How to Write a Good Review on Yelp

When it comes to making a buy decision, the bulk of potential customers will look to reviews for assistance.

Information technology doesn't thing whether this is choosing a eating place, booking a holiday, or picking somewhere to visit at the weekend; what other people have to say matters.

Yelp is a platform that allows customers to go out such reviews for the businesses they accept visited and supported, from cafes to cottage rentals and everything in between.

Whilst (nosotros hope) the majority of Yelp reviews you receive are positive and full of praise, there are always going to be times when a negative experience brings this average down. It'due south important to bear in mind that your responses to these comments tin accept as much influence equally the reviews themselves, both good and bad.

Responding to reviews is the best fashion you can demonstrate to customers and potential customers that you care most what they have to say. It gives yous the adventure to encourage repeat business, helps to highlight areas that need improvement, and builds a strong brand paradigm that people will call up and favor over others.

Positive and negative Yelp reviews all warrant a reply, and dedicating the time and resources to doing so tin can have a large touch.

Here'south a complete guide to everything you need to know before you sit down and start responding.

Should You lot Respond to Yelp Reviews?

Yelp Homepage.

Whether they're positive or negative, many people wonder whether they should bother to respond to Yelp reviews at all. It can be fourth dimension-consuming to trawl through comments, and sometimes engaging with dissatisfied customers can bring more hassle than it's worth.

However, responding to Yelp reviews has many benefits, and should be loftier on your list of priorities if you're looking to better customer engagement, build more than make loyalty and demonstrate your delivery to providing a quality service.

First of all, responding to all positive or negative reviews shows the customer who left them that you intendance about what people accept to say about your business. This builds a sense of affiliation with your customers and makes them more likely to come up back and go out skillful reviews again.

Responding to Yelp reviews also demonstrates to new customers that you are a business concern that takes their feedback seriously.

If a potential client comes to your Yelp review page and sees that you take taken the time to respond to feedback and praise, they'll see you in a more positive light and be more probable to purchase from you.

Finally, reading and responding to reviews on Yelp gives you a direct way to hear what your customers are saying near your business, identify what is working well and what needs improvement, and too have conversations with existent customers near how your offer can be improved.

Before yous get-go sending responses to Yelp reviews, information technology can be helpful to clarify a response protocol or designate the role of the responder to a member of your team. This ensures that you plant a strong image with your responses and that customers know what to expect.

You can use the post-obit advice to inform your Yelp reviews response protocol.

How to Respond to Positive Reviews on Yelp

A positive review is like gilded grit for a business organisation.

When a customer takes the time to tell you just how impressed they are with your offer, you know that you're doing something right.

Surely, you can just sit back and enjoy in the post-praise glow at present?

Nope.

If you want to give that warm, fuzzy feeling to the customer who left a review in the offset place, you lot need to respond to their comment.

It might feel like overkill, simply replying to positive reviews is merely as of import every bit replying to negative ones. This makes the customer feel practiced nearly saying something nice, increasing the likelihood that they come dorsum to your business, tell their friends about you and your excellent customer service, and leave another positive review once more.

Here are some peak tips for responding to positive Yelp client reviews.

Go along It Short

Information technology'due south important to give a meaningful response to your customer's reviews, just you don't want to overdo it.

When writing Yelp responses to positive comments, effort to go on things as concise equally possible whilst ensuring that you don't sound sharp and impersonal.

A good rule of thumb is to utilise the following construction:

One opening sentence.
A paragraph of thank you for the review, effectually 3-4 sentences.
One closing sentence.

This means that your answer will feel genuine and personal, but won't ramble on for lines and lines and lose the attention of the reader.

Say Thank You

The most important thing to remember when responding to a positive Yelp review is to say thank you lot.

You lot can express gratitude in a variety of unlike ways, and information technology'due south good to change up what you say so that your responses sound more genuine. Just including thanks right at the showtime of your reply will make the customer instantly experience good well-nigh leaving a review and ensure that you announced humble but showing genuine appreciation.

