How To Respond to Positive Online Reviews (yes, you should!)

Positive online reviews are online marketing gold.

Whether the reviews are on Facebook, Google, Yelp, or other industry websites, 5-star reviews help build your reputation, increase trust, and encourage future customers to reach out to you.

You want to do anything you can to show that you appreciate 5-star reviews, in order to encourage more… right?

I hope so.  So many business owners I work with pay little attention to positive reviews.  The world stops when they receive a 1-star review, but a 5-star review?  Meh—They click the “Like” button and move on.

No, no, no.

When a great reviews request process gets you new, glowing online reviews, you need to take two minutes for a heartfelt response.

Here’s the formula follow to make writing a positive review reply easier.

How to Respond to Positive Online Reviews: 3-Step Formula

1. Thank the reviewer for their review: When a customer leaves you a review, they’ve taken their precious time to help promote you.  Thank them for their time in leaving the review.
2. Affirm your appreciation:  Make that person feel special by thanking them for being a customer, especially if they’re a loyal customer.
3. Build the relationship: Let the customer know you look forward to seeing them in the future.

Examples of Positive Review Responses

If Laurie, a great past customer, leaves you a positive Facebook review, here’s how you can respond:

“Laurie, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this excellent review.  We really appreciate your business.  Please let us know what we can do for you in the future.”

Here’s another spin in case you need inspiration on how to change it up a little for each review:

“Laurie, wow!  Thank you so much for this great 5-star review.  We really appreciate you being a loyal customer and helping to share the word about us.  We’re here for you anytime.”

Armed with this simple process, promise me one thing: Treat your positive reviewers to the same amount of attention you’d give a negative reviewer.  Help them see how important they are to you.

Great reviews are a real treasure in online marketing.

PS: Not blessed with only positive reviews?  I have some advice for responding to negative reviews too!  You may want to bookmark it, just in case…