How NOT to respond to a review

Whilst applauding businesses that quite rightly think it is best practice to respond to reviews, it is still, sadly, easy to find the kind of response to a Google review that will result in the opposite effect intended. 

Let us analyse a real-life example:

What, exactly, is wrong with this response, and how could it have been worded better?

Wrong:

1. Overall impression: this response is what is known in the trade as 'formulaic'. 
2. It doesn't address any of the points raised
3. It requires the customer to take action: "Could you please reach out..."

All of these are key CRM failures and convey the impression that the business simply doesn't care.

Worded better:

The rules are quite simple:

1. Do not address reviewers by their first name unless it is the only name they have used (e.g. 'Steve H'). In this case 'Dear Mr Hollis' looks so much more professional, besides being straightforwardly polite.
2. The accusations of being 'unprofessional and unethical' should be addressed head on: 'We pride ourselves on being both professional and ethical'.
3. The point about the accepted offer being subsequently rejected should also be addressed as succinctly as possible, without compromising client or potential purchaser confidentiality.
4. The reason behind the follow-up call should also be explained.
5. A 'complaints@' email address should never be used. Apart from anything else it gives the impression that the business receives sufficient complaints to justify their own email address/department!
6. The response should be signed off properly: 'Kyle [surname]; [position].' 

It is also a cardinal rule to bear in mind that the response be written with subsequent potential customers in mind just as much as the actual reviewer. This review is what we christened a 'killer review' some years ago, that is: a review that has the potential to stop the phones ringing - or, at the very least, put off a significant number of potential customers from making any further contact with the business.

And here's an example of those rules in action:

First the critical review:

Followed by a prompt and properly drafted response:

One final - but nonetheless important - point: underneath every review you will see how many people have voted that review 'helpful'. In two years the review above has received only one helpful vote out of the many thousands of views it will have had. 

If you have any doubts at all - about procedure or wording - please contact us.

Further reading...

1. Responding to Reviews - so much reward for so little effort
2. Killer reviews - an explanation

The kind of Christmas present no business needs

Bear with us - this story is about review management! But first, here is a piece in the Daily Mail (and many other publications have picked it up):

So what has this got to do with reviews? Let's look at how the business looks on Google today:

Those last two reviews have been posted by people that have read about the business in the press. Up until then, the business scored a 'perfect 5'. The article is responsible for them now failing the Google filter. 

Before (filter or no filter):

After (filtered):

Gone!


Urgent action the business should take now

1. Flag the two negative reviews.
2. Appeal both those reviews to Google - on the grounds that the reviewers have 'no first-hand knowledge or experience of the business under review'. It's not guaranteed to work, but, framed correctly an appeal does stand a chance.
3. Introduce a formal review management programme, designed to allow all their customers to write a review (in order to be in compliance with UK CMA regulations
4. Then aim to get enough reviews to Google to lift their score back above the Google filter. To achieve 4.5 - the filter's cut-off - they now need another nine 5* reviews and no more 1*s. To be safe then they need the programme to keep the reviews rolling in. 

What the business - and any other business finding itself in its 'pre-press outcry' situation - looking good but with few reviews - should have done:

1. Introduce a formal review management programme, designed to allow all their customers to write a review (in order to be in compliance with UK CMA regulations).
2. Then aim to get enough reviews to Google to lift their score way above the Google filter. We always aim for 50 per location for our clients.

Look at this similar business - an estate agent, again in Kent - what would happen to its Google score if it received two spurious 1* reviews?

Its score would drop - perhaps - to 4.9. That would still leave it a safety margin of 0.4 clear of the Google filter. And it's highly unlikely its great rich snippets - the three shorthand guides Google provides under 'Reviews' at the bottom of the knowledge panel (above) would alter.

It would still appear in mobile/map search, irrespective of the Google filter (see that at top left in red under the Google logo?):

An added bonus? When the press looked the business up on Google at least they would see they are great servants to the home-owners of the community; it might not snuff out an article like this, but it would certainly give comfort to anyone searching for an agent in the weeks to come.


