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Absolutely! According to a survey by BrightLocal, 88% of consumers

trust online reviews as much as they trust a personal

recommendation—which is remarkable.

Most online reviews are posted by people we don’t know, yet we trust

their opinions and base our purchasing decisions on them.

The same survey found that only 12% of the population did not

regularly read reviews about consumer products!

ONLINE REVIEWS

Are They Critical For Your Business?

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BOTTOM LINE BENEFIT

Before the creation of online reviews,

businesses based their reputations on

customer testimonials and comments.

In the past, if customers were pleased

with a product or service, they would

often send nice notes of thanks.

Businesses used to keep those notes in a binder for all to

see (the Brag Book). But in today’s digital world, most customers use

the Internet and will often post their experiences online. These posts

can be anonymous or attached to the reviewer’s online identity.

Based on BrightLocal’s survey, it is safe to assume that the

overwhelming majority of any business’ customers value online

reviews. Not offering or ignoring customer reviews is akin to alienating

88% of your target audience. No one can afford that!

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Beyond the direct impact of allowing customers to share their opinions,

you have the power to enable positive customer reviews on your site,

and this can have a significant effect on your company’s organic search

rankings in search engines.

Each new and positive review about a product or service increases the

unique content your site offers on that product or service.

In Google’s eyes, positive reviews look like you are a higher authority

and more relevant about your particular product or service. Thus, you

have a better chance of ranking higher on pages that feature your

products and services. There’s actually a way to microformat the

reviews on your site so that Google can index them directly and regard

them as possible “rich answers” for user queries.

Some examples of non-anonymous reviews

include Google Reviews, Facebook and Yelp.

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VALUING REALITY

Since online reviews are so important, it’s unfortunate that not all

reviews are REAL. So how do YOU find out which ones are real and

which ones are fake?

In 2009, the state of New York reached a settlement with a company

that had been posting false customer reviews on websites.

Even today, there are services that charge to create positive and

negative reviews. You may also find that unscrupulous competitors

post negative reviews.

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There is no perfect way to determine if reviews are authentic or not,

but here are some tips that will help your business:

One helpful tactic is to click on the reviewer's avatar or name and see

what other reviews they have completed.

You should see a variety of reviews and ratings to be able to trust that

reviewer’s opinion. Real people have likes, dislikes, and variety in their

opinions. Fake ones are suspiciously consistent.

If you are suspicious, copy and paste the review text into

Google. If the review is on another website, it will show

up in Google. This is a sure sign of a paid and fake review.

Look for identifying information. If a customer is willing

to put their name on the review, it is likely legitimate.

Facebook and Google usually let you see the reviewer’s

identity.

Look for specifics. A review with a detailed description is

less likely to be fake.

If the review uses first-person descriptions often (“I” or

“me” over and over) then it may be fake.

Pay attention to the punctuation. Legitimate reviewers

usually do not use a lot of exclamation points!!! Also,

they do not tend to leave reviews in ALL CAPS.

Look for many different level ratings. If all reviews are 5

Stars, be suspicious.

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The next step is the action plan for BAD reviews:

If you feel that the bad review is authentic, then respond to it.

Do not try to RESOLVE the issue online. Respond with

directions to another, less public mode of communication.

Take the issue offline, research the issue and try to resolve the

matter for the customer with a positive outcome.

Once the issue is resolved, ask the customer to revise their

rating. In a store setting, I would even spend five extra minutes

and have them do it right in front of you.

Make your Store Manager accountable for your store’s online

reputation. Tie their salary or bonus structure to it.

Finally, accept that some customers can never be satisfied. As

long as others can see that you have taken action to resolve their

concern, don’t start a dialog with another annoyed customer

online. It will either go nowhere or somewhere you don’t want it

to go.

Last, but not least, acknowledge and thank customers that

give you positive reviews. They will appreciate your

acknowledgement and it will become part of their positive

experience!

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Reviews can be great or bad for your business. With

careful analysis and a plan of action to look at your

reviews and handle bad ones, you can differentiate

your business from competitors who, for the most part,

do not deal with reviews—good or bad!

For help managing your business’ online reputation, call 210-582-5842

or visit www.DMSapiens.com/Reputation.