Examples of ways to thank your customers are:

"Cheers so much for reaching out!"
"We're then grateful that you took the time to permit the states know…"
"It sounds like yous had a great time, many thanks for leaving a review!"
"Your kind words are really appreciated!"
"That's so great to hear, thank you a bunch for telling the states what you lot idea!"

Read and Mirror Details

Before deciding what to respond to a Yelp review, take the time to read through what has been said and option out the key details. Then, make certain that you lot mirror these details past including them in your response to demonstrate that y'all have paid attention to what has been said.

A lot of customers will look that responses to positive reviews are automated. Picking out the fundamental details volition bear witness that you took the time to listen to what they had to say and brand each of your responses more personal.

For example, if you're a holiday cottage rental business organization, and a client has specifically praised the cleaning service that you offering your guests, your response could look like this:

"Hi, [client name]! Thank you then much for taking the time to get out u.s.a. such a glowing review!

Nosotros're really pleased to hear that y'all felt that your cottage had been cleaned to a high standard when you arrived and that this encouraged yous to brand another booking with usa. Nosotros pride ourselves on ensuring that our guests enjoy outstanding service for the entirety of their stay, and our cleaners are a part of that."

Edifice on the praise you take been given offers an opportunity to reiterate some of the fundamental benefits of your business, every bit you can encounter in the case higher up.

Make It Unique

As we've already mentioned, your responses mustn't audio similar automated messages. If a potential client visits your Yelp page and sees that all reviews have the same, basic respond, they'll presume that you don't really read them and volition be much less inclined to leave one themselves.

Leaving unique reviews can be as simple every bit addressing the customer past proper noun, highlighting and responding directly to some of the points they take made, and changing upwardly the language y'all utilize to thank them.

This makes your customer service more than personal and volition also make your reviewers feel appreciated and acknowledged, building affiliation.

Offer More Value

Whether yous include a discount or just some personalized communication in your responses, you tin can accept your customer interaction to the next level by including something valuable in each of your replies.

Not just will this exist an incentive for more positive reviews, merely information technology'south likewise a skilful way to generate repeat business organisation.

The added value you include doesn't have to be something similar an offer or discount code (although this works particularly well), but could but exist a proffer of something else a customer might enjoy.

For example, if you're a travel amanuensis or tour provider and a client has praised the trip they recently took with you to the Italian Riviera, y'all might include advice on another function of Italy they would enjoy or a similar holiday package that yous know other customers have rated highly.

Close with an Invitation

The final judgement of a response to a positive review should always be encouraging the customer to return or repurchase. This doesn't take to be via a difficult sell, but instead a friendly encouragement to proceed supporting your business.

Examples of this endmost invitation are:

"We'll see you before long!"
"Nosotros look forrard to your adjacent visit!"
"Until the adjacent time, bask your…"

How to Answer to Negative Yelp Reviews

Almost every business concern receives a negative Yelp review from fourth dimension to fourth dimension. It might have been prompted by something out of your control, information technology might accept been the consequence of an unintentional mistake, or it may just have been from a customer who was having a bad solar day.

The context of the complaint doesn't really matter though. What matters is how you lot respond.

You tin can plough bad reviews on Yelp into opportunities to amend your service, build better relationships with your customer base and polish your brand prototype all at the same time.

Instead of flying off the hook or taking it personally, see this as an opportunity to practise better and avoid like situations in the futurity.

Knowing how to bargain with bad Yelp reviews does partly come from experience, but the post-obit advice should also be followed to ensure you lot make the best of a bad state of affairs.

Reply Chop-chop

When information technology comes to bad reviews on Yelp, speed is everything.

If you've gotten a bad review, yous desire to tackle it as speedily and efficiently every bit possible before a lot of people see it and the negativity affects your business.

Having someone on your team regularly checking review sites similar Yelp or using software to monitor for reviews is the best way to keep on top of all the feedback you're getting and ensure that negative reviews don't get missed.

This is peculiarly important when a client is seeking a refund or an explanation for something that has happened.

Make the Message Personal

1 of the most mutual pieces of communication when responding to Yelp reviews that aren't full of praise is to employ the name of the customer who has left the review, if information technology is available.

