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Do I Need to Respond to Online Reviews?

June 20, 2019    Reading Time: 2 Minutes

Let me think about it for a minute…

Yes!

Why?

For one thing, it shows your customers that you appreciate them. After all, they chose to spend precious time to write a review.

For prospective customers, it shows the same. You’re an engaged business that is paying attention to the details. You’re engaged, watching your presence online, which shows that you care.

Think of online reviews as another marketing channel. A place where people can learn more about your business.

What about negative reviews?

You can’t only respond to the positive reviews. Those are easy. It’s the negative reviews that will get attention. Like the accident on the freeway, you can’t help but look.

Now, you and your business aren’t perfect. We all know this. Your prospective customers know this as well. Things happen that we can no longer control. What we can control is the way we respond to a negative review.

Don’t fret the one-start review.

Turn a lemon into lemonade.

OK, you have a one-start review and it’s staring you and every prospective customer in the face.

What now?

The obvious is, if you know the customer and the situation, make it right. Contact them right away and fix the issue. That’s number one.

If you don’t recognize the customer and know positively they have never been a customer of your business, you need to let the world know. In your response, talk about the fact that they’ve never been a customer. Maybe they left a review for the wrong business? Either way, mention it.

If they are a customer and you know their situation, be honest and up-front, apologize.

Remember, you’re speaking to the person who left the review and the rest of the world reading the review.

At the end of your every response, always leave your name, title and phone number. For negative reviews, ask them to contact you so you can make it right.

Written by Shawn Hooghkirk on June 20, 2019

Last updated on May 04, 2020. Shawn is the President of Graticle, Inc.

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Let me start by saying if you choose Graticle Design for your website needs, you’ve made the right choice!

Four months ago, I started a new online business. I hired a company that I had found online, to design and build my new business website. Let’s just say, it has been a complete nightmare the past few months trying to get the work done that I needed on my site. I would email them when I needed something and sometimes get no response for days. Not to mention, the amount of time it took for them to get the work done and the high cost of their services. This situation had me extremely stressed out. I must add that I am not computer savvy. Therefore, I depended on this company for all of my website needs. Finally, after months of anxiety, frustration and utter disgust, I decided to search the web for a new website design company. I searched and interviewed many. However, I felt the most comfortable with Graticle Design. When I spoke with Shawn Hooghkirk, I felt a sense of trust and ease after our very first phone interview. Shawn actually took the time to listen and understand my concerns, expectations and everything I wanted for my website. After our first interview, I hired Graticle Design. This was the best decision for my business website and for myself as well. They are fast, efficient, reasonably priced and might I add, very skilled. I am beyond impressed with their service and I couldn’t be happier! I no longer have to stress and worry. I know that I can count on this company for all of my website needs. Most importantly, they do an incredible job!

Thank you Graticle Design! Your team is amazing!

Sincerely, Flickerfancy.com

Renee

Owner

Flicker Fancy

www.FlickerFancy.com

Michigan

I really can’t fully express how great my experience was working with Shawn and Graticle. I work for a non-profit and our website had fallen into disrepair–we had even lost ownership of our domain name! But Shawn went above and beyond and walked me through the process of getting our domain name back, along with the complete design of the new site. I absolutely LOVED that he developed videos that walked us through the process of managing the website–from logging in, to editing photos, to changing content–he covered all the bases we needed to take care of our new site. This was particularly appreciated because, as a non-profit, we will likely be moving through web managers over the years and having these videos to pass on to each new manager will be an incredible relief, and will (hopefully) help us avoid the trap we fell into with our last site. He is the most responsible businessman I’ve ever worked with, he was extremely prompt in his replies to emails, and I never felt like he left us hanging or confused at any step along the way. I recommend his services with full marks! You won’t regret it!

Katrina

Friends of the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex

FriendsWVNWRC.org

Corvallis, Oregon

About Us

Graticle started in 2009 out of Ridgefield, Washington. Not the ideal time to start a business (with a recession in full) but we’ve figured out how to stay ahead of the curve and work harder and better than the other guys. We started out with one thing in mind: Clients. We realized that a project is what you’re after but that’s not all. Our clients not only love what we create but also receive great care and appreciation throughout and after their project is completed. Need more proof? Read any one of our 94 customer reviews.

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