How to respond to App Store reviews

Recently, Apple started allowing developers to reply to reviews on the App Store. While this is a welcome addition, it can be a little confusing for developers to pick which reviews to reply and how to reply to a review. Some developers may even question the usefulness of replying to reviews. Luckily, at Newton, we have been replying to reviews on the Play Store for years and realized the importance of engaging with our users on the Store. In addition to this, we have figured out some pointers which might help developers who want to take advantage of Apple’s latest offering.

Why do you need to reply to reviews

Replying to reviews and being engaged with your users is always a great practice. There are some obvious and immediate results that you will notice. Especially in cases where users have missed a feature or in a case where an issue can be resolved easily. It is exhilarating to see such 1-star reviews getting updated to 5-star reviews.

In the long term, it will increase the reputation of your product among your competitors. A potential user always notices reviews of an app before downloading it. Engaging with users on the app store shows that you care. This can be the differentiating factor when a user decides to downloads your app instead of your competitor’s.

How to pick reviews you should respond to

While it is tempting to reply to every negative review and convert it to a 5-star review, it is not practically possible. You have to pick and choose which reviews to reply to and which to ignore. You will need to reply to reviews where your reply will make a difference to the user. Some points to keep in mind before picking reviews you want to reply:

• Issues: Always try to reply to reviews where a user is complaining about a crash or any other behavior that is not intended.
• Missed features: While we try to make the app as intuitive as possible, there is always a chance that some people may not notice features that are already available. Reply to such reviews with instructions and you are almost always guaranteed a 5-star revised review.
• Feedback: Some reviews provide amazing feedback to developers. Identify such reviews and acknowledge that you have read and understood the feedback.
• Trolls: In an ideal world, this wouldn’t be a problem. However, in the real world, trolls exist and it is better to not engage in such cases.

What you should say

Now that you’ve got an idea of the type of reviews you need to reply to, let me give some pointers on how to reply. Developers generally answer questions and clarify concerns of the users when they receive emails from users. However, you cannot use the same language and approach when replying to reviews. Since you cannot have a conversation with a user over a review, it is important that your reply either contains the solution for the problem the user is facing or the clarification a user needs in a particular case. Some ground rules you need to follow when replying to reviews:

• Be precise: Do not get lost when you are replying to a review. Your reply should always be on point.
• Be swift: There is no point in replying to a review a week after it is posted. Your replies should be as immediate as possible.
• Use links: In many cases, users are looking for instructions on using a particular feature. Instead of replying with instructions hastily, make use of your FAQ page (or other sources) by providing a link where instructions are presented more clearly.
• It’s OK to ask users to contact you over email: There are some cases which cannot be resolved with a single reply. Identify such cases and ask such reviewers to send an email to your support mailbox where the issue can be handled in a much more efficient way.

Hope that some of these points will help you when you reply to reviews. Have something more to add? Share your thoughts in the comments below.