative reviews
Negative reviews can be especially difficult to reply to. We want to recognize your customers’ concerns while protecting your business. And you don’t want to come across as defensive or unprofessional.
Here are some tips on how to respond to negative reviews.
- We appreciate your feedback and apologize for your experience.
take responsibility for matters under one’s control - Explain what you are doing to solve the problem
- Offer to make things right by offering customers refunds, discounts, or other compensation
Below is an example of a reply to a negative review.
“We are sorry to hear that you had a negative experience. We are working hard to improve our service and will do everything we can to make things right.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your bad experience. We want all of our customers to have a positive experience, so we’ll do our best to make things right. Please contact us at ____________ so we can resolve the issue.”
“Thank you for letting us know about this matter. We apologize for the inconvenience. We are continuously working to improve our services and will take your feedback into consideration so that we can provide you with the best possible experience. ”
Key Takeaways
Google Reviews are one of the most important ways your customers can learn about your business. It also helps you rank higher in search results. Responding to positive and negative reviews is an important part of managing your online reputation.
The best way to respond to a Google review is to thank the reviewer for their feedback, address your concerns, and ask them to contact you directly to resolve the issue.
Google reviews are one of the first things people see when they search for restaurants in their area—so it’s important to make sure that yours stand out from the rest! Responding thoughtfully and professionally to both positive and negative reviews is crucial if you want potential customers’ confidence in doing business with you. By taking the time to respond meaningfully to each review, you show current and future customers alike that you care about their feedback and that you want to provide them with the best possible experience when dining at your restaurant!
Google Maps Ranking (or Local SEO) and Online Reputation is an integral part of business strategy for every brick-and-mortar business. Local SEO will help your audience find you when they search online if you have a storefront or business area. We hope you found this article helpful in your quest to gain recognition and credibility for your brand online.
If your business is serving local and you don’t have the skillset and expertise to optimise for this, we’re more than happy to help you out!