Thoughts on leaving public responses to positive reviews

[SparkBirdStudioLLC]

Hi,

I'm newish to Etsy and have been leaving a public response to my positive reviews. I just want to be personable and let the buyer know how much I appreciate their review without being spammy by sending a personal message. I know most people use the public response option to deal with negative reviews. Does anyone know if it is bad to respond to publicly to positive reviews? Does the algorithm view public responses as a negative thing even if you dealing with positive reviews?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!

[DesertChains]

I do it. However, any response is for the next shopper, not the buyer, so you need to take that in consideration when crafting your response.

[PillowDetails]

Hey @DesertChains  - you're at 900 sales in this shop!  Congratulations!  : )

[DesertChains]

@PillowDetails 

Yup! Thanks! Feels like I crossed a benchmark of sorts.

[VintageRescueSquad]

It's not a part of the algorithm at all.

Personally, I rarely respond to positive reviews. I thanked them in the auto-message to buyer upon purchase. I also thank them in the note I send inside the package, and I thank them on the auto-notice for shipping goes out. Honestly, even that is more than I feel comfortable with!

I operate on the assumption that I will get 5-star reviews and graciously accept them.

I seriously doubt buyers go back and look at their own reviews to see if you left a response.

[sexsense]

specially if they send a picture, they want to be perceived.

Ich denke es ist eine Art Wertschätzung sich für eine Bewertung zu bedanken, speziell wenn der Kunde ein Foto anhängt, will er Beachtung.

[SunnytyDE]

@VintageRescueSquad  do you know for sure it’s not part of the algorithm? I’m just wondering because Etsy recommends it as a best practice. And anytime they do that it could be part of what they take into consideration regarding the algorithm. 

I do feel the same way you do and that’s why I don’t respond to positive reviews either. 

[PillowDetails]

Buyers are not notified by Etsy, when a Seller responds to a review, good or bad.  Personally, I think the reviews should stand on their own, and be about the Buyer.  I saw this once in the Forums - sorry, I don't remember who to credit - regarding reviews - "Have the good grace to let them have the last word."

That being said, I don't think it reflects badly on a Seller when they respond to reviews.  It's up to you!

[BagmakerSupply]

@SparkBirdStudioLLC: The only known 'positive' to responding to good reviews is that locks them and the buyer cannot go back and change it. Proper responses to bad reviews is probably much important.

[ChillwolfArt]

Hi, Just wanted to add. At first, I only left a Response for Reviews which included a Photo. Then I thought, that's really cr-ppy for those who took the time to leave a Review, but didn't leave a photo. So I began responding to all of them. I don't want it to sound the same for everyone, so I tried to make it more personal to each Buyer. But it's totally up to each Seller, if you wish to Respond or not. I wouldn't think less of a Seller who chose not to.

[PoochandTabby]

I respond to both good and bad. I don't want customers looking at my reviews thinking that I only respond to the bad, as most of the time I see them, the seller is being defensive in those situations.

I think Etsy unlocked responding to only bad reviews for a reason. If you go to your Growth Tips in your shop manager, for the 'build trust with buyers' checklist, responding to a review is on there, along with accepting returns and having tracking. And while I don't think that it affects your shop one way or another for the algo, it's interesting that Etsy is noting this as one of the top 4 things to do in your shop for this checklist. 

That's just my take.

[cindylouwho2]

@PoochandTabby Yes, if Etsy is telling us to do it, they usually have a reason. 

I respond to every review now. 

[PoochandTabby]

@Cindylouwho2

Exactly. With lots of shops going to h3ll in a handbasket because they aren't doing what Etsy suggests, they wonder why.

Just my opinion. 

[PriddeyThings]

I agree. If Etsy is recommending we do it, it’s for a reason. As soon as they added this to the checklist and opened up the possibility of responding to all reviews, I started doing it. 

