If someone needs new running shoes, they can buy them in a dozen different stores within a 10-mile radius. If they type “cleanser for sensitive skin” into a search bar, they’ll get an endless scroll of products they can order online. In order to stand out, you have to differentiate your business. One way to do that is by getting positive online reviews.
A 2024 report found 54% of consumers trust online reviews more than personal recommendations from friends and family (24%) or company marketing claims (18%). Beyond that, 77% of shoppers consider online reviews either completely or mostly trustworthy despite growing concerns about fake feedback.
Even if you’re not the one posting them, reviews aren’t outside of your control. There are meaningful ways you can encourage reviews, respond to them in a way that builds trust, and take action on critiques to improve your brand image overall.
What is customer review management?
Customer review management is the practice of actively monitoring and influencing customer feedback on review platforms. It involves tracking what customers say about your business on sites like Google, Facebook, and your own online store, then responding strategically to build trust and credibility.
For example, you might establish a practice of responding to every review within 24 hours or display positive reviews on your product pages. When done right, effective review management boosts your credibility with potential customers and provides insights to improve your internal operations.
Tips for building an online review management strategy
- Monitor and respond to reviews on all your platforms
- Manage online reviews from multiple platforms in one central place
- Send automated review requests to get more customer feedback
- Turn authentic customer reviews into marketing
- Use review data to spot customer experience patterns
Successful review management works best when it’s treated as an ongoing business function rather than an occasional task. Depending on your business size, this might be something you handle personally or assign to a customer service team member or a marketing coordinator. Regardless of who stays on top of it, check for new reviews daily, respond promptly, and track patterns in the feedback you’re receiving. Here’s how:
Monitor and respond to reviews on all your platforms
Ecommerce businesses typically need to track reviews across multiple touchpoints. There’s your Shopify store, where customers can comment on everything from packaging to delivery. If you also sell on ecommerce marketplaces, then you’ll need to check in on Amazon, Etsy, or eBay listings.
Brick-and-mortar retail owners should create and maintain their Google Business Profile, where customers can post about their shopping experience. Facebook is another site where your community engages, and there may be other review sites, like Yelp, that are relevant to your retail category.
Aim to respond to any feedback quickly, preferably within 24 hours. Your response strategy should vary based on the review type, so your approach should fall into three categories:
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Positive reviews. Thank the customer by name and mention the specific product or service they praised. Try something like, “Thanks so much, Jennifer! So glad you loved the lavender soap, and that it helped with your sensitive skin.”
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Negative reviews. Acknowledge their concern within the first sentence of your response. Take responsibility without making excuses, and offer a concrete solution like a refund or replacement. You can also provide your direct contact information to move the conversation offline.
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Neutral reviews. These may be surprisingly helpful, since three-star reviews often indicate customers are on the fence about your product or returning to your service. Ask specific questions about how you can improve their experience and offer an incentive for them to keep using your business.
Manage online reviews from multiple platforms in one central place
Since online feedback can appear in multiple places, it’s easy to miss responses. You can manage all your reviews in a central dashboard using a reputation management platform like Birdeye. It aggregates reviews from dozens of sources into one interface, so you can respond to them all from one place. You can also set alerts for new feedback, so you don’t miss a thing.
Centralizing your online review management helps you create and maintain a consistent response strategy. For example, you can set standardized response templates or guidelines, so your tone and approach consistently align with your brand—no matter where a comment was posted. Another big benefit is analytics. A centralized tool can show you trends across all platforms, like your average rating or common customer sentiment, all in one report.
Send automated review requests to get more customer feedback
Most satisfied customers won’t leave reviews unless you ask—giving them a little nudge can encourage them to write one. Automated systems work better than hoping customers will remember on their own.
Consider sending an automated email or SMS text message post-purchase to thank the customer and send a direct link where they can leave a review. Make the process as easy as possible—just one click to get to the review form—so customers are more likely to follow through. Consider requesting reviews at these key moments:
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Immediately after a successful transaction or service completion
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Right after a customer support issue is resolved
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After delivery confirmation for online orders
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Following positive customer-service interactions over phone or chat
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At the end of a project, if you’re a service-based business
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Via QR codes on receipts or checkout counters for in-person transactions
Turn authentic customer reviews into marketing
Each positive review is a testimonial from a real person, and new shoppers can find that persuasive. Rather than letting those kind words sit unnoticed on a third-party site, amplify them through your own marketing channels. Here are five places you can put glowing customer reviews to work:
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On your website. Embed reviews on product pages, a dedicated testimonials page, or your homepage banner. Let visitors immediately see real-life validation of your products.
