In your Lipscore account: Menu > Reviews

Public reply to a review is a way of public communication with the customer who left a review, as well as those browsing your website, eager to read reviews and see how your company responds to various experiences your shoppers have, both positive and negative. Your public reply to a review will be displayed right under the review on a product page or in the service reviews list.

Why write public replies?

• Replying in public is a great way to show your appreciation for the received feedback, as well as respond to negative experiences your customers had.
• Doing it shows other visitors of your website that as your customers they can count on you if something goes sideways in their shopping experience.
• Interacting with your customers’ post-purchase creates engagement, loyalty, and brand credibility.
• Other shoppers who see you interact and actually act upon reviews will be motivated to share your feedback with you when they know it really matters and gets the deserved attention.

How to reply to a review?

It is very simple: Go to Reviews list, find the review you want to reply to and write your answer in the text box. Remember to Save your reply.

Once you do, your shopper will receive an email notification about your reply. The click on the button will take them to your home page and display your customer’s review with your reply in a little popup.

Which reviews should you respond to and why?

Whilst browsing your store, if a potential customer sees that you actively engage with past buyers, they’ll be that much more trusting that their order will go smoothly and that they can rely on you before, during and after the purchase. 

If the time capacity allows it, you may attemtp to reply to all reviews. If not, we recommend that you focus on these three:

1. Negative reviews 

Usually behind a negative review there is an unhappy customer sharing their bad experience with you, hoping to be heard and taken care of. It is highly recommended that you reply all negative reviews. Public reply can serve for:

• Apologies – acknowledge your customer’s problem and express your concern.
• Instructions – guide the customer in what they can do in their situation (eg. where to find information about the return policy, how to reach your customer support, etc.)
• Explanation – if the follow up process has not resulted in feedback update, you may explain what steps have been taken by your webshop to make amends. This is more for the future customers to be assured that negative experiences are well taken care of.

2. Positive reviews that took effort  

Show appreciation of the time and engagement your customer devoted to share their feedback which is valuable both for you and future customers: provides valuable insights into product’s performance in given circumstances, comments both on its positive aspects and suggests what could be improved.

3. Reviews that contain a question 

Answering reviews that contain questions is a great occasion to showcase the high quality of your post-purchase services, as well as presents an upselling opportunity – many post-purchase questions refer to potential add-ons to the purchased product or features of another product they’re considering to purchase. 

How to reply to positive / neutral reviews?

From positive to negative, you should bear these rules in mind with every review response you write:

• Greet your shopper with their first name

Research shows that everyone’s favourite word is their first name so incorporate it into your response to instantly grab the reviewer’s attention and create a more personal feel.

• Show their feedback makes a difference

If the review mentions a particular team member, or specific aspect of your product, mention that their feedback will be passed on.

• If it makes sense in this specific situation, use the opportunity to mention your products or your approach to customer service.

Since other potential customers read your responses, this is a great chance for subtle self-promotion. Don’t overdo it though, it is the customer and their review that should be the center of your attention.

• Express gratitude in the close

End your review by thanking your customer again for taking the time to leave a review.

Here’s an example of how it’d look altogether:

“Hey John, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. Our tea-tree shower gel is one of our most popular products, so we’re glad to hear you’re enjoying it. I’ll be sure to pass your feedback on and make sure it reaches the right people. Again, thanks for your feedback and enjoy your purchase!”

How to reply to negative reviews?

Don’t look at a negative review as a threat to your business. Make sure to notice a person behind the review, their excitement related to the purchase and their later disappointment when obstacles occured. Approach it with empathy and genuine willingness to help – this will take you much further than frantically trying to turn the customer over for our own sake only, and will simply feel much better.

• Address the shopper by their name

Regardless if responding to a positive or negative review, it is always a good idea to start in a more intimate and personal manner.

• Show appreciation and apologise

Here, we need to differentiate between two scenarios: It does not make much sense to apologize to a customer who says that the product’s color was not to their taste but it does make sense to apologize if you accidentally sent them the wrong color or if colors on your website look totally different than your actual products. Regardless, this is the place for “We are sorry that / to hear that…” (the color is not to your taste / not what you were expecting / not what you ordered).

• Acknowledge their issue and empathise

Let the customer feel that you acknowledge their disappointment / anger / frustration. The feeling of being understood and not discredited already creates a positive emotional response to your reaction.

• Emphasize company’s values

You want the customer to know that whatever happened is not what your business stands for and is below the stardards you aim to offer.

• Offer to make it right

There are may ways you can go from here, but usually, you inform the customer that you have already reached out via email / will reach out / tried to contact them to find the best solution. In some cases you can instruct the customer on steps they can take – refer them to your return policy, offer an email address or phone number they can contact. Choose your strategy case-by-case and based on the level of engagement you can afford with your team’s resources.

• Close with an apology and greeting from your customer service team or a specific person answering the review

Here’s how it can look altogether:

“Hi Brian, thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We’re sorry to hear you faced such delays with receiving your product – we work hard to ensure next-day delivery is achieved and the service you received certainly isn’t to the standard we strive to maintain so we understand your frustration.
We’d love the chance to make this right, so we’ve reached out to you personally by email. Thank you for your business and again, apologies for the issues you’ve experienced. We are hoping to hear back from you soon!”

If the customer doesn’t completely delete their review after seeing your response, there’s a chance that they will change it into a positive one after your follow up. When treated well, they can actually become your dedicated repeat-buyers and ambassadors.

How to reply to reviews that contain questions?

If your customer asks a question, you need to get back to them. If you don’t, the reviewer could be left feeling neglected, and if other customers notice, it could discourage them from asking any questions of their own.

Note: if Q&A feature is activated in your Lipscore account, you can actually convert such reviews to questions and handle them in the Q&A management panel, and publish them together with your replies in special product page widgets. Reach out to our Support or your CSM to learn more.

• Address the shopper by their name
• Thank them for their review
• Answer the question
• Seize opportunity for self-promotion (if it feels natural)
• Thank again, show willingness to help further and leave direct contact info

Here’s an example of how it’d look altogether:

“Hey Mandy, thank you for taking the time to leave a review! In response to your question of whether our shampoo contains synthetic fragrance, I can confirm that it is 100% natural. We only use the highest-quality essential oils to ensure customers like you get the most possible benefit and don’t have to worry about nasty synthetics. Again, thanks for your review, and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out at [email protected]!”

Treat the texts above as suggestions, ideas on what structure your replies may have – but always remember to reflect your brand’s tone of voice in these replies, follow your internal policies regarding public communication with your shoppers and follow-up procedures. After all, it is your response the customer is awaiting and you know best how to talk to your shoppers to create honest interactions and value for both parties.