The lesson

Don't wait until your business it the victim of negative reviews before you engage. Review management should be part and parcel of every business's marketing strategy these days. it's not expensive - indeed, it should make you money (our clients generally see an uplift in call and clicks through to their websites in the region of 20 - 30 per cent) - and it will provide an excellent first line of defence in cases like these.

A single negative review - just how much harm can it do?

We hear this kind of comment often - admittedly less often than we used to - but still often enough to get onto our soapbox and trumpet...

Negative reviews hurt business(es)

Just look at this...

...emailed by Google to the reviewer. The review is exactly three months old. In that time it has been seen by over 500 people. 

Do we think all five hundred have been put off the business in question? Probably not - but it's a nailed-on certainty that some have. So what has the business in question done? Nothing at all. 

What should they have done? Responded to the reviewer, that's what - addressing the issues raised, whatever they are, and however 'unfair' the business thinks the review may be.

What else can a business do?

Invite reviews from all its customers would be a good start. Next: how about responding to all customers who take the trouble to write a review - it takes minutes a week and is sure to impress potential customers, it can also gently correct factual inaccuracies or misconceptions, so readers don't automatically assume the reviewer is correct. The business above has responded to none of its reviewers, the majority of them saying 'use this business' - wouldn't at least a thank-you be in order?

What if the review is factually incorrect or misleading (or even malicious)?

You can appeal to Google to have the review removed. Here is an article that goes into detail about the procedure.

Better than that - if you are a member of HelpHound, you will have a very good chance that the customer will have written their review to you before going on to post it to Google. And all HelpHound reviews are moderated - not to 'weed out' negative reviews, but to ensure, for everyone's benefit, that reviews containing factual inaccuracies or potentially misleading comments are not published - either on the business's website or on Google (or anywhere else, for that matter).

Read all about our moderation process here. It's worth its weight in gold for everyone concerned - the writer of the review, the reader of the review and the business under review.

The reach of a single negative review...

As many will know, Google reports to its Local Guides - telling them just how many views their reviews are getting. Here's just one example...

What can we learn from this email?

First, the reach of this review - of a SME business in London - has been pretty astounding, at over 1,000 views.

Second: it has made that kind of impact over such a short space of time - the review was written on 22 May, under three months ago.

In other words: (negative) reviews get seen!


What action should a business in this position take?

This business is committing two cardinal errors (both easily rectified) - and missing one massive opportunity. First the errors...

• it is not responding to its Google reviews - positive or negative, leaving criticisms unanswered and losing the opportunity to impress readers that it cares about its customers' opinions

• it would appear to be ignoring Google reviews altogether - in the space of four years it has received just twenty-eight reviews, nine of which rate it just one or two stars - resulting in a Google score that fails the Google reviews filter by quite a considerable margin

Now the opportunity...

Assuming this business, like most businesses, is good at what it does (but occasionally makes mistakes - enough to provoke a customer into posting a negative review about once every six months): It should be proactively engaging its customers by inviting them to post reviews.

Playing the numbers game...

Suppose a business has a footfall of a hundred customers a day, if only one per cent - just one customer - writes a review, then that's thirty reviews a month (three a day? That's still three reviews a month - 36 a year).

How to get the customers to write a review?

Simple - and good businesses have been doing it for so long we know it works...

• email - a simple email inviting them to write a review
• card - a card with the business's website and a request to post a review, handed to the customer in a face-to-face situation

The result?

The first objective should be to have at least 95% of the business's reviews scoring it positively. That, in turn, will result in...

• passing the Google filter - now set at 4.5 (up from 4.0 last year)
• creating a generally positive impression of the business in all Google searches - desktop and mobile - specific (on the business's name) and local (on the kind of business in its area -  e.g. 'plumber' in 'Reading')

When this business joined HelpHound it had less than a handful of reviews. This is the impression it now creates every time someone looks it up on the web (the 'Reviews from the web' at top left - all 511 of them - are the reviews it has on its own website, invited through HelpHound)...