Not but does this demonstrate that a real person has taken the time to read and answer to their review, but addressing someone by their proper name can soften some of their anger or frustration and pb to a more positive interaction.

It turns a single, negative message into a personal conversation and indicates to other readers that you make an try to engage with your customers on an individual level.

Begin with Thanks

In the aforementioned way that a response to a positive review should e'er begin with thanks, a negative should include thanking the customer as well.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but it indicates that y'all appreciate all the feedback that your customers leave and want to utilize it as an opportunity to amend. Which, of course, you should practise.

You don't take to employ the same, enthusiastic tone that you would with a positive response, just should still make an effort to audio genuine.

Examples of this are:

"Thanks for getting in touch to let us know what went wrong."
"Nosotros appreciate you bringing this to our attention."
"Thanks for flagging this up to the states, we're lamentable to hear near your experience."

Highlight Your Action

The about important thing you demand to include in good responses to negative Yelp reviews is details of the action y'all have taken. This is of import not only to placate the customer but likewise to demonstrate to other customers and potential customers that y'all take negative feedback seriously.

If a customer has pointed out a flaw in your arrangement, complained about a mistake, or identified an area where your service is lacking, you should piece of work to remove the issue immediately.

In one case you take done this, include evidence in your response of what has been done to prevent the trouble from happening again.

In the upshot of an outcome that cannot be immediately resolved, you should still include a promise that you are looking into it and working on a resolution.

If a lot of attending has been paid to the review, yous may benefit from giving your customers an update when a solution is found.

Go along Things Polite

Online reviews can be especially harsh, and Yelp is no exception. Fighting burn down with burn down might experience like the most justified response, but it's the worst thing you could do in these kinds of situations.

No matter how rude a customer might have been, always ensure that your bad Yelp review response is polite and courteous. This is essential for minimizing the impact of their negative comments and demonstrating that your business cares about their customers and how they are treated.

Responding rudely to negative feedback is ane of the fastest ways to crusade more impairment to your reputation.

You wouldn't (nosotros hope) yell in the face of a customer making a complaint in person. Sitting behind a screen is no unlike.

End With Positivity

No matter how bad a review on Yelp may take been, endeavour to always stop your response with positivity.

This may be in the class of a pleasant departing comment, a wish that the customer returns for a ameliorate feel, or some other cheers for highlighting an issue in the get-go identify.

Y'all could also offer to requite the customer a refund or a discount, or a solution to their problem if possible.

Ending on a positive note may not have much of an effect if the writer of the review is really unimpressed, just it does show other customers that you are trying to brand amends and paints you in a positive light.

For case:

"We hope yous relish the residual of your trip!"
"Thank you once again for flagging this up, nosotros appreciate you taking the time to give us feedback."
"Nosotros promise that your side by side experience with u.s.a. is more positive."

Track Your Feedback

Whenever yous receive negative feedback, information technology's always worth making a note of what was said, what aspect of your business was involved, and what action was taken in response.

Non just is it a good idea to go on records similar this in case you need to reference past reviews at any point, merely it also means that you will notice if any trends announced in the complaints you receive on Yelp.

For example, if you notice that a lot of your negative reviews are referencing an result with your website or that customer service was defective, this is a articulate indication that you should make improvements in these areas to avoid whatever more negative feedback.

Conclusion

Your Yelp folio is a place where customers come up to feel heard, and replying to their reviews is the best mode to ensure this.

Responding to reviews on Yelp might seem like a fruitless way to spend your time, simply information technology's really one of the best methods of interacting directly with your customers, identifying which areas of your business organization offering need work, and demonstrating your commitment to delivering outstanding service.

Used correctly, the site can be one of the all-time ways to drive both new and repeat concern. The better the impression you make with your responses, the more people will remember and support you.

More than Resources:

Yelp SEO: How to Optimize Your Listings & Rank Higher
How to Build Links Using Testimonials & Reviews
Local SEO: The Definitive Guide to Improve Your Local Search Rankings

Image Credit

Screenshot taken by author, June 2021

felicianokeisheiled.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/positive-negative-yelp-reviews/411389/