Inc. published a great article titled Would Your Business Change if Your Customers UBER Rated You? That's a fantastic question and one that may make a few of you cringe.
Well it shouldn't. First of all, we now live in a world where we are being rated all the time whether we know it or not. Many online review tools already exist - Google, Facebook, Yelp and many, many others. However, I find that these reviews often capture the major outliers - the very happy or worse, the very, very angry. Also, these aren't necessarily real-time. But whether or not you agree with me, these reviews are still extremely important and it's crucial that you handle these reviews as true feedback on your company.
We are big advocates of ongoing reviews. We try to capture them for our clients and for ourselves. They aren't easy to get, but if you can develop a system where you consistently ask for them then you can normally stay ahead of any major issues. Additionally, you can find areas of opportunity, areas you need to improve in, before too many negative outcomes occur. Before online reviews became a thing, businesses and products and services were still being rated. The previous rating system was harder to respond to though because it was only happening in person, from one satisfied or disgruntled customer to a potential prospect of yours. That seems even more...dangerous to me.
We solicit and monitor our HubSpot Reviews the most closely of any online reviews for our company.
Having a goal of maintaining a certain rating keeps companies honest. Think about it, you always prefer riding with an UBER driver who has high reviews, right? That UBER driver knows that and knows that he/she must provide good service in order to get a good review from you. It's the same for companies...for the most part.
Here are some stats on online review to further drive home this point:
1. Google is the review site of choice. 63.6% of consumers say they are likely to check online reviews on Google before visiting a business — more than any other review site.
2. Consumers expect brands to respond to reviews. 53% of customers expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week.
3. Negative reviews drive away customers. 94% say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business.
4. Customers don’t really trust businesses with lower than 4-star ratings. 80% of consumers say the star ratings they trust the most are 4.0, 4.5, and 5 stars.
(source) https://www.reviewtrackers.com/online-reviews-survey/
Be aware that these ratings matter. Therefore, treat your customers right, provide the best products and service possible and trust that the corresponding reviews you receive online will help you grow your business.
If you need some help implementing an online review strategy for your business, let's talk.