Have you ever had THAT customer?

You know, the one who you just can’t satisfy?

It’s not through lack of trying. . . you’re proud of your customer service and you think you always do the right thing if there’s any question about your product quality, or the way you delivered your service.

But there’s no pleasing some people.

Face it: eventually, you’ll get a negative review. In fact, they say there are only two kinds of business: those who’ve received a negative review and those who will.

The problem, of course, is that negative review could strongly influence how prospects see your business.

The rapid growth of online customer reviews is changing the marketing landscape. Research from SearchEngineLand and BrightLocal shows that 92% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, while 88% of consumers trust reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

Like it or not, you really have only two choices: ignore reviews and suffer their impact, or proactively manage your reputation,in advance.

Online Reviews
The truth is that business owners are losing control of their reputation, as prospective customers, clients, or patients rely on the experience of previous buyers.

You see, to save time, the line of least resistance for a potential buyer is to search for customer reviews. They’re looking for “social proof” – a psychological phenomenon, sometimes called herd behaviour, where people look to others for clues.

That’s just a fancy way of saying that potential customers trust the opinions of previous customers. On its own, that’s nothing new. Smart business owners have always used testimonials. They understand that nothing beats an endorsement from a happy customer.

But get this. . .
•  9 out of 10 people judge a company by its online reviews,
•  92% will do business if a company has an average 4 stars or better.

The difference is that you no longer have the power to edit their comments. You can’t choose which opinions to promote and which to ignore, especially if the feedback isn’t flattering.

So do reviews really matter?
Well, it matters to Google. For almost a year they’ve been including your star rankings in search results. (Go search for your company: business-name city)

More importantly, good reviews seem to impact the Google algorithm and improve your placement. After all, Google’s mission is to find the best results for a search so a good review ranking is evidence your business is delivering what customers need.

Look at this. . . .

Since August 2015 there’s just a “snack-pack” of three businesses showing on page 1 of Google results. So if you were looking for a CPA in San Diego, who would you choose? Right, chances are it’s going to be Steven Wendroff.

And there’s the strongest reason of all: Good reviews get you better conversions!

1. With a growing number of good reviews, you move up the Google rankings, so more customers will find you. You get more leads.

2. Because there aren’t so many bad reviews, your rating is better so new prospects are more likely to buy from you. You get more conversions.

So now is a good time to make a plan to manage your online reputation.

Experts agree. “Many companies need to dramatically shift their marketing strategies to account for the rising power exerted on future customers by the opinions of existing customers” – according to a February 2014 article in the Harvard Business Review.

How do you manage your online reviews and ratings?

Here are six simple steps:

1. Assess your systems and customer service practices

Obvious as it may seem, the first step is to make sure every customer is happy and has no reason to complain.

2. Encourage reviews

Unfortunately, you can’t remove bad reviews. Instead, you can dilute their effect with positive reviews – so encourage customer feedback. Studies show you need at least ten recent online reviews.

3. Filter positive and negative feedback

Use software such as Review Investigator which sends negative feedback from customers to you, first, so you can deal with any issues before the customer leaves a review online.

4. Stay alert to what’s being said about your business

In the digital era, one of the worst things that can happen is for someone to post an online review and you’re not aware of it. Set up a Google Alert to notify you when your business is mentioned anywhere online.

5. Respond to all reviews

Responding to reviews is a great way to build goodwill. Your reply to a good review can reinforce a positive customer experience, while answering a bad review shows you care about customer concerns.

LATEST:  In the most recent BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey, 26% of consumers say it’s important for a local business to respond to reviews!  Get my Free Guide: “5 Key Steps for Responding to Online Customer Reviews”

6. Build your online reputation BEFORE marketing your business

If you invest in marketing without managing your online reviews, you may just end up sending your prospects to read bad reviews about you! It’s better to have a system in place, first, to manage and respond to feedback.

Summary: Revise your marketing strategy
Yes, you should you care what people say about their experience AND what they say about it. So now’s the time to incorporate reputation management into your marketing. Why wait until you’re forced into damage control?

Remember: at best, a bad review left unanswered will cause damage to your reputation. At worst, it’ll break your business.

BONUS CONTENT:
Just click here for my free guide: “5 Key Steps for Responding to Online Customer Reviews”

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