How to Respond to Online Reviews? 10 Golden Rules

December 2024 was full of turbulence for KLM—Royal Dutch Airlines. First, their passenger flight KL685 to Mexico had an involuntary stopover in Bermuda due to the terrible smell of 100 live pigs in the cargo, which prevented the crew from continuing the flight. Then, a flight from Oslo to Amsterdam, KL1204, had to make an emergency landing after a technical issue probably related to hydraulic failure.

No wonder KLM received over 500 negative reviews in the past 30 days. These bad reviews reached over 3,5 MILLION people, leaving a lasting impression about the airline and provoking 136 289 interactions.

Let’s see how to react in this kind of situation and how to respond to reviews to save your digital reputation from a crisis.

Knowing how to respond to online reviews is key for every business. Online reviews impact how your brand is perceived by potential customers. If you handle them in a timely manner and respond professionally, you create a positive impression, attracting future customers. Learn how to respond to reviews and leverage the valuable feedback you receive.

But is it even important to manage your online reviews?

Let’s check what the consumer research shows. According to Fera AI:

• 89% of users read businesses’ responses to reviews. 
• People spend up to 49% more money at businesses that reply to reviews. 
• Not replying to reviews risks increasing customer churn by up to 15%.

At this point, I think I don’t have to convince you anymore that you should respond to reviews.

In this article, I’ll reveal the secret of how to:

• Quickly find the most relevant reviews.
• Respond to positive and negative comments.
• Do all of this effectively and in a timely manner. 

I hope that thanks to the examples of review responses you’ll quickly master the art of how to respond to reviews.

Without further ado, let’s jump in!

How to quickly find the most important online reviews?

Tracking online reviews manually by hopping between different channels and analytics tools can be a time-consuming and fragmented process. 

But what if you could view all your online reviews in one intuitive dashboard? 

That’s where media monitoring comes in, and Brand24 makes it seamless.

We cover all key online sources, including:

• Social Media Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X / Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitch
• Web
• News
• Forums
• Blogs
• Review Sites
• Newsletters
• Podcasts

This ensures that you’ll never again miss a critical review!

With Brand24, you can not only gather online reviews from various platforms but also prioritize the ones that matter most using advanced filters. 

You can sort reviews according to different criteria:

• by sentiment to focus on the positive or negative feedback, 
• by influence score to target mentions from key individuals,
• by importance to concentrate your efforts on the most relevant reviews,
• or by intent to spot opportunities for improvement or engagement.

Staying updated is effortless, thanks to features like storm alerts and email notifications that ensure you never miss a critical mention. 

Brand24’s Anomaly Detector also steps in when there’s a sudden spike in mentions, helping you uncover the cause and act quickly.

How does it work?

It marks a sudden mentions peak with an exclamation mark. When you click on it, it reveals the reason behind that spike. It can do this thanks to AI-powered algorithms that go through all the reviews from a particular day and detect their common topic.

Some topics naturally generate more online reviews than others. Monitoring this is essential. 

The Topic Analysis feature clusters mentions into common themes, giving you a clear picture of the issues driving positive or negative sentiment around your brand. 

This way, you can address concerns holistically and make data-driven decisions.

How to respond to positive reviews?

Positive reviews are more than compliments—they’re opportunities to strengthen your relationship with customers and showcase your brand’s personality. 

Here are five effective tips to make the most of them:

01 Say thank you

Always start by expressing gratitude. 

A genuine “Thank you for your kind words!” shows customers you value their effort and appreciate their customer feedback.

This way, you can also foster customer loyalty and can attract new customers thanks to your responsiveness.

02 Get specific and personal

Take a moment to mention something specific from their review. 

For example, if they praised your stellar customer service or a particular product, acknowledge it directly: “We’re thrilled you enjoyed our [product/service]!” 

This adds a personal touch and makes the response feel tailored.

If you ask me, the worst a brand can do is use a bot to automatically reply to all the positive reviews with one standardized message. 

Why?

First, most people will realize that the message is automatically generated. Thus, it will show your low commitment to customer communication.

