Online Reviews for Dummies
A Guide to ensure online happiness!
How to Drive Online Reviews Online reviews can make or break any business. A 2013 study found that 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. This makes reviews your most powerful marketing tool and your biggest threat. Here are 5 tips on how to get an overload of positive reviews: 1. Ask and you shall receive Many customers don’t think to give a review unless they have had a negative experience. If you have done a great job and can see the customer is happy, ask for a review. It is likely that they will write one. Make sure you ask for a review in the right way. This means waiting until the end of the transaction before you ask. Ask for a review, not a positive review. There’s nothing worse than saying “Can you please rate me 5 stars because anything less doesn’t count”. Try saying “Thank you very much for using our service; if you have the time to leave a review we would very much appreciate it.” 2. Make your presence known Keep in touch with social media. Facebook is a great way to get the opinions of your customers without being pushy. Many people are accustomed to posting their experience online which makes Facebook a great way to communicate. 3. Respond to negative reviews quickly Don’t let a bad review sit on your site that hasn’t been responded to. You need to respond quickly to bad reviews so you can address the issue while it is still fresh. For more information on how to respond to bad reviews see below. 4. Make reviewing easy for customers. Use the power of the internet to make reviewing a simple task for customers. With the customers’ permission, email them a link to a site in which they can leave a review. Even providing a “give feedback” button on your website or Facebook allows easy access for your customers to give a review. 5. Let the good work be seen When you get a great positive review let the world know it. Use it to your advantage by posting it on your website, Facebook page or including them in a company newsletter. Amplifying positive reviews you will get you noticed and is one of the most effective marketing tools.
How to deal with negative reviews
You open up your review site and you see this below.
You look over your records and find the tech in fact was not late. It was the fault of the customer for booking the wrong time. What do you do?
The Wrong Way This is what not to say.
Why is it the wrong way? Because things like this happen
Now you’re in an even worse position because now not only does it look like you are late but you’re also trying to cover it up. What you should take away from this is that you will never win a battle online. Even worse is that the world can see it all unfold. So how do you deal with these pesky reviews?
The Correct Way
This is a much more effective approach. It allows you to resolve the issue offline and not for the world to see. Not only that but it makes your company look very professional. Other people viewing the review will be impressed with your response rather than a childish “it wasn’t my fault” post. If they call, make sure you keep that same professionalism on the phone. If you make them angrier they can easily add to their negative review. In this instance, discuss politely the mix up you had which was NOT their fault but was due to a ‘miscommunication’. ALWAYS apologise. You might be surprised how many people just want an apology. It may even make them take down their review. So remember the process 1. Respond appropriately to review and ask for a call 2. APOLOGISE for their unsatisfactory experience with your company. 3. Discuss options to resolve the issue (this does not always mean refund). It could be an apology letter etc.