Managing online reviews
As a retail jeweller, are you currently enabling people to post a review about your business? If you’re not, before you hit the panic switch, be armed with a few facts. First of all, it’s not necessary for you to be on every review platform. Facebook and Google Business reviews are the most common and easiest to set up. Reviews are good for search engine optimization (SEO), help people find your business online, and are perfect for new customer acquisition. For example, Google Places displays reviews along with search results. Try searching for something right now. See? Also, businesses with higher ratings typically draw more clicks. Think about it—if you’re a pretty good cook, you’re more likely to try a recipe with great reviews before you serve it to friends or guests at a party. Yelp is used in some geographic areas, such as the west coast of the United States, though mainly by restaurants and tourist and vacation destinations. It may not be relevant or valuable for you to be on this platform. Overall, do a little homework on your own before you commit.
That being said, be aware that although you may receive lots of great reviews, potential customers will likely pay more attention to bad ones. Rather than ignoring them, make sure you have administrative access to the social review platform you use so you can log in and engage with whoever has posted a negative comment. Before you reply, read what they have to say after taking a deep breath. Are you aware of the incident? Do you feel your customer was treated fairly from your perspective? Is this someone trying to stir up trouble? If you’re able to, post a response acknowledging the bad comment, but don’t get into an argument with a customer online. Rather, if possible, post a message to that person to arrange a date and time to speak, whether on the phone or in person. Follow up with a private message with the details of your meeting. Customers are looking for transparency and honesty, so be real in your interactions. Online searchers are smart enough to make a judgment in your favour if the majority of what is being said is good. And with the potential for an online review, you know you and your employees will work hard to keep them that way.