Second, I saw dozens of examples when people realized that a particular word triggered the automated response and would write outrageous comments, including the magic keyword. 

Pamela Maass, a lawyer and influencer specializing in legal education, learned this lesson the hard way. 

Following the release of her book, which garnered much positive feedback, Pamela implemented a bot responding to comments on her Instagram. 

The bot would detect the word “book” in comments and reply with a generic message of gratitude.

Unfortunately, Pamela’s audience quickly caught on to the automated responses and began leaving nonsensical and offensive comments containing the keyword “book” to provoke the bot’s automatic reply.

This example emphasizes the importance of thorough implementation when utilizing positive review response automation.

Simply relying on single-word detection is inadequate; a more nuanced approach, such as sentiment analysis, may be necessary to ensure that automated responses align with the tone and context of the comments.

03 Share their story

With permission, highlight their review on your website or social media. 

Positive reviews act as testimonials, giving others the confidence to choose your brand while celebrating the customer’s experience.

What’s more, consumers rely more on user-generated reviews than branded content or ads as they find the former more genuine. 

Because of this, sharing user-generated positive feedback can potentially attract more new customers than any other form of promotion.

04 Encourage continued engagement

Keep the conversation going by inviting them to try a new product, sign up for a loyalty program, or participate in an upcoming event. 

A response like “We can’t wait to welcome you back soon!” makes them feel part of your community and supports building brand loyalty.

05 Respond quickly and professionally

Responding to positive reviews in a timely manner shows you’re attentive and actively engaging with your audience. 

It’s also a chance to reinforce your brand image with professional and friendly communication and foster customer loyalty.

With Brand24, identifying positive reviews is effortless. 

Use sentiment analysis to filter positive feedback and set up notifications to respond in real time. 

How to respond to negative reviews?

Negative reviews can feel daunting, but they’re also an opportunity to learn, improve, and turn unhappy customers into loyal advocates. 

Here are five tips to handle negative reviews effectively:

01 Stay calm and professional

Avoid reacting emotionally. A composed and professional response demonstrates your brand’s maturity and commitment to resolving issues.

You must be able to admit to a mistake.

Even if the review feels exaggerated or inaccurate, take a moment to collect your thoughts and respond with professionalism. 

If you believe the customer is mistaken, politely and factually address the situation:

“Thank you for sharing your thoughts, [name]. We’d like to clarify [specific point] and invite you to tell us more so we can better understand your concerns.” 

At Brand24, we always say it’s better to be “a bit too polite” than “a bit too rude.”

This is especially true when it comes to online reviews, where you cannot always be sure about the tone and intentions of the person on the other side of your screen.

This approach ensures transparency without escalating the issue.

However, sometimes you might also face clearly fake reviews. 

For instance, if your competition plays unfairly or a customer confuses the brands or locations and mistakenly gives you a negative review.

Then, make sure to have the situation clarified.

02 Acknowledge the problem

Start by validating the customer’s feelings: “We’re sorry to hear about [name the customer’s experience].” 

Recognizing their concerns shows empathy and makes them feel heard. You should also inform the reviewer about the steps you’ll take to solve the voiced issue.

03 Apologize sincerely

A genuine apology goes a long way in rebuilding trust. Keep it simple and direct: “We apologize for [the issue] and any inconvenience this caused you.”

04 Offer a solution

Address the issue with a clear action plan, like a refund, replacement, or assistance. 

If needed, move the conversation to a private channel to resolve it effectively: “We’d like to make this right – we contacted you in your DMs.” 

In my opinion, this tactic should be used in situations when sharing sensitive details is needed.

Otherwise, keeping the conversation on a public channel is a good strategy. 

Ultimately, that’s where the negative feedback appeared, and it can influence the purchasing decisions of your potential customers. 

However, if they see your professional response and dedication to supporting their customers, they might not be discouraged by the negative review. 

On the contrary, your stellar customer service can become your biggest asset in the customer decision process.

05 Follow up

After resolving the issue, follow up to ensure the customer is satisfied. This extra step can transform a negative experience into a positive one.

With Brand24, you can quickly identify negative reviews using sentiment filters and set up storm alerts for sudden spikes in critical mentions. 

