Word-of-mouth has always been a great marketing tactic for small businesses, but just as much of the world has gone digital, so has word-of-mouth. What was once shared over dinner with friends is now shared on sites like Yelp or Facebook instead so that almost anyone with an internet connection can see.
88% of people say they trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends, making digital word-of-mouth not only incredibly important for small businesses, but potentially devastating. But the plus side to going digital is that now you can see almost everything shared online about your business instead of wondering how people’s words are affecting your business.
Online 33% of negative reviews turn positive when responded to. You no longer have to wonder how much word-of-mouth affects your marketing because if you respond to the reviews and comments you can literally see them change.
Find the Reviews
The first step in responding to reviews is knowing where people are talking about your business and also allowing them to review it. Create a Smart Inbox in SocialCast to see who is mentioning your Twitter handle and be able to quickly respond to them.
If you’re a local business, create a Yelp and Google My Business listing for people to leave reviews for you and on your Facebook Page you can add “Reviews” as one of your apps. By making these simple changes you can’t start responding to the digital word-of-mouth that you currently are not seeing.
Respond to the Reviews
Shama Kabani, author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing, wrote “Even if you do get negative feedback, you can turn it into a positive by engaging in a constructive way and showing that you’re a genuine business.”
Kabani is spot on. The first response to negative, positive or any feedback at all, should be genuine thoughts from your business. If your business is a bubbly, talkative salon then responding in a terse, business tone is not what your customers know or expect. Respond as if you are talking to them in person and helping them get the best customer experience you can.
Know that Reviews are Public Customer Service Opportunities
Even though getting negative reviews can feel heartbreaking, people are willingly sharing their opinion with you and they should be appreciated! If a customer complains about service on Yelp, they were expecting better service and you want to provide the best, so immediately start out with an apology to any negative or mediocre review.
Consider their words and merit, they are giving you free feedback, and simply apologize and try to help them further. It is at this point where you want to take the conversation to a private setting. On Yelp,Google My Business and Facebook ask them to email you, on Twitter ask for them to follow you (if they aren’t already) and DM you with more information. A typical response to a negative review is “I’m sorry that our service did not live up to your expectation and we want to address that problem. Could you email me at mybusiness@website.com and so we can discuss this further?”
There is an immediate apologize, addressing of the problem and want to take the conversation further. You may not be able to please everyone, but you can certainly make sure that every person is heard.
Respond to Reviews Quickly
With the shift in word-of-mouth came a shift in response expectation. You now know how to respond but when should you be responding? As soon as possible! On Twitter and Facebook 25% of people expect a response within the hour of their post. And with such public comments a fast response could mitigate an issue before it’s been seen by too many other prospective customer’s.
This isn’t to say that you should be checking your review listings every hour, but at least once a day so you can be on top of anything being said about your business.
Get Reviews
If you have a space for people to review your business either on Yelp, Google My Business, Facebook or anywhere else, but people aren’t leaving reviews the best place to start is by asking for them! In your next email, on your receipts, even after a transaction. Just like when you were looking for new Facebook fans or Twitter followers, those same tactics can be applied to receiving more reviews.
If you’re already doing social media marketing for your business then taking it a step further by allowing reviews is a natural next step. By allowing other people to publicly share their experience with your business you open you can have more publicly spread awareness of your product or services. Look at a business like Tuft & Needle, a mattress company that cuts out the middleman and sells directly to their customers. They grew their business mainly through receiving and sharing Amazon reviews (they are currently the highest rated mattress on Amazon).
A Harvard University study on Yelp shows that a 1-star difference in reviews on the social community may result in 5% to 9% in business gain or loss. Expand the engagement you have with your customers by responding to online reviews today and see a difference in your business. By following what people are saying about your business you can reap the benefits of taking action on those words whether they are negative or positive!
Start tracking what people are saying about your business on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram today using Smart Inbox from SocialCast and use LocalCast from our partner LocalVox to track the reviews from sites like Yelp so you’re always aware of what people are saying about your business. It allows you to easily filter just when people mention you on those social networks so when you only have a minute to see what’s going on online, you can quickly and conveniently access it.
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