The good, the bad and the ugly – how to get good reviews and how to handle the negative ones. As a business owner, your company name and reputation is what puts you on the map. The power of search on the internet has grown to be the number one tool of how consumers make their decision of what to buy and where to go. This is why it’s important to have your company listing come up first on the search page and have a 5-star review.
One of the more difficult tasks, is getting your customers to take the time to write a review, whether it be on Google or Facebook. To do this, you can one, simply reach out and ask for a review, second, find automated ways to direct them there, or third, incentivize them to do so. An automated way such as a follow up email can be effective, but is also less personal and does not always result in getting your customers to take the time to write a review. An email can be easily forgotten and not leave much of an impression. Depending on your type of business, a personal approach could be more effective and also increase your relationship with your clients. Simply by picking up the phone, or having in person meetings and asking them to take a few minutes of their time to rate their experience, could result in higher engagement levels. Lastly, incentivizing your clients to write a review may be more costly but also will likely have the highest participation. People are more inclined to do something when they get something in return. You could offer money off their next purchase, free shipping, etc! Plus, by offering a discount on their next purchase you may also see a higher return of repeat customers.
Now, what if you are checking your reviews and you happen to see a negative comment? This is not ideal, but it’s also not the end of the world. Your next step is to take action on how to fix it and how to mend this relationship with an unhappy customer. If a person took the time to write a negative review, the last thing they want to do is feel unappreciated by a lack of response. First step is to reach out and apologize for their bad experience. Next, is to try and come up with a way to fix it or get them to come back and try your product/service again. Hopefully you have the ability to turn their negative experience into a good one with a second chance.
Whether it be a good or bad review, ultimately it’s a review and it shows that customers are using your product or service and care enough to take the time to talk about it. It’s important to keep track of all reviews and comments to interact with your customers, as well as keep your SEO up for your company site. A good company review is crucial for the reputation of a business! Now it’s time to be proactive and increase your customer reviews!
Check out our “How To Guide” here to help guide your clients to write a review!