These tools help you act fast, address concerns, and protect your brand reputation before issues escalate to a PR crisis.

Example response to a positive online review

To sum up, a good response to a positive review:

• Is personalized.
• Says “Thank you”.
• Is timely.
• Invites the customer to revisit.

But do you have to write each and every response manually?

Of course not!

You can leverage AI Brand Assistant by Brand24 to generate review responses.

Here’s how to do it.

Prompt: Generate responses to specific positive reviews.

There are a few significant advantages to this solution:

• AI Brand Assistant chooses relevant reviews that require responding on its own, saving you time.
• The original review is linked in the chat, so you can easily copy, paste, and post the review responses.
• Extra review details give you more context.
• AI Brand Assistant creates a natural and personalized response with the author’s account tagged, and it even adds related emojis. Isn’t that cool?!
• You can tweak the response to fit your business profile better by giving the Brand Assistant instructions.

Example response to a negative online review

To respond to negative reviews effectively, remember to:

• Stay calm and professional.
• Acknowledge the problem.
• Apologise.
• Say what steps your company will take to improve.

And again, you don’t have to write all of that manually.

Leverage our AI Brand Assistant to find relevant customer feedback examples quickly and generate responses in seconds.

Please take a look.

Prompt: Generate responses to specific negative reviews.

What’s excellent about AI Brand Assistant is that you won’t be responding with the same response to multiple reviews. 

The tool will always tweak its answer to match a particular context. 

This way, your answers will feel more natural and genuine, especially with the corresponding emojis (did I already mention I love them?).

You can also find the mention yourself and ask the AI Brand Assistant to answer it.

Select a mention from your dashboard, copy it, and paste it into our AI Brand Assistant with a dedicated prompt.

Prompt: Answer this negative review that my company received: [paste the review here].

Why should you respond to online reviews?

Why would you monitor and respond to reviews in the first place?

Here are a few good reasons.

Build trust with your audience

Responding to reviews shows that you value customer feedback and are dedicated to improving their experience. 

This transparency helps build trust and strengthens your company reputation.

Improve customer relationships

Acknowledging both positive and negative reviews fosters stronger connections with your customers. 

A simple response can turn a happy customer into a loyal advocate or transform an unhappy one into a returning loyal customer.

Influence potential customers

Online reviews are often the first thing potential customers see. 

Responding to reviews, especially negative ones, demonstrates your professionalism and commitment to customer satisfaction, making you more appealing to new prospects.

Gain valuable insights

Reviews provide a wealth of information about your products or services. 

By engaging with feedback, you can identify trends, address recurring issues, and make data-driven improvements to better meet expectations of your clients.

Protect and enhance your brand image

Ignoring reviews, especially negative ones, can harm your business reputation. 

By actively responding, you show that your brand is proactive, customer-focused, and willing to take responsibility when needed.

With Brand24, you can monitor reviews across platforms, set alerts for new reviews, and respond promptly to protect your brand image and foster stronger customer relationships.

Conclusion

Responding to online reviews is no longer optional—it’s essential for managing your brand’s reputation, building trust, and fostering strong relationships with customers. 

Whether those are glowing reviews or critical ones, how you respond shapes perceptions and can turn feedback into opportunities for growth.

By leveraging tools like Brand24, you can simplify the process of finding and managing reviews across multiple platforms. 

Features like sentiment filters, anomaly detection, and AI-powered assistance ensure that you never miss an important review and always respond to reviews thoughtfully and promptly.

Remember, every review response is a chance to showcase your professionalism, commitment to customer satisfaction, and willingness to improve. 

With the right approach, even negative reviews can strengthen your brand.

Take the next step in mastering your review management strategy—start your free trial with Brand24 today and see the difference it can make for your business!

Key takeaways:

• Responding to online reviews is crucial for managing your online reputation and attracting new customers.
• Your responses to feedback dictate whether new customers choose to work with you or whether previous customers come back.
• Use media monitoring tools, like Brand24, to catch every single review. Leverage AI Brand Assistant to respond to reviews effectively and master reputation management.