5-Star Success: Growing with Google Reviews
Picture this… you’re on your way home from a long day at work, traffic is crazy, the kids are fighting, and you come home to find you have no power 😭 Could the day get any worse? Time to call up an electrician!
What's the first step you take when doing this?
- Call 000
- Google ‘Electricians near me’
- Cry 😭
If you said B, Google ‘Electricians near me’... you get a gold star!! ⭐ You are part of
the 94.56% of Australians who use Google… and 60% of those rely on Google Reviews to help them decide on what business they should use! 😮
Why are Google reviews so important?
Following the story above, imagine you Googled 'Electrician near me' and 3 options came up:
- Business 1: 1 x 5 star review
- Business 2: 3 x 3 star reviews
- Business 3: 15 x 4.5 star reviews
Which would you choose?
Business 3 would be the obvious answer, they have four times the amount of reviews as the two businesses, all being nearly 5 stars. This shows Business 3 to be credible and consistent. You immediately trust them more over the other options!
This is why you
want
reviews on Google. Being the most popular platform to search for business reviews, you need to ensure:
- Your customers are able to post their reviews of you on Google and,
- You do your best to get as many reviews as you can.
More the better!
Tips to get more glowing Google reviews!
For the best response rate: ask in person!
When you’ve completed a service with a (happy) customer, ask for a review then and there! You'll already have a very good gauge on whether your customer is happy. This will give you the best chance to get an honest, good review from your customer.
Email or text them a link straight away, and include the link post-sales service. The review link can be found in your Google Business Profile - you can also use the link to create a QR code. Offer the QR code your customer so they can immediately complete the review, and display the code on your front counter / service area. Don't be nervous to explain why Google Reviews are so important to your business.
NB: Customers do NOT need a gmail account to leave a Google review. Where Google prompts them to sign in, they can hit 'Create account' then 'Use my current email address'. They WILL need to create a password & verify that password via their email before they can leave a review.
What to do with Google reviews?
😃 Positive Reviews:
- Make sure to respond quickly, a quick response shows great customer service.
- How you respond is also extremely important, as it can help with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This means using keywords important to your business can help you stay on top of your competitors on Google.
- E.g. “Thanks for leaving your Google review ____! We are so pleased you chose us as your Townsville electrician. Your new lights look great!”.
- Use your positive reviews.
Share them on social media, on websites etc – get as much use out of them as you can!
😒 Negative Reviews:
- Don’t even ask! No, Google reviews can’t be turned off… BUT people will look at how you reply to negative comments and judge your business based on that response!
- How you respond is everything. A timely response like “Sorry to hear you’ve had that experience ____. We appreciate your feedback but would love to talk to you about it directly. Can you please contact us on ____”.
- If the issue can be resolved, ask the customer to remove their review.
😳 False Reviews:
Unfortunately some businesses receive dodgy reviews from people who weren’t customers! This can be competitors trying to make you look bad or someone who’s just trying to cause you trouble. Don’t let clearly bogus reviews ruin your day, your response is everything!
E.g. “Hi Jane, we’d love to investigate your complaint further. We’ve checked our records and don’t have a record of your booking. Maybe it was under a different name? Please contact us on …”
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