Getting a bad review sucks. Not only does it hurt your feelings a little (admit it, it gets to all of us), but it can hurt your business. In a 2017 survey, 97% of customers said they looked at online sites for information on local businesses. According to a BrightLocal study, 88% said they trusted online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. So you see how bad reviews, even if they’re outliers, can become a real problem.
The Online Review Problem
Everyone gets bad reviews. Yes. Everyone. In fact, your biggest fear shouldn’t be bad reviews, it should be no reviews. What matters is how you handle the situation. Often, businesses are intimidated by or angry at bad reviews and disappointed clients. They let that get in the way of correcting the situation and potentially improving their review. Remember: the client is angry too. Working with someone who has already decided doesn’t like you is challenging and people and businesses shy away from that. This is one reason outsourcing reputation management is a great idea – they lack the emotional attachment to the business and can react effectively without bias.
How Should You Respond To Online Reviews?
Actively thanking people who leave good reviews, and apologizing and working with those who posted complaints can improve your image. In one survey, 78% of online reviewers said that seeing a business respond made them trust that business more.
We started thinking about how we actively manage reviews on social media — and how can we do more? We’re excited to announce that starting October 2018, we will offer existing and new clients add-on comprehensive reputation management services! Partnering with BirdsEye, we will be able to monitor and respond to ALL REVIEWS — whether they come from Google, Yelp!, or an obscure independent site — from one place. Negative reviews will be addressed quickly, positive reviews will be marketed, and it’ll make generating new reviews easier than ever. For example, did you know people can text in reviews? They can now!
Want to learn more? Contact us online today or call at 512-721-0333! We are so excited about this and can’t wait for you to jump on board!
