Your online presence is more than what you post on Facebook! The sheer expanse of the internet and the many factors affecting how you are perceived online often make it hard for business owners to feel like they can have any control over how their customers and potential customers view their company. One such difficult aspect of shaping a business’ online presence is managing consumer reviews.
The impact of reviews
The average internet user has become accustomed to online reviews. Companies like Amazon, for instance, provide a place for, and thrive on, user feedback on products. Yelp, TripAdvisor, Bing, Facebook and Google are all set up for customers to give their own reviews or recommendations on businesses. Many consumers look to reviews for advice before visiting a business or considering their services. One BrightLocal study found that 74% of local businesses have at least one Google Review, and the average rating for all industries is 4.42 stars out of 51.
The impact a negative review has on a business’ ranking and popularity can differ based on the existing number of reviews. A one-star review amidst 50 five-star reviews is likely to have little impact on a consumers’ perspective of a business, however, a one-star review on a business with no other reviews can take its toll.
How your business can get more reviews
So how do you go about offsetting a bad review? One way is to get more reviews! Recent positive reviews show consumers that your business is maintaining its standards and that customers are currently happy with your business.
Sometimes it pays to simply ask.
Here are some ways to go about it:
- Ask in person– businesses that work one-on-one with customers may be in a place to ask directly for a review. There’s nothing against the rules saying a business cannot ask a satisfied customer to review them on Google.
- Ask via phone call– follow up your visit with a phone call asking for feedback and a review.
- Leave behind a card– if you’re in a position where you visit customers at their locations; you could provide them with a card upon your departure asking them to review you, and then go about giving details about how to do so.
- Ask via your website– have your developers add a custom link to your website that leads directly to your Google Review page. You can create the link by adding your business’ unique PlaceID and to the URL https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=. The link could even replace the G+ icon you have sitting in your footer.
- Ask via your social media– similarly to your website, share the review link2 with your social media followers and ask them to give you a review. If you see people are reviewing you on Facebook, you could also ask them to review you on Google.
- Ask via email– send your review link to your customers via email, or incorporate the request into your email signature.
- Ask via poster– if you have a place customers visit, put up a poster asking for reviews. Convert your review URL into a QR code using an online generator3 and add it to your poster.
- Reach out to customers using software– many different software programs have been developed to make asking for reviews easier and it enhances your customers’ review process. Such products include Broadly and NearbyNow.
How to effectively manage your reviews
Google reviews can also give you insight into what people enjoy and what people dislike about your company. Use any feedback, positive or negative, to adjust the way you do business. By learning from customer’s feedback, you can ensure new 5-star reviews quickly drown out the older one-star reviews.
Don’t forget to respond to your reviews!
Turn any negative reviews into an opportunity by addressing issues. Businesses who reply to negative reviews and publicly try to make things right are often seen as trustworthy even if they themselves have received a bad review. Above all, potential customers want to know that you can take responsibility for mistakes. Reviewers have even been known to update their review based on the effort companies put in to fix issues.
Tips to replying to bad reviews:
- Respond promptly– it’s easier to fix something if it just happened, and shows you are actively following up with your customers.
- Be brief– you want others to read and value your response.
- Apologize– use “the customer is always right” tactic and try to move forward.
- Fix the issue– Great customer service goes a long way. Fixing the issue can easily turn the upset customer back to a happy customer.
Setting up this service
Not sure if your business is on Google to receive customers to review in the first place? Give our office a call and we can work with you to ensure you have all that you need to be successful online!
Already one of our clients? We periodically send out posts on your social media requesting reviews. Boost your reviews through some of the above tips. Our AMSEngage and AMSEngage+ plans include review monitoring and response!
Want to learn more?
Check out these great resources to get you started!
- How many reviews do you need? https://www.brightlocal.com/research/google-reviews-study/
- How to link directly to Google Reviews https://www.stlouisdigitalmedia.com/blog/local-seo/create-direct-link-to-google-reviews/
- Create a QR Code https://www.qr-code-generator.com/
- What is Google My Business? https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038063?hl=en