Best practices for managing online reviews
Ever had a glowing review make your day — or a negative one make you question everything?
If you’re like most tour and activity operators, you already know the power of a good review. And the numbers back it up — 89% of customers read reviews before making a purchase, and online reviews can increase conversion rates by as much as 354% (Truelist).
In today’s digital-first world, the customer journey almost always begins with a search. While your website, photos, and social media all shape a potential customer’s impression, reviews often carry the most weight. They offer an honest, first-hand account of your experience, which builds the kind of trust that drives bookings.
Think of reviews as digital word-of-mouth. And if they like what they read? You’ve already earned their confidence.
Respond to every review, positive or negative
When customers share their experience via an online review, it serves two purposes: to inform other customers and to communicate with the business owner. In not responding, you’re missing out on both a valuable touch point and an opportunity to lead the conversation.
Whether the review brings praise or criticism, it’s direct feedback from your customers – and that’s always a powerful tool for improving your business. Show them you’re listening by crafting a personalized response that touches on each point made in the review, rather than sending a canned message.
If you encounter a negative review, respond objectively. Be kind, professional, and accepting of their perspective. The worst thing you can do is respond in a way that will discourage potential customers from wanting to do business with you. Yes, negative reviews are difficult and can be hurtful to a business, but they’re also an opportunity to improve.
When the review warrants more than your acknowledgement, try offering a small discount as an invitation for a better experience. Say something like, “We apologize for your poor experience, that’s uncommon for us to hear. We’d love to make it up to you with 20% off your next booking. Please contact us privately for specific details.”
Take the same approach for positive reviews. Use the feedback to figure out what’s working. It’s just as important to know what you’re doing right as it is to know what you can improve on.
Create a document where you log both positive and negative feedback coming in from reviews. When it comes time to build a new marketing plan, update website copy, or train new employees, you’ll have a clear list of customer-perceived strengths and weaknesses, suggestions, and improvements.
Set aside time to manage reviews. Every. Single. Day.
To keep review sites from becoming a one-way conversation, you need to make yourself available. Let people know that they can rely on a timely response from you by making time to manage reviews every single day.
Remember that almost every customer searching for your business will first look at online reviews. You only get one first impression — make it count. In terms of establishing trust and credibility, your odds go way up when they see that you’re involved in the reputation of your business and that you care about your customers’ opinions.
Plus, when you’re hit with the occasional negative review, you’ll have the chance to respond and repair any damage before it even starts.
Many review sites give the option of sending email notifications when a new review comes in. Enabling notifications makes it that much easier to make sure you never miss a review, no matter how many review sites you use.
Follow up every tour with a review request
From adding review widgets to your website to passing out “Review Us!” stickers or business cards, there’s a way to turn almost any customer interaction into a review request. But we find that the most effective ways to encourage reviews are also some of the simplest.
As a general rule, the more often you can add a personal touch to your tour or activity, the better. This makes the classic in-person request hard to beat. It’s a natural sign-off and easy to work into your final goodbye. Plus, it’s personal enough that your customer will be more likely to log on and leave a review.
Another low-effort, high-impact option? Use QR codes to direct customers to your review page. You can print them on signage at your check-in desk, add them to thank-you cards, or include them on branded stickers or handouts. QR codes make it easy for customers to leave a review while the experience is still fresh in their minds — no need to remember a link or search for your business later. Just a quick scan, a few taps, and you’re one step closer to another five-star review.
No matter what approach you decide is right for your business, we suggest that you always send a follow-up email requesting customer feedback on your preferred review site. This email should be straightforward with a direct call-to-action. You can also use this email to link to your social media pages, to offer a return discount, or to simply say thank you.
Send your follow-up email a few days after your customer’s tour to maximize engagement. You’ll already have an edge as your customer will be on their desktop or device when they open the email, making their five-star review just a few clicks away.
Need one less thing on your massive to-do list? As a FareHarbor client, this automate emails directly through your Dashboard. You can program custom follow-up emails to be sent out directly after the tour or even a few days later.
If TripAdvisor is your top-performing review site, we suggest adding TripAdvisor Review Express to your lineup as well. Review Express is another email automation tool that sends a review request directly from TripAdvisor.
Want to make the most of your reviews? Discover more tips to grow your business. Or book a demo to see how FareHarbor can help you engage your customers—one five-star review at a time.
