How many stars does your company business page have on Facebook? How about your local BBB page? Online reviews are everywhere and believe it or not, they are worth looking into.
Did you know that 91 percent of people regularly or occasionally read online reviews, and 84 percent trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation? Online reviews are the best way to judge a company’s trustworthiness and service beyond asking a friend. Do you know what your online reviews say about you? Do you know your score across the web? It’s important to know what potential customers are reading about you online because it could be turning people off.
Here are some of the most common places for reviews – places you should have accounts with and be checking on a regular basis.
Google Reviews
Every business with an address has a Google Business page. Do you have yours claimed? This page also houses Google reviews that users can leave about your business. Want to check yours? Just search your business in Google and look on the right-hand side of the search results. There you will find your listing and any reviews clients have left. If you’ve claimed your business page, you should get an email notification when someone leaves a review.
Nearly half of U.S. adults said they have Googled someone before doing business with them.
- 45% said they have found something in an online search that made them decide not to do business with the person.
- 56% have found something that solidified their decision to do business with the person.
Yelp
Love it or hate it, Yelp is a popular place for people to leave reviews. Yelp is a local-search service powered by crowd-sourced review forum. You can look up any local business on Yelp, check out its offerings (if the business has completed its Yelp profile), and then read or leave reviews. It doesn’t matter if you’re on Yelp or not, people can still leave reviews about your business. Might as well claim your business account and stay on top of it.
Here are 2 stats from Yelp that will make you want to pay attention:
- Every
one star increase in a Yelp rating means a 5 to 9% increase in revenue. - 82% of Yelp users said they typically visit Yelp because they intend to buy a product or service.
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau has been around since the 1900s! Their goal was to correct advertising abuses. In response to marketplace demands, BBBs quickly expanded to monitor business performance and provide consumers with vital information to avoid the pitfalls in the marketplace. Every region has its own BBB Chapter where business owners can become BBB Accredited.
The BBB also handles consumer complaints and allows consumers to rate businesses on its website. As a business, it’s advantageous of you to not only go through the accreditation process but to keep up with your ratings and reviews.
If you have a Facebook page, you have a place for people to leave reviews. Lots of Facebook users check out Facebook reviews to see what others are saying. Be sure to take a look at yours!
LinkedIn
How to handle a bad review
Bad reviews happen. Sometimes they’re completely fabricated, sometimes they’re the result of
The best way to handle a negative review is to respond diplomatically (without picking a fight), and ask that the person contacts you offline so that the issue can be resolved. If you messed up, apologize. If the person is being unreasonable, take the conversation offline. The worse thing you can do is hash out a disagreement in a long comment chain for the world to see. What people do want to see is that you addressed the problem and attempted to solve it.
One more tip: Don’t just respond to the negative reviews. A simple thank you from a positive review can go a long way!
Online reviews are important to watch and address when they come in. Knowing what people are saying about you online can go along way. As they say, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”
We love hearing from you. Tell us what you think about a recent purchase or completed course. Your feedback helps us improve where we may have come up short, and we’re always appreciative when we receive a compliment – or two!
How to Review Your Purchase:
- Find the product you want to review
- Click the “Student Reviews” tab on that product page
- Rate us from 1-5 stars, write your review, and click “Submit”
Thank you in advance for your feedback!