Why you should respond to every single review

Adding another layer of credibility

Responding to reviews and the way in which you do this, can demonstrate to prospective customers how much you value your customers. It also gives them better insight into what type of experience they can expect to receive from you. Can they trust you post-sale, or do you ignore them once you’ve sold them a car?

As we all know, majority of car buyers do their research on a dealership when considering buying a vehicle off them. That's when ratings and reviews come in to play. Any dealership can be rated and reviewed online (be it via BuyerScore or Google reviews) if they have a rating and review profile.

Win over prospects

When a business makes the effort to respond to customers who have taken the time out of their day to leave a review, it adds an extra layer of credibility to their business.

Not only is it polite to acknowledge the customer, it also tells them that you care about them and what they have to say, plus if a negative review has been left and the business dealt with it well, it can give prospects confidence in doing business with you in the event of any post-sale issues with the vehicle. 

Understanding the power of responding

Let’s put this into context, when tossing up between two similar restaurants to dine at you see their reviews are relatively similar. However, restaurant 'A' responds and acknowledges each and every single review, positive or negative, and they do it charismatically, whereas restaurant 'B' hasn't acknowledged a single one. 

Where a customer has left a poor review, restaurant 'A' responds empathetically and tries their best to resolve the situation, no matter how difficult or unreasonable the customer may be.

Which restaurant would you choose? The one that acknowledges their customers, or the one that ignores them? Bearing in mind they both make similar food and their ratings & reviews are basically identical.

Most people would go with restaurant 'A', Why? Because it gives prospects a better understanding as to how much they value their customers, what type of experience they can expect and how they resolve issues. 

Why you should respond to customer reviews:

1. Enhances reputation - trust and transparency is enhanced when you make the effort to respond positively, something that prospects seek when deciding what dealership to buy from. 
2. Attracts prospects - As mentioned earlier, the way in which you respond to customer reviews demonstrates to prospects that you genuinely value and care about your customers. Do this well and you'll win over prospects. 
3. Increases repeat business - adding that extra layer of post-sale service shows customers that you genuinely care about them and the experience they had at your dealership, therefore increasing the probability of them buying their next vehicle off you.
4. Increases customer advocacy - responding to a customer's review makes them feel appreciated and valued which in-turn can increase referral rate as they're more likely to be an advocate for your dealership and recommend you to family and friends. 

    

Bonus tip - Personalise every response

When responding to customer reviews, don't just copy and paste the same message or respond with a simple "Thanks".

Take the time to personalise each and every response, address them by their name and make it relevant to the vehicle they purchased, here's an example: