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We are continuing our article series about the importance of online reputation management for small business owners. This is the fourth article where we will reveal how you can respond to your Google reviews in less time and, in turn, grow your business. Our first article told why small businesses need reputation management more than ever in 2022. The second article of the series revealed the secret to generating more online reviews. The third article covered how to get more 5-star reviews for your business. Feel free to read the entire series of articles to help you build a comprehensive online reputation management strategy. 

Now that you know the importance of generating reviews for marketing for small businesses and understand how to do it, you must respond to your reviews to build customer relationships and grow your business. 

You can use five strategies to make sure you still have time left at the end of the day while responding to your reviews.

1. Showing that you care

Remember that by responding to a customer’s reviews, you’re showing the customer that their voice matters. Customers purchase from brands and companies they know, like, and trust, and the gesture of taking the time to acknowledge what they had to say pays in spades to deepen their relationship with you.

2. You can use the response to upsell

This tip should be used with discretion as you want to ensure that your response to your customer reviews is genuinely to thank them or to address a concern. That being said, your customer reviews can be one of the easiest places to create an additional sale. If you see, they’re happy with what they’ve already purchased, and you know that you can offer something that would also delight them, by all means, invite them to make the next purchase. 

3. Use careful responses to turn negative reviews into positive ones

Unfortunately, along with the positive impact of good reviews, businesses will occasionally receive negative reviews that need to be addressed. There are best practices for responding to negative reviews, and there is also an opportunity to convert an unhappy customer into a satisfied one. By responding to a negative review in a professional tone, there’s a chance that you could not only regain their business but receive future referrals from them as well. Respond to a negative review with an actionable step to move forward with and what you will do to make it right. Acknowledge their experience by letting them know you understand and hear their frustration and offer a solution. If you can’t find their contact information to reach out to them directly, leave your direct number at the end of your response.

4. Never argue or try to justify your end

If a customer is unhappy, it’s your job to make it right. In their eyes, you made a mistake, and trying to explain your error will only make them more frustrated. Constantly affirm, empathize, and apologize.

5. Semi-automate the response process.

To save you some time, you can partially automate the response process. However, we caution you against full automation, as customers seek genuine responses.

If you’re looking for a marketing agency in Atlanta or reputation management in Atlanta for your child activity centers or other small businesses, we invite you to get started with EZtransition’s reputation management service! Use the code “rep15” for 15% off your monthly subscription.

Image credits: Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.