Did you know that when someone performs a search for “best of ….” that Google favors businesses that have at least 4 stars and above?
It’s commonly misunderstood that bad reviews are….well, bad. In reality, a bad review can give your brand a platform to turn an upset or unhappy customer into a raving one. Also, a brand that has a few negative reviews will always look more authentic to not only people but also search engines. After all, no business is perfect.
The Importance of Review Management
Best practice for review management is to respond to both negative and positive reviews. Show your customers (and potential new customers) that you take a personal interest and that you care about not only the not so good reviews but the great ones as well. After all, 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business.
Recently Google announced that businesses should not discourage or prohibit negative reviews or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers.
What does that mean? Well, basically Google doesn’t want you to gate reviews by driving negative ones to a private funnel to be addressed and positive ones to a public funnel to be viewed. Google wants everyone to see an accurate and authentic representation of your business.
Every one-star increase in a Yelp rating means a 5 to 9% increase in revenue.
It’s Time to Get Proactive
So how do you start proactively managing your reviews? By asking your customers to leave you a review. Don’t be afraid. Most, if not all of your customers love what you do! And if they do not, then it’s a great way for you to identify potential problems within your business or organization as well as give you an opportunity to turn them into a raving fan.
Lastly, don’t forget to make personal responses to all of your reviews, both negative and positive ones alike. It always makes a difference!
Try these simple strategies and you can find your business in the “best of” category.
