Positive/Negative Online Customer Feedback
(Google is Gunning For You)
Until recently organic search results posted on Google were divided into sections: website listings stood alone under a few sponsored links, and Google Business Listings and customer reviews were distanced from your organic placement - a convenient "buffer zone" between organic listings and business listings/customer reviews. But Google has changed the rules and search results provide your prospective customers with a snapshot that could help or hinder your website performance. With these recent changes, your customer reviews from third-party sites (such as Yelp, Yahoo local, and Google) will appear right next to your organic listing, instantly giving your prospective website visitors the opinion of others about their experiences at your dealership.
This change makes positive customer reviews even more critical, as Google will display any one of the reviews that are rated the same as your overall average- so if your overall average is low, a very unflattering statement just might accompany your listing as well. A high average rating will improve your listing by adding a glowing review that bestows credibility and therefore a higher likelihood of clicking through. The best part about this is that dealerships interested in keeping a quality online and offline presence by gaining and maintaining positive customer experiences at their dealership will see this reflected in their online feedback, which in turn will affect others finding your website. And remember, don’t worry if you have negative feedback, just make sure to take the appropriate steps to mitigate its effects.
Here are some steps on how to counteract negative feedback and help alter customer perceptions:
a. Constantly check your dealership's online feedback (sign up with Google Alerts to help do the work for you).
b. Don’t immediately respond to a negative review with an emotional (knee jerk) response… think it through.
c. Every review is an opportunity to get something right… how many people could it affect?
d. Ask for another chance… often times if you can fix the problem the customer is willing to update their review.
e. Do nothing… in some cases, there are reviews you can simply do nothing to resolve and can only make matters worse.
f. Encourage happy customers to post online reviews of their experience… make sure to guide them to these sites.
g. Don’t sweat it… take each negative review seriously but don’t dwell too hard on it.
h. Most Importantly, PAY ATTENTION! Regularly checking your dealerships reviews gives you invaluable information.