I get asked a lot if online reviews really matter. My answer every time is, “You better believe it.”
Think about the way you buy things. Chances are, you are more similar to your customers than you know. When I look for a product or service, I tend to gravitate towards items that others have reviewed. I even overlook the companies and products that come up higher in search results if they don’t have reviews. I dismiss them with even more prejudice if they don’t have good reviews.
In this age, when almost any information is available at our fingertips, why wouldn’t we take advantage of others’ experiences to potentially save ourselves time, money, and the frustration associated with bad purchases? The answer is simple: WE DO. 8 out of 10 customers will not hire a service or buy a product without checking online reviews.
Most American adults (67%, according to a Pew Research Center survey) use the Internet and have access to what others are saying about you and your company. People want to do business with companies they trust, and online reviews can either help to build or hurt the level of trustworthiness your brand portrays.
A large number of customers, 88%, trust online review as much as personal recommendations, and with sites like Facebook and Google places adding names and even pictures to each review, the experience is getting more personal by the minute. Therefore, it seems that online reviews really can impact whether or not a potential client chooses you or your competitor.
How do you harness this power to promote your brand? Many companies hope for great reviews but just never get around to asking that question. There are many ways you can prompt clients to leave reviews but also many ways you can dismiss clients by soliciting for reviews. For a few pointers about how to address your clients properly, it can be wise to turn to Google.
Google’s policy on reviews state, “If you’re a business owner, don’t set up review stations or kiosks at your place of business just to ask for reviews written at your place of business.” They also state that offering to give a discount or promotion for good reviews is frowned upon. Google has systems in place to combat such behaviors such as blocking multiple reviews from the same IP address and removing reviews that seem to be “purchased.”
As a company what are the best practices you can use to get organic reviews while staying within those boundaries? Let’s review some best practices:
- Remind — not encourage — customers to “leave feedback.” Mention the sites where you would most appreciate seeing their responses. As an example, you can use emails or feedback cards to show links or QR codes directing customers to your product pages. You can also include such information in any feedback request.
- There are great services that automate feedback requests. www.catapaultmybusiness.com is a great example. Also, these services will capture negative feedback before it ends up online and allow you to diffuse the situation.
- Become an active presence on your chosen sales platform. Time and time again, I find myself with individuals who are convinced social media doesn’t work for their business. And time and time again, I find that the reason it doesn’t work is that THEY are not working it. Social media is called social for a reason. If you don’t engage with the platform, your customers will not see that as a place to engage you.
- Make review requests a part of EVERY employee’s job. When accounts receivable employees collect payments, they should respond with product or service quality review requests. This process can easily proceed on social media with questions such as: “Mrs. Jones how was your service today?” or, “It’s so great to hear that! Would you mind giving us an online review on our Facebook page?” Any employee that visits customers’ homes can also ask: “How did I do for you today? Would you mind providing your feedback in a Google review?”
Keep in mind that increasing your requests for reviews may increase the negative reviews that you receive. If you use a feedback service such as CatapultMyBusiness, the service will generally capture those negative reviews before they hit the newsfeeds, but you must be ready to take action.
The best way to combat a negative review is to respond to them immediately and professionally. Always take a customer service approach and don’t engage in an online battle. Whether or not the claims are justified, the more you engage with the review the more exposure the review will get. Try to take the follow up offline: “I am so sorry to hear that your experience was less than you expected. Please contact me at 888-888-8888 to discuss what we can do to fix this.”
In addition, if you are able to come to a resolution, ask the customer to update his or her review. While it is unlikely that they will update a 1-star review to a 5-star, an upgrade to a 3- or 4-star will look much better.
The sooner you and your company accept that online reviews will impact how potential clients view your company, the better off you will be. As more technology-savvy individuals enter the purchasing world, you better believe people are looking and finding influence in their fellow shoppers’ experiences.