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Email newsletters and campaigns. Feature a short, heartwarming customer quote or a “Review of the Week” in your emails to subscribers, reinforcing product quality and satisfaction.
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Social media posts. Regularly share customer review shoutouts on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or X.
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Paid ads. Use snippets of five-star reviews or customer success stories in your Facebook or Google ads.
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In-store displays or print materials. For brick-and-mortar businesses, share a few printed reviews in a frame at your checkout counter or fitting room.
Use review data to spot customer experience patterns
Every review contains valuable feedback about what you’re doing well and where you can improve. By examining your reviews from a high level, you might notice recurring themes. Did several people mention that a skin care product felt a bit greasy? Did customers consistently rave about the durability of your backpack straps? These patterns should inform your business decisions.
View negative reviews as free product research. If a few reviewers of a shoe store complain that a certain boot runs small, the owner can add a sizing tip (“runs one size small, consider ordering up”) on the product page, reducing returns and frustration. On the flip side, use positive review trends to your advantage. If many reviews praise the battery life of your electronics, your marketing should highlight that strength.
Beyond product improvements, reviews can reveal issues in customer service or fulfillment—maybe people love your product but complain about slow shipping, showing a need to improve operations. By implementing changes based on common feedback and even announcing those improvements, you show customers that their voices matter.
Online review management software tools
Managing online reviews manually can be challenging as your business grows, but tech tools can make it much easier. The best review management software integrates directly with your online store (Shopify or other ecommerce platforms) and your key review sites, automating many of the tasks we’ve discussed:
Yotpo
Yotpo is an ecommerce marketing platform with extensive review and ratings capabilities. It lets merchants promote reviews through features like automated post-purchase emails and SMS messages that invite customers to leave a review. Yotpo’s on-site widgets make it easy to display reviews and star ratings on your product pages, homepage, and even as shoppable Instagram galleries, so social proof—the idea that if other people are doing something, you should be too—is front and center for new visitors.
The platform also integrates with Google, allowing your product ratings to appear in Google search results and ads. Yotpo also provides an analytics dashboard to track review volume, average rating, and customer sentiment over time, helping you measure the impact of your review management efforts.
Pricing: Plans start at $15 per month.
Birdeye
Birdeye is an all-in-one reputation management platform that brings all your customer feedback—from online reviews to social media comments—into one centralized inbox. The platform also helps you generate new reviews via automated texts and emails; for example, Birdeye can send a review request to a customer shortly after a store visit or service appointment, guiding them to your Google review page.
Another strength of Birdeye is its use of AI and analytics. It can analyze the sentiments found in the reviews to find commonality (e.g., frequent mentions of “customer service” or “pricing”), and it provides industry averages for benchmarking.
Pricing:Contact Birdeye for a quote.
Judge.me
Judge.me is a review app that focuses on product reviews and user-generated content (UGC) collection, offering an easy way to collect reviews directly on your online store. With Judge.me, you can automatically send review request emails a set number of days after purchase—and even schedule follow-up reminders if the customer doesn’t respond.
It supports photo and video reviews, so your customers can upload images of themselves using the product. Judge.me also provides widgets to display reviews and star ratings on product pages.
Pricing: Judge.me offers a free tier with unlimited reviews and a $15-per-month tier that adds referrals, coupons, integrations, and customization.
Cohley
Cohley focuses on generating authentic content—including product reviews—by connecting brands with real customers and content creators. Think of Cohley as a way to scale up your review acquisition and user-generated content when organic reviews trickle in too slowly.
Brands using Cohley can launch campaigns to send product samples to a network of vetted creators or loyal customers, who in return provide honest reviews, photos, and videos of the product. Those reviews are submitted through Cohley and then displayed on your product pages, and an integration with Shopify makes this simple.
Pricing:Contact Cohly for a quote.
Review management FAQ
What are the benefits of review management?
Review management is an effective way to show you care about what your customers think. Plus, you get free insights about what’s working—and what needs fixing—in your business. It also creates valuable marketing content through positive feedback.
What is a review management tool?
A review management tool is software that helps you monitor, collect, respond to, and analyze customer reviews across multiple platforms from one central dashboard. These tools typically include features like automated review requests, response templates, and analytics to track your online reputation over time.
What is an example of review management?
One example is an online skin care retailer using automated email campaigns to request reviews from customers after their order arrives, actively tracking and responding to feedback daily across their Shopify store, and collecting recurring comments about delayed shipments to improve warehouse fulfillment times.
