Responding to Online Reviews as a Celebrant

In a digital era, reviews have become a powerful tool in shaping public perception. As a celebrant, managing your online reputation is crucial for attracting prospective clients and maintaining a positive image in the marketplace. Responding to both positive and negative reviews is an art that can significantly impact your business. But it can be difficult when your business feels so personal to you, especially if you don’t feel that the review is fair or reflective of what truly happened. 

Here’s what you can do:

Responding to Positive Reviews

Positive reviews are hugely important as part of your marketing strategy. Plus, on a personal level, it’s nice to know that your clients are happy. When receiving a public online review singing your praises, you can:

• Express gratitude: They did not have to go out of their way to publicly acknowledge you, so begin by thanking the reviewer for taking the time to share their positive experience. Acknowledge their kind words and let them know that their feedback is valuable.
• Personalise your response. Try not to make your responses too repetitive or robotic and tailor it to the customer. 
• Talk about what a pleasure it was for you! Help readers to see that you genuinely love your job. 
• Invite future engagements: Extend an invitation for the reviewer to engage with your services in the future, showcasing your enthusiasm for building a long-term relationship.
• Ask if you can use the review: Not everyone wants their positive reviews spread over your social media, so if they’re ok with you doing this, that’s a bonus. Once they approve, you can showcase the reviews. 
• Add them to your portfolio: Future customers who want to see examples of past ceremonies will benefit from reading associated positive reviews. 

Responding to Negative Reviews

The first thing to remember about negative reviews is that people are 4 times more likely to leave a review if they feel dissatisfied. Sometimes this is because they didn't feel their complaint or concern was acknowledged properly, so as a first step, make sure any customers who raise concerns are not ignored and therefore ‘pushed’ into going public. If you have done everything you can for someone but they still leave a negative review, you can do the following: 

• Stay calm and collected: Approach negative reviews with a calm and composed mindset. Take the time to understand the concerns raised before formulating your response.
• Acknowledge the issue and apologise: Show that you’ve understood their perspective. Express empathy and understanding towards the reviewer’s concerns.
• Explain (if appropriate): Tell them what happened, and what you have already done to try and rectify the situation. 
• Show you are willing to learn and grow: If something did happen to justify the bad review, own the mistake and show you have learned from it. 
• Keep it brief: Be concise and focused on addressing the specific concerns raised. Avoid engaging in back-and-forth debates.
• Encourage further communication offline:Invite the reviewer to reach out to you directly to discuss the matter in detail. 

Sometimes, when a public review is dealt with very well, customers will reflect on the situation and go back and change their review, or delete it. This is the best outcome, so try your best to solve as much of the issue as you can. 

Top Tips. 

• Regularly check review platforms and social media to stay informed about new reviews. 
• Set up notifications to ensure you don’t miss any feedback. The swifter you reply and deal with it, the better the overall outcome will be. Reviews that look abandoned or unread could give people the impression you don’t care, whereas prompt responses show you are properly engaged in your business. 
• Invite previous clients to review you. This works especially well when you know they are really happy with your services. Send them an email with the appropriate link to make it easier.
• Use ‘sound bites’ from your reviews in your social media posts or on a retractable banner at wedding fairs.

Of course, if you are really struggling with a particular review or experience, you can reach out to the membership. If you are not yet an ICPC member, you can sign up here. Other celebrants will have been where you are, and can give more tailored advice to your particular situation.