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As a business owner, responding to positive reviews is just as important as responding to negative ones.

A positive or negative reputation could mean the difference between a business thriving and expanding, or closing its doors for good. In the digital age, a business’s reputation is greatly influenced by consumers through online review platforms like Yelp, Google and Facebook. The good news is these platforms allow businesses to easily monitor and manage their online reputation; a resource they can put to good use by responding in a timely manner to the reviews.

While negative reviews often get the most attention, positive reviews are as, or even more important! Thanking customers for taking the time to review your business and encouraging others to do the same are some of the ways to respond to positive reviews.

With 92% of consumers reading reviews online, businesses can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. An effective response will help ensure that a happy first time customer becomes a regular, and 70% of complaining customers will come back if you resolve the complaint in their favor. The first step is engaging with them.

Say thank you and be specific
No one would let a compliment pass them by in real life. Apply that same principle to a review response! And make sure to reiterate your customer’s compliment. This let’s the customer know that a real person took time out of their day to acknowledge them, and that always feels good.

Use the business name and keywords
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to drive your business up in search results—positive reviews work wonders in search. Referring to your business name, location and category (restaurant, coffee shop, hotel, etc.) helps index that review online.

Market, market, market
Is your business famous for a certain secret sauce? Are you having a promotion next month? A review response is a great place to get the good word out.

Give your customers a task
Not as scary as it sounds. Invite them to try something different the next time they visit, or bring a friend!

As you can see, there’s a lot of potential hidden in a positive review response. Each review is another opportunity to sell your business!

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