Customer reviews play an increasingly important role in the success of businesses. It doesn’t just apply to product reviews, like those on Amazon, either. Reviews of services, of dentists, of plumbers, or customer experiences at car dealerships – they’re all growing in number and importance. So why respond to positive reviews?
Chances are good that as a business owner you understand why you should respond to negative reviews. It allows you to mitigate a potentially damaging situation. It allows you to possibly turn a negative review into a positive review, or at least a neutral. It may even prevent a customer from choosing another business. However, did you know that it’s just as important to reply to positive reviews? Why is that? How should you go about doing it?
Why should you respond to positive reviews?
There are actually quite a few reasons that you should respond to positive reviews, even if all you do is basically thank them for taking the time to leave a review. One of the most important is that it helps to build loyalty in your customers. According to a recent study, 78% of consumers stated that they feel that a business cares more about them if someone replies to their review, whether that review is positive or negative.
Another benefit here is that responding to reviews helps you attract new customers. If a potential customer is on the fence between you and a competitor, and they’re reading online reviews for both companies to help narrow down their choices, do you think they would be more likely to choose the company that replied only to negative reviews, or the one that took the time to appreciate all customer reviews?
Replying to positive reviews also makes it easier to boost customer retention, as well. How much money does it cost you to attract and convert a new customer? It’s a lot. Now, how much money does it take to keep an existing customer? It’s far less. By replying to positive reviews, you show that you care about all of your customers, and encourage existing customers to stay with you.
Finally, replying to positive customer reviews builds credibility. It can increase your ranking in the search engines (local seo), and show that you’re not just a faceless corporation interested in padding the bottom line.
Examples of good reviews
Once you start monitoring your customer reviews, you’ll quickly see how even the most positive business reviews come in a wide range of quality. Some reviews are short and simple, other reviews are long, rambling essays, and a small percentage of positive reviews hit the sweet spot of being thorough, thoughtful, and concise.
To give you a better idea of what makes a good review, we’ve included some positive reviews examples below:
- “My wife and I loved our visit to Caitlin’s Cafe last week. We were seated quickly and greeted by an upbeat server who helped us navigate the menu. I chose the eggs benedict, while my wife ate the strawberry-stuffed French toast. The eggs benedict had a unique combination of toppings and a perfect hollandaise. The French toast was truly decadent, without being overly sweet. We will certainly be coming back soon!”
- “Thank you to Roy’s Auto Shop for the easy visit last week. We had a number of issues that needed to be fixed on our Honda Civic, and Roy and his team were very informative and helpful in making the fixes efficiently. They were friendly and never gave us the feeling that they were trying to cheat us or overcharge. We will be telling all our friends to head to Roy’s for any car maintenance in the future!”
- “Last week my friends and I headed to Sol Day Spa for massages and facials. We were treated like royalty and didn’t have any wait after arriving and checking in. We especially loved the ambiance and thoughtful details—I’ve never had a better lemonade, and the magazine selection was perfect! Thank you Sol Day Spa for a relaxing experience!”
After reading these positive reviews examples, you’ll be able to spot a good review when you see it. All of these reviews are ideal because they include many details and don’t seem overly biased. They also cover a range of aspects of the experience (ambiance, service, product, etc) and are not too short or too long.
How do you respond to positive reviews?
While responding to positive reviews is not as delicate a process as replying to negative ones, it does require that you do more than just say “thanks!” and go on your way. Make things personal by calling the person by name (if possible). Next, find a genuine way of expressing your gratitude. Sometimes, something simple is best (Tom, thanks so much for the awesome review, for instance). However, if someone takes the time to write a lengthy review, you should take the time to do more than say thank you. That shows you’re invested in building strong relationships with your customers, and that you really do appreciate them taking the time to not only patronize your business, but to write a review about it. Finally, sign off with genuine emotion to cement the personal connection you created.
Positive review response examples
We already discussed some of the important elements of responding to a positive review. So what are examples of positive feedback? Check out these positive feedback examples to see how to respond when a customer gives you a good review:
- “Cindy, we’re so glad you enjoyed the Chicken Florentine last night. It’s always been a crowd-favorite, and we work hard to keep it that way!”
- “Thank you for your feedback about your experience at our store. Your review means a lot to us and helps spread the word about our business to other customers like you!”
- “Gary, thanks for taking the time and effort to leave a review. We work hard to deliver the best service possible, and we’re glad it showed during your visit!”
Positive review response templates
Still wondering how to go about responding to positive reviews? We’ll make it easy on you! Here is a template for responding to positive reviews, no matter what type of business you’re in.
Response to a First-Time Reviewer
CUSTOMER NAME,
Thanks for taking the time to review PRODUCT OR COMPANY NAME. We know it takes time and we appreciate your effort! We’re glad you had a good experience and hope to see you again soon.
Thanks,
YOUR NAME
Response to a Customer Loyalist
CUSTOMER NAME,
We’re glad to see you again! We always appreciate your thoughtful reviews and are glad to see you’re still enjoying our PRODUCT OR SERVICE. We look forward to seeing you again soon!
Thanks,
YOUR NAME
Response to a Professional Reviewer
CUSTOMER NAME,
Thank you for a very well-rounded and thorough review of PRODUCT OR SERVICE. We appreciate your hard work in putting this review together and know it will be helpful and informative for your customers. Have a good day!
Thanks,
YOUR NAME
Response to a 4-Star Review Response
CUSTOMER NAME,
Thanks for taking the time to review PRODUCT OR COMPANY NAME. We know it takes time and we appreciate your effort and are glad you had a good experience! How we can turn that 4-star review into a 5-star?
Thanks,
YOUR NAME
Response to a 5-Star Review Response
CUSTOMER NAME,
We are so happy that you enjoyed your experience with PRODUCT OR COMPANY NAME. We know it takes time and effort to write these reviews. We can’t wait to see you again and look forward to serving you in the future.
Thanks,
YOUR NAME
Response to Review with No Comment
CUSTOMER NAME,
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with COMPANY NAME. We can’t wait to see you again and look forward to serving you in the future.
Thanks,
YOUR NAME
Adding Variables to Your Review Responses
Adding variables to your review responses can help personalize replies to customers. Here are a few examples:
Custom Location Name Variables
CUSTOMER NAME,
Thank you for your recent review of COMPANY NAME of LOCATION NAME. We know the LOCATION NAME family was happy to serve you and look forward to you visiting us again in the future.
Thank you,
YOUR NAME
Custom GEO Name Variables
CUSTOMER NAME,
We love our LOCATION NAME customers. On behalf of the entire team, thank you for your recent review. We will have a member of our team respond and reach out within the next 24 hours.
Thank you,
YOUR NAME
Reviewer First Name Variable
FIRST NAME: Thank you so much for your recent review of COMPANY NAME. We know it takes time and effort to write these reviews, so we greatly appreciate you taking the time.
Thank you,
YOUR NAME
Get More Templates
Looking for even more template examples to sink your teeth into? Check out our library of 500+ customer text templates.
Why you shouldn’t ignore negative reviews
We’ve already talked about the importance of responding to reviews, and negative reviews are perhaps the most important type to respond to. Responding to a negative review can be tricky, but it may turn an upset customer into a happy customer, and it will show other customers you care about making things right.
Positive reviews: An opportunity to optimize
Replying to positive reviews is not just about customer retention and building loyalty. It can be an important tool for building online visibility. Use your business name and/or location in your reply when it makes sense to highlight a specific location or call out your own business. Attempt to mirror some of the details regarding the product or service in your reply, as well.
Replying to positive reviews can have some significant and profound benefits for your business. Make time for it regularly.
