10 Online Customer Review Response Templates You Can Use Right Now
Why Should Your Brand Respond to EVERY Online Customer Review
These days, customers who write online reviews about your business expect a response back, and they expect it fast. Whether raving about your food on Yelp or complaining about slow service on Google, they want to know that the brand genuinely cares about their experience. Nobody likes a one-sided conversation. Online reviews are no different.
A strong review response process is also a key component of your overall reputation management strategy. By replying to every post, brands can increase long-term loyalty, in-store foot traffic, online visibility, and positive customer connections online and off. Even if the feedback is negative, an empathetic ear and offer to make it right is often all it takes to make a nearly-lost customer a fan once again.
Don’t have the time or resources to create a new reply for every review? We get it, but that’s no excuse to keep putting review responses on the backburner. All it takes to get started is a library of review response templates and examples for your team to copy, paste and customize as needed.
If you’re not sure where to begin, we’ve got you covered. Check out these 10 ready-to-go review response templates that you can use right now:
How To Write Your Own Review Response Template
Remember: Responding to a bad review might be your last chance to win back an angry customer. It could also be the cherry-on-top for a happy customer that pushes them from an occasional buyer to a life-long loyal fan. That said, what you say in your review response matters. Here are a few tips and guidelines when writing a template for your company’s responses to online reviews:
How to Respond to Positive Reviews:
- Thank the customer
- Get specific
- Entice them to come back
How to Respond to Negative Reviews:
- Apologize and thank them for their feedback
- Respond appropriately
- Invite the conversation offline
- Keep it short and sweet
Review Response Template Best Practices:
- Keep your brand voice consistent.
- Rotate your templates.
- Include contact information.
- Templates don’t work for every review. When in doubt, write it out.
Template #1: How to Respond to the No-Text Review
The easiest review response template to start with is for “no-text” reviews. Most review sites require users to leave reviews with text but some sites still allow users to leave star ratings only. Businesses should still respond to these reviews which is why it’s helpful to have a template at the ready.
For no-text reviews, you can streamline your process even further by using Chatmeter’s bulk responding tool.
Positive Review Response:
Hi [NAME],
Thank you for the 5-stars! Hope to see you again soon!
Negative Review Response:
Hi [NAME],
Sorry to hear your experience was less than 5-stars. If you’re open to discussing your experience further, please call/email us at 888-888-8888/email@brand.com.
Template #2: How to Respond to Reviews Without Much Information
Receiving a review without much context around the rating can be very frustrating. We suggest making some review response templates designed to help get more information out of the customer.
Positive Review Response:
Hi [NAME],
We are happy to hear you had a positive experience at [COMPANY]! We value your input and encourage you to let us know more details about your experience with us.
Negative Review Response:
Hi [NAME],
We’re so sorry that your experience did not match your expectations. Please help us to improve by providing more information on your experience. We can be reached at [phone/email].
Template #3: How to Respond to Reviews from Angry Customers
When dealing with reviews from hostile customers the last thing you want to do is go back and forth with the customer online. Keep your response to negative reviews short and sweet, apologize, and take it offline immediately.
Suggested Review Response:
Hello [NAME],
I’m sorry to hear about your disappointment with us, and I would like to personally assist you with making things right.
Let’s get on a call and address this ASAP. We truly value your business. Please contact us at [phone/email] when convenient.
Template #4: How to Respond to Reviews From Raving Fans
There’s nothing better than receiving a glowing review from a raving fan. Responding to these fans really shows how much you value them as a customer. These are the same customers that are going to promote your brand to friends and family. Show your fans how much you care by taking simple actions like responding to their reviews.
Suggested Review Response:
Hi [NAME],
We are thrilled to have you as part of the [COMPANY] family! Thank you for sharing your kind words with us. It means the world to us and to our entire team! We look forward to serving you again soon!
