Apple Is Allowing App Store Review Replies — Here’s The What, Why And How
Good news! Apple announced you will soon be able to reply to App Store reviews.
This is pretty huge news for app developers. Many of us have been asking for this for years. Google Play added this back in 2013.
I’m a huge advocate on the value you can extract from App Store reviews. Replying only enhances this.
What
With the new prompt developers are going to see an increase in their reviews and ratings.
Reviews and ratings have a massive impact on the success of our apps. They are a huge key to success on the App Store. From user perception to search and top chart ranks.
Why
There are many reasons you’ll want to jump onto this as soon as it’s released.
1. Stand Out From The Crowd
A while back I looked at who was replying on Google Play I found 97% of Google Play app reviews go unanswered.
Those who do reply stand out as apps giving top quality support.
2. Call Out Those Who Are Wrong
We’ve all had one of those reviews that is incorrect. “It’s stupid that this app doesn’t do X” when it’s one of your main features! Replying allows you to show users, who are deciding if they should download your app, that the review was incorrect.
3. Increase Your Star Rating
Google found “that users who update their star rating after a developer has responded to their review increase it by an average of 0.7 stars”.
0.7 stars will make a huge difference to any app!
Here’s a great example of turning a 1 star review into 5 stars.
4. Track Down Bugs
I don’t know how many times I’ve received an app review saying something like “It crashes when I press this button”. But it’s impossible to replicate.
Now you’ll be able to point them to your support to help track down that issue. As a bonus everyone will know you are proactive and care.
5. Get In Apple’s Good Books
I’ve found in the past Apple love to feature apps that implement their new features.
Implementing the new review prompt and replying to reviews is sure to be a big ✓ for your app from Apple HQ.
How
Apple hasn’t actually shown us how you’d reply yet. We, at Appbot, are hoping we can deep link to make it easy to reply. We will soon see!
We don’t know how the UI will look yet. But here are a bunch of tips on how to reply when iOS 10.3 is released to the public.
1. Be Prompt
Treat it like any other support request. What’s your aim with support tickets. 24 hours? Get to these as fast. In fact you should make it the priority, at least the rest of the world can’t see someone complaining to support!
Maybe. Just maybe. You need a tool like Appbot 🤔😇
2. Remember It’s A Real Person
Someone has taken the time to write the review so treat them like they matter. Apologise if your app crashed on them. Show them you want to fix their problem.
A great example from Skyscanner:
3. Remember The Whole World Could Be Reading
Your replies will be public. Don’t say something you will regret later. Remember once it’s on the internet it’s there forever 🙃.
4. Don’t Use Canned Replies
Some developers choose to copy and paste the same reply to every review on Google Play. It’s ok to reuse the same text sometimes, but make it personable.
5. Reflect Your Apps Personality
Is your app fun and entertaining? Use the replies to reflect the personality of your company and app.
What’s Next
Now we wait and see what iOS 10.3 and the iTunes Connect update brings us. I for one can’t wait!
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About The Author
Stuart is founder & CEO @ Appbot : App review tools for Product, Technical & Support Teams. You can connect with him on Twitter.
