If you’re a business owner, you should never underestimate the power of good customer service. It can literally make or your break your business online. That’s because of the all mighty online review.
Think about the customer comment cards, surveys and follow-up phone calls you send out to your customers, or the ones you have received from other businesses after using their goods or services. It’s all done online now and the power is in the hands of the people writing the reviews. That’s right: the little guys and gals like you and I.
Positive Reviews are Like a Popularity Contest
More and more businesses are being found in the search engines based on local reviews. The logic is simple: if you have a high number of reviews and most of them are positive, you will come up high in the search engines.
But the search engine algorithm is also a doubled-edged sword: If you have a lot of reviews but most of them are negative, you can still rank high but most people won’t pursue doing business with you. Google is also starting to lower a company’s ranking if they have too many negative reviews, so the negative reviews can hurt you in more ways than one.
Ultimately, people still want to do business with the High School Quarterback or Prom Queen: he or she with the most votes wins. If good customer service is the cornerstone of your business, it will inspire your customers to leave awesome reviews that will make others sit up and take notice of you the next time they are in need of your goods or services.
How Online Reviews Helped My Car and My Pockets
I’m partial to online reviews because they played a part in helping me select a body shop for auto repairs. I was involved in a car accident where a driver backed up into my beloved Volkswagen convertible at a red light and totally cracked my front grill.
I knew repairs were imminent so I asked my co-worker who also has a Volkswagen if she could recommend a shop. She gave me the name of her repair guys and the first thing I did was input their name into the search engine.
I trusted my co-worker but I wanted to see what others had to say about the quality and cost of their work. What I found were mainly positive reviews and glowing recommendations:
Of course there was one “negative” review in the bunch but it was not prevelant so I figured I could trust this body shop and I’m sure glad I did. I was so impressed with their customer service and outstanding repair work that I wrote them another positive review and have become a brand evangelist for their company. I have already passed the message on to my best friend who owns a Volkswagen and referenced their work on my Facebook page, Twitter and blog. See the trickle down effects of good customer service? You can’t pay for that kind of advertising!
Good Google reviews begin with you but Xcellimark can help you leverage their power in the search engines. For more information on the importance of Local Search and how it can positively impact your search engine rankings, Contact Xcellimark today.
