How to respond to an online review in real-time

When customers take to social media to voice their grievances, how you respond to that review is important. Below are some tips on how you can acknowledge and address the issue at hand.

• Be open and honest - you will of course be upset by the comments, but make sure that you address the negative review in a genuine manner. Be upfront and honest with your customers. 
• Respond in a timely manner - be prepared to act fast, preferably within 48 hours. Even if it is to respond and update your customers that you are working on rectifying the situation, your customers will appreciate that you are listening, you care and you are trying to do something about it
• Apologize - take ownership of what happened. Your customers will appreciate this
• Turn a negative into a positive - don't just stop at an apology - take this situation as an opportunity to show everyone that you are listening and you're doing something about it. Take advantage of the situation to engage with customers, build and establish a relationship with them and impress potential customers
• Be professional - don't write your reply angry. Draft your reply, come back to it and relook at it and if need be, send it to someone to view.

How have you responded to a negative review online? What other tips can you add to this list?

Keep your customers with email

Email marketing enables you to proactively communicate with your existing customers instead of passively waiting for them to visit your website, store or call you.

With email marketing, you can solidify existing relationships, start new ones (when they forward your emails to their friends and family), and convert your one-time visitors and buyers into repeat business and long-term customers or contributors.



According to research:

• A five percent increase in retention yields profit increases of 25 to 100 percent.
• Repeat customers spend, on average, 67 percent more than new customers.

It's All About Communication
Communication is a vital part of any relationship. Your business needs to keep in touch with customers on a regular basis to ensure you remain "top of mind." Research has shown that it takes about six to seven contacts before you can turn a prospect into a buying customer. All that contact can be expensive and time consuming and that’s where email marketing becomes a critical part of any business’s marketing efforts.

Why Is Email Marketing the Answer?
Email marketing is easy, affordable, direct, actionable, and highly effective. When you add email marketing to your marketing mix, you spend less time, money, and resources communicating with your customers than with traditional marketing vehicles (e.g. direct mail or print advertising). And, with email marketing, you can communicate more quickly and regularly.

Communicate More Information More Often
Email marketing is an affordable way to stretch a tight marketing budget. With a response rate five times greater than direct mail and 25 times the response rate of banner ads, email marketing is an effective way to increase sales, drive traffic, and develop loyalty.

Unlike direct mail, there is virtually no production, materials, or postage expense. Best of all, you can use email marketing to send newsletters, preferred customer promotions, sale notifications, new service announcements, event invitations, holiday greetings, and so more.

Use Email Marketing To Educate Your Customers
Your customers are more likely to buy when they can make an informed decision. Why force them to look elsewhere for the important information they need? Your email communications can gently lead a customer through the sales process, provide all the important information they require, and drive them to your website for more details or a purchase.

Foster Long-lasting Relationships
Email is an easy and inexpensive way of establishing early and long lasting relationships with your past customers. When you inform and educate your clients, they begin to perceive you as capable of addressing their needs. Even better, they start to look to you as an expert. This develops trust, opens the door to two-way communication, and allows them to share their pain points with you.

Use the information you gain from your customers and you will be able to better serve their ongoing needs. In the process, you may discover hidden sales opportunities that you may not be addressing or even considered.

Measure and Improve Your Results
With email marketing, you can easily measure the number of emails sent and opened, bounce backs, and unsubscribes, as well as your click-through rates.

You can also see who opened your email, which links they were most interested in and who clicked on what link. All of this useful information can help you send highly targeted campaigns to the people most likely to respond to your offer, thus improving your results going forward.


If you would like more information about email marketing and how it can help your business, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588. TA Fastrack can assist you with setting up an email template and email marketing campaign.