Many garages recognise best practice when it comes to handling complaints online, but according to Dragon2000, despite the growth of online reviews over the last five years, there are still businesses handling bad reviews inappropriately, resulting in a damaged reputation and loss of potential customers.
According to recent reserach from search agency BrightLocal, more people are reading reviews on a regular basis (50% compared to 33% in 2015), with 91% of consumers regularly, or occasionally, reading online reviews. Only 9% of consumers don’t read online reviews.
The survey also shows that 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, 90% of consumers read fewer than 10 before forming an opinion about a business and 74% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more. A further 58% of consumers say that the star rating of a business is most important.
Increasingly, people are proactively searching for and reading these online appraisals on a regular basis. Google is also placing more of an emphasis on reviews and ratings. The search engine recently took the step of displaying them from trusted third-party review sites within a business’ Local Knowledge Panel, which appears underneath the information that has been submitted to the Google Business Page, titled ‘reviews from the web’.
According to Dragon2000, as reviews are becoming increasingly influential, it is essential that garages and workshops handle criticism in a professional manner, so they send the right message out to prospective customers. Karen McKenzie, Operations Manager, says: “Bad reviews are a fact of life and no garage or workshop can keep everybody happy, all of the time. The important thing to remember is that potential customers will read how a garage or workshop has responded to a bad review, as it gives consumers a clear indication of how complaints are handled.
“If criticicsm is ignored by a garage or workshop, or they respond in an inappropriate or unprofessional way, prospective customers will understandably form a poor opinion of the business. How a garage or workshop handles a bad review can be potentially more damaging than the review itself.
“Online appraisals bring a great opportunity for garages to enhance their reputation online and convince potential customers to get in touch. In fact, reviews are one of the most powerful marketing channels to help drive bookings. Reviews and star ratings give garages and workshops ‘social proof’, which helps motorists refine their research and make quicker decisions on which local garages and workshops they will contact.
“Good reviews can also be used across all marketing channels, including press, online and outdoor advertising, as well as across social media and on garage and workshop websites. Online appraisals can be very powerful, and if successfully incorporated into a Google AdWords campaign, they can help garages and workshops to increase click- through rates and boost conversions.”
