A Five-Star Approach to Handling the Good & the Bad
It goes without saying that reviews are critical to your business’ reputation. You can have the best-looking vehicles on the block, but a community of satisfied customers willing to sing your praises will really back up just how good you are. In fact, it’s proven that customer reviews strongly influence buyers’ decisions.
So, what are you doing to generate more reviews? And what are you doing with them once they’ve been posted? It’s not enough to just wait for reviews to roll into your Google Business Profile. Nor is it enough to let the reviews you already have sit unattended. Let’s dive into how you can increase your overall review count and leverage the feedback you already have.
“We Would Appreciate Your Feedback.”
You can’t begin using reviews to your advantage unless you have some to work with. While it’s nice to receive feedback after a job well done, the fact of the matter is many customers simply won’t remember to go online and write about their experiences. It’s up to you to light a fire underneath them to write a review and help promote your company to other potential leads. Without this friendly reminder, you run the risk of going days, weeks or months without a shiny new review.
- Automate your review requests. No, we don’t mean AI (more on that later). Rather, platforms such as Podium can be utilized to automatically thank customers for their business following service and invite them to share their experience via review. This includes links to your Google Business Profile or Facebook page to make the review process simple and front-of-mind.
- Ask for reviews personally. We may live in a digital age, but there’s nothing quite like a genuine conversation. Once a job is complete, you or your technicians should simply ask the customer to consider taking a few moments to leave a review when they have a chance. Requesting feedback before you leave is sincere, and can spark the motivation your customer needs to share their experience with the world. Being personable and friendly throughout your visit helps, too.
- Leave a review, get a reward. Discounts and coupons for future services can be a great way to incentivize customers to leave reviews. Offering rewards for legitimate online feedback is a fantastic way to further reinforce the impact customer input has on the future of your business while encouraging repeat sales.
Get Typing…Every Review Deserves a Personal Response!
We know you have a business to run. Between managing your employees, responding to calls and so much more, it may not seem like there’s time to respond to every review that comes your way. But when prospective customers see that you’ve taken the time to thank reviewers, answer questions and address concerns on a public forum, you’ll gain valuable credibility that will help influence their decision to call you.
- Respond to all reviews, positive and negative. Responding in a timely manner shows that you are present, responsive and that you care about good customer service. Your responses don’t need to be long—a short, simple message of appreciation can go a long way. According to Bright Local’s 2024 survey, only 47% of consumers are likely to use a business that does not respond to any reviews whereas 88% percent are likely to use a business that responds to all reviews, both positive and negative.
- Be graceful at all times. Not every review is going to be a positive one. Try as you may, sometimes customers have issues with the service they received that may or may not be your fault. It is crucial to respond to every negative review with kindness, understanding and a willingness to help. Doing so opens the door to mending the relationship with the unhappy customer while showing prospective customers that you are always ready to improve or own any mistakes that happen along the way.
- Tread carefully when responding with AI. AI is an incredibly helpful tool, but it is not a replacement for genuine human connection. We’re very vocal about that fact. Many companies have adopted AI to respond to their reviews for them, but the results are often the same: repetitive and uninspired. Potential customers are actively reading these reviews and responses to decide whether or not they want to hire you. Which company do you think they would choose—the one with unique responses to ten different reviews, or the one with the same response copy and pasted ten times? The average reader may not be able to tell the difference between an AI response and a genuine response from an owner, but the fact of the matter is that your team earned that review, and knows how to properly respond—not AI.
Transform Your Reviews Into Branded Content.
Once you’ve done your due diligence by generating a steady stream of reviews for your company and personally responding to them, there are plenty of ways you can turn your accolades into branded content. Doing so ensures that your reviews do some extra heavy lifting for you and get in front of as many eyes as possible!
- Repurpose glowing reviews as content for your social accounts. With social media being such an important part of your digital marketing strategy, you should be looking for content of all shapes and sizes. Sharing glowing reviews to your profiles is a great way to maximize their exposure. Choose the reviews that are positive and unique, and be sure to include the name of the reviewer along with a message of appreciation (but don’t copy/paste your original response!) Don’t forget to also provide the links to the sites where other folks can post their own reviews.
- Feed reviews onto your website from the third-party sites. Customers today come with a healthy dose of skepticism about online reviews. However, they’re more likely to trust these comments if you don’t directly control them. Setting up a dynamic feed of reviews from sites such as Yelp or Google on your company’s homepage creates credibility, especially if you are taking the time to craft professional, honest responses to any lower ratings. Plus, they update automatically, meaning your page won’t grow stale.
The Value of Reviews is Endless.
It’s a fact—if you make it a priority to strengthen your online reputation, more leads will follow. After all, you’ve worked hard on your brand. Why wouldn’t you want potential customers to have as good of an impression online as they do when they see your wrapped fleet drive by?
At the end of the day, your reviews work hand-in-hand with your brand to help you command a bigger, more effective presence in your market for the entire lifespan of your business. If you haven’t begun your own rebranding journey yet, we’re all ears. You can contact us today on our website or call us at 908.835.9000 to get started….but perhaps you’d like to check out our reviews first!