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Increase app ratings & improve reviews with replies

In this post you will learn:

• How we analyzed review replies
• Why are so many mobile app reviews left unanswered?
• How can mobile app businesses take a competitive edge with reviews?
• How responding to reviews can increase your app store rating
• In summary

Want to monitor & reply to app store reviews with ease?

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How we analyzed review replies

In April 2016 we randomly selected 3.5 million app reviews on Google Play store and analyzed the reply rates. Back then 97% of app reviews were left without a reply. This year we ran a similar analysis across 35 million random apps reviews on Google Play and the results 6 years on are still poor - 89% of all reviews were left without a reply.

Of the users who take the time to write a dedicated 5 star review, approx. 8% are provided with a reply of thanks and/or gratitude. The greatest fanbase of an app do not get the recognition they deserve - particularly when this group of individuals are responsible for driving someone else's decision to download/purchase. Imagine how much a brand would stand out from their competition if every 5 star reviews was acknowledged by the mobile app team. With more than just a generic "thanks" there is so much opportunity to engage raving fans further.

What is most interesting with the results is the percentage of responses to 1 and 2 star reviews. Whilst more effort is evident app owners respond to 1 and 2 star reviews compared to 5 star reviews, ultimately 82% of 1 and 2 star reviews are left without a reply.

That's 82% of missed opportunity to build rapport with app users.

82% of missed opportunity to increase app ratings.

82% of missed opportunity to stand out from competition.

82% of missed opportunity to protect your brand.

82% of missed opportunity to get to the bottom of issues so you can fix them.

82% of missed opportunity to turn negative reviews into 5 star reviews.

Why are so many mobile app reviews left unanswered?

• Lack of tools to make reviews visible and accessible within the business.
• Reviews are not quite social media, and are not quite customer support either. As a result, often neither team takes responsibility for them.
• Lack of customer support personnel to respond to reviews.
• Lack of process for replying. Teams need to know which reviews to prioritize for response, and what responses are most appropriate and helpful in the app review context.

How can mobile app businesses take a competitive edge with reviews?

1. By creating an app review management plan for mobile app teams to provide clear insight into which reviews are prevalent and require prompt attention and response accordingly.
2. By leveraging sentiment analysis to help prioritize which reviews to respond to.
3. By connecting third party tools like Slack, Freshdesk and Zendesk to monitor and alert mobile app teams to incoming reviews and reply to plus tools to make replying easy.
4. By making use of canned replies to make it faster and less cognitively intensive to respond to reviews.
5. By building meaningful reports with an App Reviews API to view app review data against other metrics important to the business - ie marketing spend, downloads, conversion rates, revenue.

How responding to reviews can increase your app store rating

1. By showcasing your customer service: Responding to reviews is evidence you offer great customer service. 83% of customers agree that they feel more loyal to brands that respond and resolve complaints.
2. By protecting your brand reputation: Addressing 1-star reviews protects your brand reputation by demonstrating yoru commitment to good customer service in a public forum.
3. By increasing your Rank in the app stores: The app stores have indicated that replying to reviews can help you rank better in the app stores. See Google Play App Discovery & Ranking .
4. By improving your app faster: Monitoring and reporting on the content of your reviews, using a tool like Appbot, can help identify issues faster and highlight the opportunities to improve upon.
5. By improving your star rating: Last but not least, replying to reviews can have a directly positive impact on your star rating. Google have even stated that users increase their rating by +0.7 stars on average when developers respond to their feedback!

In summary

It's not hard to outshine competition when it comes to responding to reviews. With statistics showing 82% of 1 and 2 star reviews are left without a reply, great opportunity exists for mobile app teams and developers to take lead and provide exceptional customer service for app users.

Plenty of third party app review tools are available to help app developers create sound app review management plans - it's a matter of taking action to integrate this into the business to take your app to new heights.

Want to monitor & reply to app store reviews with ease?

Try Appbot free now, no credit card needed →

About The Author

Estelle leads digital marketing at Appbot where she spends a lot of time analyzing app data and writing about her findings. She also enjoys pina coladas, browsing amazon.com and can do her hair in record time when an unexpected Zoom meeting is dropped on her.

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