[JustMeToo]

@SparkBirdStudioLLC   Occasionally, I will respond to a positive review, if the reviewer obviously put a lot of thought and detail into it.  Sometimes I will thank someone who has purchased many things from me over the years, for their continued support.  I don't respond to most, though.  I think that generally, the review should be the last word on a successful transaction.

[bradgoodell]

This is my opinion, but replying to all reviews always looks a little desperate to me.  When I see it on other sites, it annoys me.  

My policy:  Reply to reviews that either need explanation or need to be locked.  Those could be either good or bad reviews.   Occasionally, I reply to especially glowing reviews, but they have to be exceptional.  

In truth, shoppers look at reviews to see what buyers think and say.  Shoppers want buyer's opinions, not ours.  They don't give a dang whether the seller says "thank you!" after ever review.  It offers very little value to shoppers, and the more you do so the less value it has.  Kinda like the person who goes to a party and gives the exact same compliment "You look fabulous, have you lost weight?" to every person there.  At a certain point it is meaningless.  So why waste your time?

[bohemians]

It's definitely up to the seller if they want to add another little acknowledgement, but the purpose of the review is really for the benefit of future buyers.

Personally I think seller notes kind of 'muddy up' the reviews. As a buyer, I want to see the reviews foremost - and if there is a low one - I'd want to know how the seller responded to that buyer's concern.

[UniqueGiftOrnaments]

I don't respond to the reviews. More than likely, the buyer doesn't see them. As others have said, "let the reviews stand on their own."

[AnniebelloPaper]

I would only respond to a review if they mention a problem or have a suggestion. My response would be completely tailored to that comment. I find it annoying (if that's the right word) when I see a seller using the same 'thank you ... ' reply to every review. If you're going to respond to every review, at least make it look like you took the time to read it. And if you're going to respond to every review, make sure you respond to EVERY review. Someone is going to wonder why you didn't acknowledge the one you missed. Perhaps instead of a response, sellers could just 'like' ... click a button, if you didn't think the review needed words.

[AmbientVeniceJewelry]

I respond to all reviews. While I agree that a thoughtful and professional reply with a "solution" to a negative review is important, I think responding to all reviews is the courteous thing to do. If someone takes the time to post a review, I can take the time to post a simple response.

@bradgoodell I respectfully disagree that replying to all reviews reeks desperation. Replying with a simple "thank you for taking the time to review" seems simple enough and respectful. It just seems like good "follow-through" to acknowledge a customer's review.

[FallsAveVintage]

I maintain websites and Google encourages responding to reviews for these businesses. It says, Replying to customer reviews helps build trust.

That's all I need to know.

[modernandvintage]

@FallsAveVintage 

I agree with this. It does show potential buyers that you are fully engaged with your shop, you’re a real person, you’re responsive and it should give someone more confidence to buy from you.

And should they have an issue with their purchase, hopefully it will encourage them to first contact you to resolve it before they open a case or leave a bad review.

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

Interesting to read that Etsy now considers responding to all reviews as a best practice.  Almost always I respond to less than 5-star reviews, unless it seems like a 4 star review might have been an error or just one of those "nobody is PERFECT" sorts of reviews.  But I also respond to some 5 stars, if the commentary contains a question or asserts something that's not true.  My intended audience is always future buyers, because I'm sure very few if any of the reviewers come back to check if I've responded. 

If someone leaves 5 stars with no comments, it does seem a bit performative if I go through and respond in some way to each and every one, even if it's just a heart or "thank you".  It kind of bugs me to see this in other shops, but if Etsy thinks this is important then I will consider doing so.

[Tranquillement]

I never had the time to response to reviews but past few months, I was really touched by my buyer's efforts to input some really encouraging ones which moves me or when they show how they use my buttons, I started to reflect on myself thinking I should make an effort too even if they may not see it. I still don't have time but whenever I got 30 minutes spare, I do batch responses. Some ways I feel I am interacting with the buyers or explain abit about the fabric I use so they know the fabric came from

[PieceByNumberQuilts]

@Tranquillement  Off topic, but your buttons are incredible - I can see why customers write great reviews!