The Weight of Word-of-Mouth: Taking Advantage of Online Reviews

How do we grow?

Often, we learn from our errors; at least, the errors we can afford to make. This is true both as individuals and as professionals. So one of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is to ignore the feedback they receive.

While supervising in a restaurant back in the day, my boss told me that the majority of customers won’t complain, and as a passive aggressive/”nice guy,” I believed it. However, digital reviews now make it a lot easier to complain. Those customers that are too “nice” may not contact your business directly to have an error corrected. Instead, they may take their complaints to the web.

Try to see it from the customer’s point of view. If a problem arose due to poor service, customers aren’t likely going to waste time confronting the business, but they still need to get their frustrations out and warn others to steer clear.

Of course, this isn’t always the case.

Let’s assume your business has amazing service and a more-or-less blank slate of a reputation. How can you take advantage of online reviews?

Your Cheapest Marketing Solution

That’s right. Your review platform can tell potential customers all they need to know about your business.

Social media allows businesses to freely connect to consumers. But it’s not just about advertising and supplying contact info. It’s about the hype your established customers make to promote your business.

We live for gold star status.

We started off getting stickers in elementary. Then, “likes” on Facebook. Now, all the hard work and dedication that goes into running a business with each and every transaction is rated.

Online ratings let businesses know where they went right or wrong and let potential customers know which businesses are worth it.

“Wow, this place looks awesome! Oh…nevermind, it only has two stars.” Ouch.

Ratings and reviews can work as practical and direct metrics. They reveal how well a business is performing based on real customer experiences. Although customers aren’t always as reliable as statistics and averages, they have a lot of sway over other potential buyers.

That’s because customers trust their peers much more than they trust marketers. First hand accounts always tend to be more convincing. They can smell an ulterior motive from a mile away. You should trust UGC (user generated content) to keep your customer base growing.

However, that’s not to say you should start airing commercials with “real customer accounts,” starring “definitely not paid actors” that praise your company for its many benefits.

You can get away with taking pride in the customer reviews that your business already has.

Reaching Out

Let’s face it, you can’t please everyone. Despite your best efforts, you may still experience some negative feedback.

Whether Google Reviews, Facebook, TripAdvisor, Yelp, or other, consumers are discovering the power of word-of-mouth at their fingertips.

That’s why many businesses are being proactive and asking for suggestions after each transaction. Some delivery apps have two separate forms, for the restaurant itself and the delivery driver.

The purpose of this is either to exhaust angry customers by making them fill out private review forms, or else to send the criticism directly to management for corrective measures. Maybe both. Most importantly, these forms show customers that their opinions matter and also help your business develop.

And if there is a problem, it’s wise to get to the customer first. Start a dialogue and correct the issue before they take matters (literally) into their own hands.

If this sounds familiar, you’ve either been avoiding online reviews out of fear or you’ve been diligently responding to comments and complaints in order to try to win their business back. The latter also allows you to publicizing your professional and approachable customer service skills to other potential customers.

It’s expected that businesses publish publicized reviews, and many times the process is out of business owners’ hands. Also, by encouraging your visitors to provide some feedback proves you have nothing to hide and that you take pride in your work.

It’s important that business owners reach out directly to customer questions and comments. This shows your customers you care about their experiences by asking for more details about an issue, suggesting solutions and contact information, and thanking them for their feedback.

By responding to some complaints publically, it reminds customers that you’re human too and furthermore, that you’re willing to do what it takes to make it right.

Of course, responding doesn’t mean stirring the pot. That’s bad business. Not every problem can be solved. You should respond in a timely manner and be consistent with your remedies, style, and tone. Check out this cool infographic for some important stats.

Ratings can hurt. A poor rating specifically can be unforgiving. But you should look into how rating systems across different platforms work before beating yourself up.

Online reviews can be your best marketers. Of course, advertising and lead generation get your name out there, but what’s a name if not remembered favorably?

Healthy businesses are able to adapt and grow with the demands and expectations of the developing business community. What it comes down to is listening.