Which will then show in increased business!

Further Reading...

Don't be afraid to engage - HelpHound is here to help

Many businesses don't engage with Google reviews because they are concerned - quite understandably - that they will attract unfair or inaccurate reviews, and that those reviews will have the exact opposite of the desired effect (which is, of course, to attract more customers). Greene & Co - the business in the screenshot with 286 Google reviews - were no exception.

HelpHound exists, at least in part, to ensure that its clients' reviews accurately reflect their businesses. We cannot guarantee that a HelpHound client will not get any negative reviews - no business is perfect, after all - but we can reassure you that having your business's reviews moderated by HelpHound pre-publication will reduce the chances of an unfair or misleading review appearing in print to as near to nil as will make for confidence in embarking on this important journey.

Here's an article that goes into this important part of our service in greater detail.

And here's one that shows you that professional review management drives more business (the numbers are from Google itself).

Oh - and please bear in mind that if a business invites reviews it is subject to the CMA regulations, and they have the force of law (they say a business must allow all its customers to write a review at a time of their - the customer's - own choosing). Here is an article that explains these rules.

Killer reviews - an example

But first - what exactly is a 'killer review'? There is no exact definition, but the one we loosely came up with some years ago goes as follows...

"A review that has the potential, all on its own, to stop the phones ringing." 

 Now let's look at an example...

This is a typical 'killer' review - it is well-written and contains convincing detail. The business concerned has a handful of five star reviews as well, but these will be neutralised in the eyes of many (most?) prospective customers by a review like this. The fact that the review is four years old is irrelevant - prospective customers will invariably check out the 'worst' tab when reading reviews - and that takes this review to the top of the pile.

Some one star reviews are next to harmless (they are seen as rants, or simply the venting of the odd dissatisfied customer) but reviews like this un-tick all the boxes a reasonable person might be reasonably want ticked before contemplating making contact, let alone purchasing a product or service. A reasonable person might expect the following from any business...

• courtesy
• efficiency
• professionalism
• help
• communication
• response

...all of which are mentioned in this review, alongside some of the negatives no consumer - or business - wants to see...

• "terrible"
• "nobody answers"
• "rude"
• "pain"
• "pointless"
• "worst customer care"
• "fooled"
• "warning"
• "go elsewhere"

 ...all, taken together - or even singly, are the kind of thing that stops a potential customer making that first crucial contact - picking up the phone or clicking 'visit website'. In short: a 'killer' review.

Killer reviews in context

Killer reviews can be, and often are, the only review a business has received, but not necessarily; the fact that a business may have many complimentary reviews does not, of itself, always dilute the effect of a killer review.

Nothing puts a business off reviews faster than a killer review, and that leads it straight down the wrong path - to denial. Ignoring a killer review won't make it go away, and it certainly won't prevent it from being read (on the contrary: it can often be the catalyst for 'me too' reviews).

The correct strategy, of course, is to do exactly the opposite - engage. First by responding to that killer review, then by responding to any/all other reviews, whether complimentary or not.

This has three key effects on those reading the review(s): it shows the business's side of the story, it shows that the business cares and it 'warns' anyone thinking of posting a similar review that any future critical reviews will not go without a response from the business.

The response itself...

  One of our all-time favourite responses. It wins hands down for brevity - but whether or not it wins any prizes for positive customer relations or PR is altogether debatable.

We see so many awful responses to killer reviews: angry ('how dare you!'), defensive ('all lies') and understandable ('we have no recollection'). The first two of these should never see the light of day, the third can be improved upon. Let's see...

"Dear Mr Hill, I am so sorry that we were not able to meet your expectations. We do endeavour to provide the very highest level of service for all our customers and we always explain how we carry out our work, from initial estimate through to firm quotation and then to carrying out the job. 

It would seem that confusion has arisen over the difference between 'initial estimate' and 'firm quotation' in this instance and this has, understandably, led to the circumstances you describe, where our initial quotation (and 'sketches') have been mistaken for the latter. We always return calls within two hours (as you know, we are all engaged in the workshop or on site).

