How Can Your Business Deal With Business Reviews

Most people own a smartphone, portable tablet, desktop, or other devices that can access the Internet. As technology advances, these devices become cheaper, as does access to speedy Internet access. The widespread availability of devices capable of accessing the Internet has resulted in many consumers leaving reviews on products, services, and experiences they purchase.

Most consumers are motivated to spread reviews when service is outstanding, good and bad alike. However, a healthy share of these reviews is negative, spreading bad news about organizations. Because reviewers do not have to be vetted before publishing reviews, they sometimes spread false, misleading information about companies.

Your business probably has online reviews, just like most others. Business reviews are vital to succeeding in today’s Internet-reliant marketplace. Let’s look into the basics of business reviews and how your business can better deal with them.

Claiming and Completing Business Profiles

Sites like Google, Yelp and TripAdvisor, among many others, host reviews for businesses around the world. In most cases, reviewers are not required to make accounts and are able to leave reviews in minutes. These sites also host profiles for businesses that contain their contact information, menus, and business reviews.

You should visit these sites and every other similar website you can find and claim a profile for your business. It is easy to find fields at the bottom of business profiles that say something like “Is this your business?” Some review hosting sites might require identification, although the process of claiming your business’s profile is simple.

Hours Are Important, Too

TripAdvisor suggests that businesses that update their houses of operation on the site are engaged with 36% more consumers than those without hours posted. Yelp, another leader in hosting business reviews, has identified that organizations update their profiles with five times as many leads every single month.

Don’t Forget the Images

TripAdvisor has also identified a need for images on business profiles. Posting just 11 to 20 pictures will yield about twice as much engagement as restaurants without them. Organizations that post a picture of their managerial staff experience nearly 50% more engagement than those without. Yelp, another authority in hosting business reviews, shows that businesses with at least one review and ten pictures have three times as many profile views as those with a similar review count but no pictures.

Claiming and completing business profiles for your business will also allow it to reply to reviewers online and not to mention, keep consumers updated on current events, deals, and specials.

Tips on How to Respond to a Negative Review

While there are many negative reviews on the Internet, they do not populate the majority of reviews online. Your business should engage in social listening, in which you survey review sites for what customers have to say. Potential customers who look up this information will undoubtedly find it using a local search. This feedback, whether negative or positive, is important to take into consideration. Even further, you should appropriately interact with customers leaving negative reviews using the following tips.

Be Understanding

It is recommended to not stick up for your own business unless claims are absolutely egregious in nature. You should show understanding for consumers’ bad experiences before saying anything else.

Subtly Include How Your Business Normally Behaves

Avoid boosting outstanding business performance, but make sure to include a few words about how your business is known for its consistently outstanding service or whatever positive attributes it is known for.

Offer to Make It Right

Leave contact information for disgruntled customers to get in touch. You can make public what you plan on giving them in respect to their subpar services or products, although it is best left to private communications. It is also important to keep your response short and sweet, as lengthy replies may seem disingenuous, effectively reversing your intended goal.

Why Is It a Good Idea to Respond to a Positive Review?

Negative reviews deserve responses to make things right with unsatisfied customers. Positive reviews necessitate replies, as well, even though consumers aren’t expecting them. Here, we delve further into why communicating with consumers who leave positive reviews is important.

Benefits of Positive Review Interaction

When you publish a response to a positive review, you let the customer know how happy you and your employees are. It is also considered polite for businesses — or anybody, for that matter — to respond to compliments appropriately. Google ranks websites on a variety of factors, including whether businesses respond to reviews. Furthermore, because so many consumers look at reviews online, replying makes your business look better.

The First Steps of Forming a Response

If possible, weave popular search engine optimization terms in replies to rank them higher up on search engines like Google. Include your organization’s name, as well as expressing your gratitude.

Subtly Include Promo Material

It doesn’t make sense to push products and services in replies to positive reviews, although subtly doing so is a good idea. Inform readers about a new item related to their review — something like “We have even added a new ______, just like the one you purchased the other day.”

At the end of your reply, encourage them to come back for a visit and bring a friend or try a new dish.

Final Thoughts

Technology is more widely available than ever before, as is reliable Internet connectivity. Because leaving reviews about experiences at businesses, parks, or other organizations is so easy, many consumers choose to provide their thoughts regarding those entities’ performance. It is vitally important for you to appropriately handle positive and negative reviews alike, as every company with marketing skills does so. Lucid Advertising assists businesses just like yours in handling reviews online. Are you ready to boost your business’ performance?