Customer review sites such as Travel Adviser and Angie’s List are powerful tools. They can make or break your business when people are relying primarily on these sites for their information.
Few businesses actually address the issue of online reviews. They either avoid them entirely or they only respond to the negative ones. However, the customers who give you positive feedback need just as much attention. In fact, you can leverage this even more.
In case you’re thinking that it doesn’t matter, remember that these online reviews have tremendous potential. According to Business Insider, these reviews are frequently tweeted or Facebooked, depending on the length and the social media of choice. Family and friends find out about them. Even potential job applicants will be checking out these sites to understand more about your business. Many recruiting tools take this into account and this is what they mean when they ask you what your online media presence indicates.
Acknowledge the Kindness
When someone says something positive about your business, take the time to thank them. While you may run the risk of people thinking that you are soliciting positive reviews, you can avoid this by not offering any special deals or bonuses. In fact, the benefit of the response to a positive review is that you will be able to further cement your image as a business that cares. The person who posted the positive review knows that it is a sincere review. When you respond, you will surprise that reviewer with a sincere thank you and a note of appreciation for their business.
While this may not seem like a big deal, consider what it can do. That customer is surprised by your attention and kind regard. This then ups your credibility in this reviewer’s mind, which he then shares with his friends and family members. This makes it not only more likely that he will return to your business, but it is more likely that his friends and family will come as well. There’s nothing quite like sincere gratitude for surprising people and making them want to give you their business. It is also yet another opportunity for you to demonstrate your courtesy. Courtesy is an attractive quality, both for businesses and for employees, and it is actually quite unusual.
Share It Yourself
When you get a positive review, there’s nothing wrong with publishing it to your own social media feeds. You’ll want to review the site policies. Most of the sites actually promote this kind of conduct. After all, it increases their revenue. Hopefully, you’ll have lots of excellent feedback on these social media sites. If you do, don’t repost every single one. Just pick the particularly good ones or the ones that hit on something unique. Make sure to include a “thanks for your support” or something along those lines. Just remember though that you can’t use these feedback statements in slogans or web advertisements without permission.