When you get a review online, do you engage with it? If you don’t, now is the time to start. Online reviews are important for every business in every industry because they help consumers decide whether your business is worth their time and money or not. Even if you don’t promote your business through media marketing your customers will. On a daily basis, the frequency of customers finding businesses online is increasing. According to a recent study, 34% of buyers use the internet daily to find local business information. Are possible customers going to find something positive when they look up your business? We’ll walk you through how you can receive reviews and maintain a positive reputation for your business even with a low rating.
Receiving Reviews
Not every customer that comes into your business is going to leave a review after they leave your location. In fact, only 1 in 10 of your customers consistently review the services they are using. With a majority of customers not even thinking about giving you a review, it means it’s up to you and your team to ask for them. Now, we are not asking you to bombard your customers with review requests, but after a positive interaction with your customer there is no harm in reminding them to let the world know about their experience. If you would like to do more than just give them a verbal nudge, try creating signage at the register. Something subtle to let them know what you think can go a long way. You can even try offering a small incentive for their time in writing a review when appropriate of course.
Respond To Your Reviews
As you see reviews starting to come in, you have to take the time to respond to them all, especially any negative ones. By acknowledging each customer’s experience it shows that you care about each of your customers and value their opinions. Good engagement with reviews could lead to more email subscribers or social media followers. If you are trying to repair your business after receiving some bad reviews this practice is just what you need to mend your reputation. Whether you choose to trust online reviews or not, your customers are. If you are not trying to control how you are perceived online someone else will and it is not always for the better.
Benefits of Reviews
Positive reviews of course will lead to more new customers and more reviews, but that is not the only benefit. Reviews can actually be used as a powerful tool to help you understand where your business could use some improvements. Let’s say you have received more than a few reviews that your wait times are too long. This could alert you that it is time to get another register system for faster checkouts. Whatever your customers are trying to tell you, it is important that you take each criticism into consideration and see it as an opportunity to improve your operation.
Managing reviews can sometimes be a hard pill to swallow. As a business owner, you never want to hear about how poorly customers think you are doing. Strong online engagement with your customers and reviews can only benefit your business. It not only gives you the chance to better wronged situations you were not aware of but highlights the aspects of your business that makes you great. If you need help building your online reputation the Cobalt Media team knows all the tricks of the trade to better your online presence. Give us a call to begin growing your business for the better.
