Google My Business Reviews – Reputation Management 101
Today, most businesses – especially service businesses – rely completely on Google My Business reviews to do what word-of-mouth used to do back in the days prior to the internet. Like it or not – ands there are plenty of cons to discuss, Google My Business, or GMB for short, has taken over responsibility for being the face of your online business even to the exception of your website. That means you simply cannot ignore it and prosper in business today.
Okay, so we’ve established the fact that GMB is too important to ignore. But how do you handle the reviews that come in – particularly the negative ones? Look, no business – no matter how impressive your service and results may be – can avoid a negative review forever. Its arrival is an inevitability.
Yet, it’s not the end of the world when it happens. As long as you have a legitimate review response strategy in place you’ll be in good shape no matter what comes into your listing. But what exactly does that entail? Let’s break down Lift Conversions approach to review mitigation:
- Step #1: Add the Google My Business app to your mobile device(s).
- Step #2: Turn on notifications to ensure every review pings your device.
- Step #3: Receive a review from a customer or client.
- Step #4: Write a response that speaks to the reviewer. Use their name is possible.
- Step #5: Mimic this response to each new review that you receive.
Here are a few more things to consider when you’re responding to all of your Google My Business reviews. The may help when it’s time to deal with GMB negativity:
- Pro Tip: Never avoid a negative review. Answer it professionally. If possible, request a call or office visit to clear up issue. Be timely or this won’t work!
- Pro Tip #2: Never be confrontational with a reviewer. Never be derogatory. Everything you say can be held against you by readers of the response you post. Don’t lose business that way!
How Best To Respond To Negative Google My Business Reviews
The most difficult thing for most business owners to deal with when it comes to Google My Business are the negative reviews we spoke of earlier. As we said, these are going to come and you need to have a plan in place for addressing them. Some of these reviews will be fake. There’s no getting around that. That percentage may even increase the more successful you become in your local area. Sadly, Google doesn’t do a fantastic job of removing reviews that are obviously fake but it’s always worth trying to have them removed by the system.
If you believe a review is disingenuous you can flag it for review by the system. Hopefully, it will be removed for violating Google’s policies and the problem will be over. But if that’s not a possibility, you’re just going to have to address is head-on. That’s where the past review responses you’ve already shared on your listing will come in handy. They show visitors to your listing that you’re paying attention to customer/client feedback. And give you a measure of authority when addressing a negative review.
There’s a simple process for addressing a negative review that works in almost 90% of cases – at least in our agency’s experience. It’s all about honesty. Here’s how we approach it at Lift Conversions:
- Step #1: Get all the facts. What happened? When did it happen? Who has firsthand knowledge?
- Step #2: Compose a review response that details what you know and offers to make it right immediately.
- Step #3: Share your number and address and invite them to visit or schedule a time to find a solution together.
- Step #4: Be honest. Be forthright. It will serve you better than anything else you could offer because your future customers/clients will see it and know they can count on you to do excellent work (based on your good reviews) and resolve issues professionally and immediately (for your negative reviewers).
See how easy it actually is to maintain a positive reputation for your business on Google MY Business? Isn’t that the kind of reputation every business wants? That your business wants? it’s possible with just a little effort or some professional help. If you need assistance with this type of service – GMB reputation management for business – then call Lift Conversions at (773) 419-3636 or submit a contact form for a free quote!
