6 Review Response Templates for Effectively Responding to Customer Reviews

Why is it important to respond to customer reviews?

Potential buyers use reviews to make purchase decisions and get a better understanding of software providers and their products. According to our 2024 Software Buying Behavior Survey, 98% of software buyers say online reviews are important before making a purchase decision.

Responding to customer reviews lays the foundation for building a brand advocate program. Brand advocates are customers who go above and beyond to promote your product or service. By responding to reviews, you can identify and reward loyal customers. 

Additionally, when you respond to customer feedback, it shows that you are committed to delivering excellent customer experience, which helps build trust and strengthen relationships with your customers.

How to respond to customer reviews (templates included)

Responding to every user review — positive, negative, or neutral — not only shows that you care about your customers but also helps improve brand reputation. In the next sections, we discuss the best ways to respond to each type of review as well as provide ready-to-use templates for you to get started.

How to respond to positive reviews

Here are some effective ways to respond to positive reviews:

• Thank the reviewer for the kind words. A simple, "Thank you for your kind words! We're glad you're happy with our product/service" goes a long way in making customers feel appreciated.
• Use personalized, friendly language. This makes customers feel valued and special, convincing them to do business with you again.
• Highlight what you are doing right to make customers happy. This makes existing customers feel good and helps other prospects see what they can expect from your product or service.
• Ask relevant questions to encourage further engagement. This helps you to get valuable feedback that you can use to improve your product or service.
• Invite customers to reach out if they need help. This shows that you are there for your customers and want to ensure they get the most out of your product or service.

How to respond to negative reviews

Negative reviews can be tough to receive, but remember that they can provide valuable insights into what needs improvement and add authenticity to your brand reputation. Having a few negative reviews can add credibility to your product profile; buyers may question the validity of a product profile that only features positive reviews. Additionally, a negative review can provide an opportunity to identify and resolve customer challenges before they escalate so you should always encourage customers to leave authentic reviews, even if they are negative. 

Here are some effective ways to respond to negative feedback: 

• Thank the reviewer for the feedback. This shows that you are open to constructive criticism and value your customers' opinions.
• Apologize for the negative experience. This indicates that you are taking responsibility and are willing to go the extra mile to help them have a better experience.
• Ask for more details. This assures the customer that you are interested in understanding the situation better and want to resolve the issue.
• Keep it positive. This shows that you are professional and committed to providing a positive experience for your customers.

How to respond to neutral reviews

All software and SaaS providers should consider neutral reviews to be an opportunity to showcase unbiased feedback from customers on a third-party site. That’s why it’s important to establish a customer feedback program for reviews so that you can continue to inform product improvements and further customer sentiment. 

Here are some great ways to respond to neutral reviews:

• Thank the reviewer for their feedback. Acknowledge that you’ve seen their feedback and that you appreciate them taking the time to write it.
• Emphasize the valid point. If the customer has a valid point or concern, take the required action to improve your product or service, and assure the customer that you will make the changes soon.
• Turn the neutral review into a positive one. Take the opportunity to turn your customer’s average experience into a great one by offering a complimentary service or giving a discount on their next purchase.
• Use the review as an opportunity to upsell or cross-sell. If a customer is merely satisfied with your offering but you think they would be happier with a different or better product, offer them a deal on the upgrade. This is a great opportunity to suggest other products or services that customers haven’t tried yet.

Win customers over with the right responses

A great response to a positive review can solidify a customer’s loyalty, while a well-crafted response to a negative review can turn an unhappy customer into a satisfied one. And when it comes to neutral reviews, responding allows you to engage with customers as well as cross-sell or upsell your other products or services. Responding to reviews may also provide you with an opportunity to turn customers into advocates.

The way you respond to reviews says a lot about your business. If you want to win customers over and turn them into advocates, take the time to craft thoughtful, engaging responses that address their concerns. 

With the review collection toolkit in your Gartner Digital Markets account, we make it easy to set up and respond to reviews and measure their impact. Claim your profile to effortlessly collect fresh customer reviews. If you already have an account, log in to collect more reviews.

Shubham Gupta

Shubham Gupta is a Content Writer at Gartner Digital Markets who ideates and creates purpose-driven content to help modern technology businesses achieve their goals. Outside of work, he enjoys reading thriller novels and Urdu poetry, as well as spending time with his dog. Connect with Shubham on LinkedIn.

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Survey methodology:

Gartner Digital Markets’ 2024 Software Buying Behavior Survey was conducted to understand the makeup, triggers, budgets, and challenges of software buying teams at global businesses across industries and sizes. We sought to uncover the software types these buyers are adopting, their evaluation methods, and what factors convince them to make a purchase, from vendor reputation and sales team interactions to content materials and user reviews.

The survey was conducted online in August and September 2023 among 2,499 respondents from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, India, Germany, Brazil, and Japan, with businesses across industries, employing between 5-10,000 or more workers, and reporting up to $1 billion in annual revenue. Respondents were screened to ensure involvement in software purchasing decisions.