Shoppers value customer reviews. A whopping 86% of people surveyed said that they read reviews for local business.
When it comes to online reviews, a high star rating isn’t enough to differentiate your company from the competition. A star rating (no matter how high) falls flat in the absence of written reviews.
Before making a decision, the average consumer spends 13 minutes and 45 seconds reading through reviews and review responses. The right review response from your company can boost the impact of a 5-star review while mitigating the impact of a negative one. Let’s take a look at some positive review examples and discuss how your company can leave winning responses.
What is a positive online review?
The answer to this question may appear self-evident… A “good review” is when a customer gives your company 5 stars! In reality, what we need is an excellent review – This entails much more than a star rating. Here are three specific elements to look for in a customer review that make it particularly valuable.
Detail in your online review
What, a 5-star rating isn’t enough to impress new customers? You want your positive reviews to be as detailed as possible. Although high star ratings are always appreciated, a detailed review explains why the customer enjoyed your company. This helps prospects understand what distinguishes your company from the competition.
Take a look at how this review of an Asian Restaurant goes above and beyond the star rating.
The review describes how the review felt when entering the restaurant. It described the atmosphere, highlighted a benefit for families, and finally included photos of a couple of the dishes.
This review ticks a lot of boxes for Google My Business. So despite it being older than many of the other reviews of the restaurant, it appears at the top of the search results. You can read more about how Google decides which reviews are most relevant to customers here.
Provides a description of the customer experience
A good review should cover a wide range of aspects of the customer experience. Did the customer receive excellent service? Was a particular employee especially helpful, and did the customer mention the employee’s name in the review? Did the customer mention other aspects of the customer experience, such as a fantastic website that was simple to use? These details will not only be appealing to potential new customers, but they will also help you understand what your company is doing well.
positive feedback from customers
- Detailed feedback
Did you receive a high star rating in a review but mention some negative experiences in the review response? This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how your company responds to feedback. Thank the customer for their response and explain how you plan to improve. This will likely make the customer even happier, and show prospects that you are always working to improve your business.
Why should I react to positive feedback?
Responding to positive reviews boosts their worth. When you respond to a positive review, the customer who left the review feels appreciated, which increases the chance for repeat business. Review responses also show that you value customer feedback and care to improve your customer experience. This will attract new customers and set you apart from your competitors.
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How to respond to positive reviews: 5 examples
Now that you know what to look for in a good review, it’s time to learn how to respond to them from these positive review response examples.
Example 1: Be creative and personal.
Chef John Howie uses YouTube to respond to Yelp reviews of his restaurant, Seastar Seafood Restaurant and Raw Bar, in a creative and personable way. This type of review response is advantageous for a few reasons. First, by posting these videos, Chef Howie reaches a broader audience than just Yelp users. Videos are also shared more often than other forms of media, so this can help increase visibility for the restaurant.
Second, a response like this establishes the restaurant’s credibility — the chef is proving that he actually reads his reviews and values customer feedback because viewers can watch it happening for themselves. Finally, by responding to his reviews on video, Chef Howie is giving a face to his business. When customers and prospects feel like they know the chef, they are more inclined to return to Seastar Seafood Restaurant and Raw Bar time and time again.
Example 2: Respond quickly.
There are few businesses who are better than JetBlue when it comes to responding to customer feedback. JetBlue proves that your business’s response doesn’t need to be long-winded. Even a quick thanks goes a long way.
quick response
JetBlue is also great at responding to negative feedback. When a passenger complained about their broken television screen on Twitter, JetBlue responded instantly. This opened up a personalized conversation, and both parties could come to a solution.
Example 3: Use humor.
How can you turn a negative review into a positive one? Use humor in your response! Instead of this sandwich shop getting discouraged by negative Yelp reviews, it actually used them for marketing content.
Putting a lighthearted spin on one customer’s rant got them a lot of attention. This chalkboard not only shows passersby that the business has a fun vibe, it also proves that the owners actually read their customers’ feedback. Using humor when responding to both positive and negative reviews is a great way to show your business’s personality and grab customers’ attention.
Example 4: Recognize the staff.
Positive reviews are a great way to boost employee morale and keep your team motivated to deliver awesome experiences every day. In this review of Hard Rock Cafe, the customer mentioned the fantastic waitress they had by name. Take a look at how Hard Rock Cafe responded to that positive review:
Example 5: Don’t shy away from personality
When you respond to reviews, don’t be afraid to show your company’s brand! This will make customers more excited to engage with your business. The hair dye company oVertone does a great job at using their brand personality in every response. Every employee is free to use emojis and includes their favorite shade of hair dye as a sign-off signature.
personalized positive review
Review response templates
Need help getting started with your review responses? Look no further. Here are some templates showing how you can respond to positive reviews, negative reviews, and everything in between.
Type 1: The customer is happy and they have no complaints.
This is the easiest kind of review to respond to. A simple thank you should do the trick.
Thank you for your review. We’re glad you had a good experience, and hope to see you again soon!
Type 2: The customer is happy, but there is room for improvement.
Start by thanking the customer for their feedback, then move on to an apology and what you are going to do to make the experience better for next time.
Thank you for your feedback! We are happy that you had a good experience overall, but we are sorry to see that you are upset about [the complaint the customer has made]. We are addressing your concerns by [your plans to fix the problem]. We hope that you come back to see how we’ve implemented your feedback. Thank you again for your review, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Type 3: The customer is upset, but they provide no details.
Responding to this type of review can be tough. Without details to go off of, it can be difficult to know how to respond. Start by asking if the reviewer could give more details about their experience, then switch to email or direct messaging to finish solving the issue.
We are so sorry that you had a negative experience with us. Can you please provide more details about what went wrong? We will do what we can to make it right. Thank you!
Type 4: The customer is upset, and they provided details as to why.
While this can be upsetting to read, this type of negative feedback can be very helpful to your business in the long run. Negative reviews that offer specific reasons can show you exactly where your business is missing the mark. When responding to this review, address each concern the customer has. Take ownership for where you went wrong, and explain how you are planning to improve.
We are so sorry to hear about your negative experience. Please know that we strive for all of our customers to have a great time when visiting [name of your business]. I see that your main concerns are [list the specific complaints the customer has]. Here is how we are planning on correcting these issues: [list how you plan to improve]. Again, my deepest apologies for your negative experience. We hope that you come back to see how we are improving. Thank you for your feedback! We will use it to grow our business and correct our mistakes. All the best.
The image below is a great example of how a business can respond to negative feedback.
respond to negative feedback
These positive review response examples and templates should give you everything you need to identify and respond to good reviews. Learn from these positive review examples and start engaging with your customers today.