Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Business owners have the misconception that if you don’t have a robust online presence that internet reviews don’t matter.
Well, think again. A new study shows that 67% of consumers make decisions based on online reviews.
If you think about it, this is probably true for you also. It is for me.
The holiday season is quickly approaching, and I have to admit that I started my Christmas shopping a little early this year.
I went to order something for a friend online and was disappointed at the terrible reviews this product had. So much so that I decided to look for another gift.
If you don’t know what people think about or say about your business, you are at a real disadvantage.
Every business owner needs to take responsibility for how it is represented online and for responding to negative comments.
5 Tips To Influence And Improve Online Reviews
1. Take Control
Search engines can be your friend (or your enemy), depending on what kind of information about your business is floating on the internet.
Most people today use the internet to find a business or service.
For instance, most of us go to our phone and Google to search for things like restaurants near me, organic dry cleaners, auto repair shops, etc.
When we do this, the search engines work to pull information that will provide us with the best search results.
Because of this, your business needs to be represented online with accurate and reliable information.
To do this, make sure you create a profile for business directories that show up in search engines.
For instance, Google Business, Bing Places, Yelp, and Yellow Pages all have free business directories that can help you show up in the search engines.
Because these business directories are built by and for the search engines, your listing will rank well when someone is searching for you.
These engines pull information from anywhere they can find it on the internet, so if you aren’t deliberate with the information you share, your business may have outdated or inaccurate information show up in search results.
Take control of what information is available and spend a few minutes creating and maintaining a company profile with accurate information, pictures, and videos!
2. Be Proactive
We know that it is difficult to have happy customers all of the time. However, if we do a good job, we will have a loyal customer base.
Be proactive and ask customers to help you by writing an honest review on the appropriate platform.
If you are a business that gets lots of yelp reviews, ask customers to review you there.
If someone is doing internet searches for your business, ask customers to review you on Google Business or Yellow Pages.
Positive reviews not only help you demonstrate that your business is worth visiting, but lots of positive reviews also help with search results.
Offer customers a discount for simply writing a review. Don’t script them, as that could have a negative effect; ask them to write an honest review in exchange for a discount coupon or freebie.
If you go this route, be selective about who you ask to do this to ensure the person writing the review is happy with your product or services – and doesn’t have an ax to grind!
3. Monitor Online Reviews
We are all busy. We spend our days trying to get the job done, improve how we do things, and work to improve profits.
Online reviews impact the bottom line of your business, so spend the time to find what customers are saying.
The internet has created a platform for people who are not comfortable voicing concerns the old-fashioned way – call the business owner and complain.
These disgruntled customers now take to the internet and voice their frustrations.
Identify someone on your staff to do an online search for your business regularly.
Maintain a spreadsheet with the type of complaint (service or product quality), the date the complaint was posted, and the company response.
Use this information for staff meetings, training, and reporting company data.
The goal is to have no bad online reviews.
4. Respond to Negative Reviews
Don’t ignore negative reviews. Don’t get defensive about negative reviews.
But do respond to every bad review.
If someone complains that employees are rude, respond by apologizing and letting the customer know that you care about employee behaviors and that you have implemented a plan to improve employee training.
If someone complains about the quality of a product, that means that you did not meet customer expectations.
Respond by apologizing and explaining your process for fixing product issues.
If someone complains about the cleanliness of your facility, respond by letting them know you take the issue seriously and what you have done to improve facility cleanliness.
We all know it is difficult to respond to complaints, particularly when we feel like it is unfounded.
However, take a deep breath and respond so that readers of those reviews can see that you take complaints seriously and respond appropriately.
5. Perform Service Recovery
There is a theory that when a customer makes a complaint, and the business makes an effort to resolve the issues associated with that complaint, that the customer will return and be a loyal customer.
This theory is called Service Recovery.
Your business should have a process to respond to and recover from customer complaints.
Responding to online complaints is important – because it demonstrates to anyone who sees a negative review that you care about and respond to customer issues.
And, service recovery is important because it is an act of reaching out to a dissatisfied customer and letting them know that you care about their experience.
Train employees on how to respond to complaints and give them the necessary tools to fix problems.
For instance, if you are a restaurant owner, empower employees to fix the issue by comping the bill, offering a gift card, or encouraging the customer to return.
The goal is to turn a negative experience into a pleasant surprise. And that can result in a fan for life.
Customers are reasonable, and if you take the time to fix what is broken, they often forgive quickly and turn into your most loyal fans.
The age of the internet has changed how business is done. It certainly has changed how customers respond to a negative experience.
Take the time to monitor online reviews, respond to them, and fix what is broken, and your business will be well-equipped to handle this changing business model.
Do you know what your customers are saying about you online? If not, you might want to find out!