Everyone has an opinion. We have opinions about the quality of a restaurant’s food, the cost of plumbing services, who’s a good attorney, product quality, and just about everything else. Prior to social media and Google, people would simply recommend good restaurants, electricians and products to their friends, family and co-workers. Today, everyone in the entire world can write reviews and provide their opinions for everyone to read. This can be good for business, bad for others and downright ugly for some. In this article, we will discuss Google Reviews – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.
The Good Google Reviews
Google reviews are a great way to increase business without having to spend any money. The benefits of the good reviews is that they increase Google ranking for Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO), help to increase awareness, improve online reputation, and help out the smaller operations. Good reviews help to influence consumers to consider one product and service over another. Plus, the review feedback can help you improve your customer’s overall experience. Remember to remind your happy customers to review you on Google.
Today, many consumers research a business before even considering purchasing a product or service. It is estimated that 91% of consumers read online reviews before making a final purchase. Make sure you are staying on top of your Google Reviews and use the feedback to improve your business service and/or product(s). Cheryl Bauman – Planetguide.com.
The Bad Google Reviews
It is not easy to make everybody happy with your business. Stuff happens. But, when it does, it is important to try to address it. Customer service is very important in all businesses. If you can resolve the problem before it escalates to a Bad Google review and beyond, this is the best course of action. Unfortunately, not everyone can be satisfied and others may not give you the opportunity to fix a problem. Once a person decides to go to Google and vent with a 1 star review, you must do your best to address it. It is important to respond to the reviewer within a reasonable amount of time.
Remember, you may be responding to a single reviewer, but many more people may read your review. A negative review is an opportunity to make it right and it shows other potential customers that you care. Cheryl Bauman – Planetguide.com.
Consider the following as a response:
I am sorry to hear about your experience. We are normally known for our attention to detail and service, and we are sorry that we missed the mark. My name is [Owner/Manager]. If you have a moment, I would like to learn more about your experience with us. Please contact me at [phone number/email].
Do NOT Respond in this way:
Ah yes, Ms. Smith, I remember you in our restaurant. You ate all of the food on your plate and as your were wiping up the last drops with the bread from the complementary bread basket, you complained that you did not like the way it tasted. You got very angry that I would not give it to your free. You are cheap and a bad tipper. You were wrong and we were right.
If you were able to reach the reviewer and fix the problem, you may have the added benefit of a follow up review. But, sometimes you simply cannot make a customer happy.
The Ugly Google Truth
Unfortunately, you will not be able to make everybody happy. You will get negative 1 star reviews that may hurt your business no matter how hard you try to make amends with the customer. You may even encounter reviews that were done by competitors, inappropriate or even for the wrong business. Google has 9 review violations that you can refer to to try to get the negative review removed. The 9 violations are as follows: SPAM/Fake Content, Multiple Negative Reviews by the same person, Inappropriate content, profanity, and racial terms, fraudulent reviews from competitors, wrong business, leaving reviews at locations they did not visit, reviews from former employees, irrelevant reviews, and inappropriate images. Find out more from Google HERE.