If we can be of any help in the future please do not hesitate to contact me personally.

A B Smith

Managing Director"

The key elements of this response...

• it addresses the criticism made in the review. Replying, as so many do, with 'We would love to address the issues you have raised, please email me on arthur.smith@smithandco' fails to address the concerns of those reading the review and your response. It is important to remember your audience: your potential customers (besides, in reality it is unlikely that someone who has posted a critical review will check back to read any response)
• It is scrupulously professional and polite
• It gently corrects misapprehensions in the review
• It ends on a positive note

So - our action checklist...

There are basically only two things a business - in this situation or not - needs to do:

1. Respond to every review
2. Initiate a review management programme to generate more reviews

 Further reading:

•  Responding to reviews - the unforeseen benefits

Review scores: you must strive for the perfect 10 (or 5!)

It never fails to surprise us just how tolerant of negative reviews some businesses are. There appears to be a syndrome doing the rounds that says something along the lines of "4 out of 5 is great" or "9 out of 10 is amazing".

The issue at stake here is that consumers have become more savvy than most businesses where reviews are concerned. They scan reviews very quickly, and if the business in question has any negative reviews the business will experience a fall-off - in business or traffic - through the web.

Look at this typical example of a business scoring four out of five:

Do you think that single negative review is:

a. damaging?
b. unhelpful?
c. harmless?

The answer, from years of experience and listening to client feedback on a daily basis is somewhere between a and b, depending on who happens to be reading the review. Also remember that however harmless the review itself, the one star rating has affected, and will continue to affect, the business's overall score, making the answer, strictly speaking, 'a' in every case.

The score matters?

Consumers are increasingly 'score aware'. They consciously and subconsciously look for businesses that score well. More than that, Google recognise this behaviour and give their users filters in search: 'Top Rated' and 'by Rating'. 

Top Rated 

 Only the six Top Rated agents in this area - out of over twenty - show in this window

by Rating 

Top: who would enable the filter at anything below 4? Bottom: the same effect as 'Top rated' Note: Logic would dictate that Google will eventually get round to programming their algorithm to produce these businesses ranked by score - i.e. the highest score at the top.

Again - this time a hotel scoring nearly 9 out of 10:

Here are their ratings:

And here's an example of a typical low-scoring review (of which they have over 250):

This is exactly the kind of review that deflects custom - and having hundreds of them will definitely be impacting on bookings. The hotel should be doing everything in its power to minimise the likelihood of such reviews appearing - anywhere - and that includes joining HelpHound.


So: the lessons

1. Do everything you can to ensure your customers have the absolute minimum of reasons to post a negative review
2. Give those 'less than happy' customers an easy way to express their dissatisfaction direct to you - don't make leaving a Google review their easiest option
3. Aim to get so many great reviews that when - and it's almost certainly going to be a case of 'when' given that no business is perfect and there are some pretty unpredictable consumers out there - you do get a negative review it doesn't impact your score and you can respond by referencing all your great reviews
4. Set your sights high - aim for a score of 4.8/9.5 plus 
5. Don't say 'That is a big ask' - with HelpHound on board - and providing the businesses in question have the right attitude to customer service - we would confidently predict scores like this for both these businesses

Resolution™ - the Owner's Manual

It is high time we revisited our old friend Resolution, for established clients as well as recent adopters. Resolution - our name for the act of moderating reviews pre-publication - is like the spare tyre in the boot of your car: you hope you never have to use it, but when you do you want to be absolutely sure it works. And for that you need some instructions; here they are.


Resolution™ - taking the 'fear' out of reviews

There is a very good reason why most businesses, especially high-value service businesses and the professions, have not fully - or compliantly* - engaged with reviews and that is the well-founded fear that a single well-written but inaccurate or misleading review has the potential to do significant damage to their business's reputation.

