Are You Responding to Online Reviews the Right Way?

We recently shared a post about which online reviews pool companies need to respond to in order to keep their brand’s reputation going strong. When it comes to reputation management, it’s how you reply to these posts that will have the greatest impact on your online audience.

There are two elements all of the most effective and impressive review responses have in common:

1. The Response Shows That You’re Listening

Responding to reviews can be an onerous process. But it’s important that each and every response you craft demonstrates that you have heard the reviewer’s comment or concern.

First, if the reviewer has left his or her name, start off by addressing them personally (i.e. “Hi Sarah, Thank you for taking the time to write…” or “Hi John, We are so sorry your pool heater stopped working…”).

Next, reiterate what the person has said (i.e. “We’re so pleased you love your new pool!” or “We agree that having your pool heater break after having it for a few short months is unacceptable”.)

2. The Response Shows That You Care About Their Experience

Now that you’ve addressed the comment or issue, you can expand on your response depending on what the comment was about.

• Positive Comments and Reviews

Every positive review can be leveraged to further benefit your company. When someone leaves a positive comment or review, use this as an opportunity to add another call-to-action or to introduce them to a new or different product.

For example, for Sarah you can suggest she uses one of your water care products to make maintaining her pool water easier, or you can suggest she come by your pool store to grab some cool pool toys.

• Negative Comments and Reviews

Though not nearly as fun to respond to, these are the reviews you need to focus on the most.

After acknowledging the reviewer’s negative experience and apologizing for the trouble it has caused, try to move the discussion offline. Invite the client to give you a call or offer to visit their home at their convenience to try and address the issue. For example, you can arrange to have one of your pool techs to head out to check John’s heater and repair it for free.

Another important thing to keep in mind is to not use your business name or keywords associated with your brand in your comment. You don’t want these negative reviews coming up alongside your website and other branded materials.

Whether online or off, you need to have a plan in place to properly address the problem. Share with the unhappy client the steps you will be taking to ensure that the same issue doesn’t happen again.

Reputation Management and Brand Protection with Pool Marketing Site

Don’t let a negative online review ruin your pool company’s hard earned reputation. Download your free reputation management report from Pool Marketing Site and see how our reputation management packages can help your pool company excel online today.