Template #5: How to Respond to Reviews That Need a Solution
Sometimes people will leave reviews about a problem that can be easily resolved. In these situations, you want to resolve their issue as soon as possible. When brands respond to reviews quickly enough, 33% of people who leave negative reviews will go back and update their original review to a positive one.
Suggested Review Response:
Hello [NAME],
We understand your disappointment. It’s important to us that our customers are more than satisfied and we would like the opportunity to resolve this issue immediately. If you give us a chance, we are intent on making this right and hope you will allow us to speak with you to discuss the situation.
Please reach out to us directly at [phone] at your earliest convenience.
Template #6: How to Respond to Reviews About Great Customer Service
Customer service is a common topic in every industry. When the service is mentioned in a review, try one of these response templates.
Positive Review Response:
Hello [NAME],
Thank you for the wonderful review and for taking the time to share your feedback with [COMPANY]. Our priority is customer service and we are ecstatic that we met that mark! Kind folks like you make our job a pleasure.
Negative Review Response:
Hello [NAME],
We’re sorry to hear of your less than satisfactory experience and hope you will accept our sincerest apologies. We are committed to providing great customer service and we would like to make things right.
Please give us a [call/email] to determine how we can provide you with a solution. We value our customers’ opinions and would like to thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Template #7: How to Respond to Local Reviews from the Corporate Office
Many brands choose to manage reviews from a top-down approach. There’s no reason to pretend that the review response isn’t coming from the corporate office but you should acknowledge the location that those reviews are referring to, especially if you’re an enterprise brand.
Suggested Review Response:
Hi [NAME]!
Thank you for taking the time to give your feedback. We really appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing you at your local [COMPANY]! Please let us know about your future experiences.
Template #8: How to Respond to Reviews that need Extra Attention
Some reviews require extra attention from your customer support team. Create templates that let customers know how they can get in contact with that team.
Suggested Review Response:
Hi [NAME],
Your review is very concerning to us. We would appreciate it if you would contact our customer care team by calling [Phone Number] to speak with a customer care representative about your recent experience.
Template #9: How to Respond to Reviews with a Personal Response
It’s always best practice to let people know that your review response is coming from a real person. Here is a template that makes it easy to add a personal touch to your response.
Suggested Review Response:
Hello [NAME],
Thank you so much for your review! The [Product/Service] is one of my favorites as well! Next time, you should try our new [Product/Service] it’s great during this time of year! – [FIRST NAME]
Template #10: How to Respond to Spam Reviews
We’ve all received fake or spammy reviews before. Maybe they wrote something mean like this review. Maybe it’s a bot leaving weird reviews. Either way, they were clearly never a customer. You want to flag those reviews for removal but getting them removed can take some time.
While you wait for removal, you might as well respond to assure people it’s not a real review.
Suggested Review Response:
Hi [NAME],
We can’t find any record of you in our system and your review violates [Review Site] policies so we have flagged your review for removal. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us at [email/phone].
Bonus Template: How to Respond to Reviews that Mention Team Members
Every now and then someone will include the name of an employee in their review. When this happens, it’s nice to let them know that you will share their feedback with that employee.
Suggested Review Response:
Hi [NAME]!
Thanks for leaving a review, and mentioning [Team Member Position/Name]. You’re right, [Team Member] is always going above and beyond. We’ll be sure to share your praises with them!
Kickstart Your Brand-Building Reputation Strategy
A comprehensive review response process is a great way to start controlling and optimizing your brand’s online presence, and it’s just the beginning. With all-in-one reputation management solutions from Chatmeter, take your reputation further faster by pulling in and responding to every review across channels on a single feed.
You can also access innovative features like:
- Bulk Response
- Suggested Response
- Real-Time Customer Sentiment Analysis
- International Reputation Management
- Huge Review Response Libraries
- Full-Service Review Response
Schedule a demo with us today! You’ll discover how Chatmeter’s solutions can turn your genuine customer feedback and buyer connections to grow your organization.
Book a Chatmeter Demo