Among the chiropractors someone searching in Wauwatosa, WI is shown, the three answering the most of their recent reviews each answered 9 of their last 10: Connect Chiropractic, Epic Life Chiropractic and Chiropractic Company of West Allis North. Those three are not small listings. Their review counts, 896, 328 and 271, are the same figures as the three most-reviewed chiropractic listings among the 20 we read.
The gyms read differently. The median gym among the 20 we read carries 160 reviews, and the median gym rating is 4.9. The three most-reviewed gyms carry 1,523, 778 and 627 reviews, and that 1,523 is the largest listing among the gyms and chiropractors in this section. Among the gyms we could measure, East Bank Athletic & Social answered the most of its recent reviews: 4 of its last 10. Its listing carries 506 reviews in total. We can't see how the other gyms we read handled theirs, so this says nothing about gyms as a whole; it says the best reply figure we could find among them was 4 of 10.
Set the two trades side by side and the listings point one way while the replies point the other. The median chiropractor we read carries 87 reviews against 160 for the median gym, with a median rating of 5 against 4.9. Yet the named chiropractors answered 9 of 10 each, while the gym we could name answered 4 of 10. Review totals are whole-listing figures; the reply figures cover only each business's most recent 10 reviews, so the two are not the same period and one does not explain the other.
For context, the benchmark measured here puts a typical measured business at 74% of its recent reviews answered, across 44 businesses. That figure is measured across all trades together, not gyms or chiropractors alone.
What to do about it
Open your listing and count your last 10 reviews, then count how many carry a reply from you. The reply figures above were counted exactly that way. The three chiropractors named above each answered 9 of 10. The gym we could name answered 4 of 10. The typical measured business in this catchment answered 74% of its recent reviews.
If your count is below those, the fix is small and it is yours to make: answer each new review as it comes in, positive or negative, in a few plain sentences that respond to what the person actually wrote. Thank them for the specific thing they mentioned, and if something went wrong, say what you will look at. The reply is the one piece of that exchange that is yours to write. It is the part of your listing that speaks in your own voice.
Gyms
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Bank Athletic & Social | 4 of 10 | 506 | 4.1 |
Chiropractors
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connect Chiropractic | 9 of 10 | 896 | 4.9 |
| 2 | Epic Life Chiropractic | 9 of 10 | 328 | 4.9 |
| 3 | Chiropractic Company of West Allis North | 9 of 10 | 271 | 4.9 |