That is why Resolution™ exists - there's not a day that goes by that our moderators don't forward a review like this to a client. And guess who is often happiest that we do? The reviewer! People don't want to write inaccurate reviews, but - being human - they sometimes do. Resolution minimises the chances of a review like this being published - and it works (just ask any of our clients).

* 'compliantly': compliance with UK law when inviting reviews is a whole subject on its own; for a full explanation, read this article.

The nuts and bolts...

The process

1. You invite your customer to write a review - or, in the case of a HelpHound client, your customer avails themselves of the link on your website to do so
2. Your customer posts their review 
3. The review is read by one of our moderators
4. If it contains no issues the review is immediately put live on your website and the reviewer is asked, by HelpHound, automatically, to copy it to Google
5. If it contains a comment that is potentially misleading or inaccurate, our moderator will send it to you (whilst simultaneously telling the reviewer that it has been forwarded to you)
6. You respond to the reviewer
7. At the end of the Resolution process, when our moderators see that the 'conversation' has been concluded, we invite the reviewer to post their final review

Phases 4 - 7 bear closer examination...

Phase 4: Resolving issues pre-publication

No consumer wants to read inaccurate and/or misleading reviews. If those reviews do harm to the business, which they will, no-one benefits. It is an anomaly yet to be resolved that a scoring system - like the Google 1 - 5 stars - does not take into account inaccurate reviews: in theory - and quite often in practice - a business can have a terrible Google score as a result of half a dozen completely unfair and/or inaccurate reviews (we are often contacted by businesses that have seen enquiries fall off and/or are failing the Google filter because of this). 

Phase 5: Engaging with your customer through Resolution™

This works very effectively: your customer welcomes the mechanism with open arms - as a non-confrontational way to correct any misleading or inaccurate content in their review.

Important note: Resolution is all about correcting potentially misleading or factually inaccurate reviews - it is emphatically not a way of 'filtering out' negative reviews. In this sense it is important to note that Resolution can be just as vital in the context of some otherwise positive reviews - those that mention financially sensitive information or rate the business as 5* but include otherwise misleading or incorrect information.

Phase 6: Responding to the reviewer

We encourage our clients to respond through the moderation system, rather than picking up the 'phone or emailing direct. Why? Because we have plenty of experience that tells us that if your customer has chosen to communicate via a review - at your invitation - then they react more positively if you respond through the same mechanism. Of course, you, (and we) can take every case on its merits - that's one of the strengths of the system: it is infinitely flexible. 

On top of this, we get many comments from reviewers saying how much they welcome HelpHound's third-party involvement. Our clients and their customers also value our moderators' counsel when drafting responses.

Phase 7: Inviting the final review

This is the crucial element of the process that gives your reviews their credibility: the fact that every reviewer has a right to have their opinion heard - and are aware of this from the outset. Being able to say that to prospective customers wins business. The fact that so few reviewers who have had inaccurate or potentially misleading reviews moderated go on to publish a final review is a tribute to the effectiveness of the system in resolving issues - it is a fantastic CRM tool - and is wholeheartedly welcomed by consumers. 

A Case History

We have one client who to date has had over 70 cases through Resolution (across multiple branches). Only four of these have resulted in a final published review, either on their website or on Google. They currently score between 4.7 and 4.9 on their own websites (with over 800 reviews there) and between 4.5 and 5.0 on Google (with over 600 reviews there). It goes without saying that this is a well-managed and thoroughly consumer-focused business - as HelpHound clients tend to be, by definition.

Finally

Over the years of seeing thousands of conversations in moderation we have built up a wealth of experience, so please do ask for our advice if you are in any doubt as to how a response should be worded.


N.B. Resolution is definitively not a mechanism for businesses to 'head off negative comment', it is a mechanism to ensure that - as far as possible - comments are fair and accurate, so if your business, or a member of staff, has made a mistake then your customer is 100% entitled to refer to this in their review - and score your business accordingly. Indeed, if a customer wants to post a review that they know to be inaccurate (few do), they have the right to do so - remembering that you always have the right-of-reply.