Properly managing your reviews online is critical for businesses. It may seem obvious as to why it’s important to have positive reviews online, but only 19% of small businesses actively manage and respond to customer reviews. By not properly managing reviews, you are losing potential sales.
90 % of Customers Check Online Reviews
According to several studies, a staggering 90% to 92% of consumers say they check online reviews while considering a business. 68% of these same customers say reviews influence their purchasing decisions. By actively engaging with customers who have a great experience with your business and asking for reviews, you can give a potential customer an accurate idea of how well your business performs.
Are Negative Reviews Accurate?
As a business owner, you have to be honest with yourself. When you are reading negative reviews on Google, Facebook, or other websites, are they accurate? If they are, the best way to deal with them is by fixing the root cause of the issue. Delivery time taking too long? Rude employees? Are contractors late to appointments? No matter what the issue is, it can be addressed. When looking for help with online reviews, before you contact an agency to respond to these reviews for you, fix the root cause. Otherwise, the situation will never get better.
Focus on the Larger Picture
Have a review that you find is not accurately portraying your business? This happens all of the time for many reasons. It’s important to not drive yourself crazy over a one-off inaccurate review. Often times a customer may confuse you with another business, or a competitor who feels threatened may leave you a negative review. By quickly browsing all of your ratings, you and your customers get a true sense of how the business is really performing.
Respond to Every Review
To properly manage your online reputation, you have to respond to every review, both positive and negative. This is a huge miss for most businesses. You must take the time to acknowledge positive reviews, and the responses need to be genuine. Whether an agency or an internal employee is responding, make sure the tone and voice of the response are cohesive with your brand.
Remain Professional
Sometimes business owners take negative reviews very personally and go on the attack. Although passionate, the responses are generally not appropriate. Remember, customers who are vetting your business cans your responses too. To build trust, it is important that customers know if they have a valid concern, the business will address it. Many times these responses business owners are leaving have a more negative impact than the low-scoring review itself.
Take Action in 2021
Whether you hire an agency, assign a team member, or personally take care of managing your online reviews, there never has been a better time to start! Take control of your online reputation this year and help drive more predictable results and revenue for your business!
ECHO is a full service, Space Coast based digital marketing company that tailors effective strategies for your business. We work with businesses of all types, sizes, and budgets. Contact us today for a free assessment and to learn how 2021 can be the best year yet for your business! ECHODigitalSolutions.co