It is a matter of forming a habit: put in place a process for making a response part of your day and know when to make the ask of the right customer. With an honest stream of online reviews coming in, you put the cautious shopper at ease and he is more likely to go with you than the firm next door. It is good for local search visibility and trust.
I am Beatrice Hollowbrook. One does not have to be in hospitality to learn from experience that a customer is not going to leave feedback on a whim because he has an afternoon to kill. He will do so if the experience is still vivid, it is no trouble to do and he thinks his views are of some use. The same can be said for a tradie, a retailer or a clinic in any corner of Australia.
Why An Australian Business Needs Reviews
Before a form is filled in or a call is made, the consumer has already been looking for social proof in the way of reviews. Your website may be polished and the shopfront in order but it is the specifics of a few recent reviews that will tell people whether they think you will look after them, using proven local search tactics.
They also show up things a sales report will not. You might have customers lauding your promptness yet allude to a booking system that is hard to navigate or parking that is a nuisance. Do not read too much into it as some keyboard warrior having a go; take it for what it is, evidence of the customer’s experience.
Trust Is Established First
A lot of people will size up a business by the detail in the comments, the volume and how old the star ratings are. A competitor might have a fractionally worse rating but if the feedback is regular and considered, he will appear more active than you with five reviews from long ago.
There is no point in sacrificing credibility to get a perfect score. Some fair criticism mixed in with the positive makes for a profile that is believable, unlike one that is spotless but where every comment is vague and seems to come from the same pen.
Seeing Where Service Breaks Down
Manage your reviews as a means of getting feedback, not just to tidy up your reputation. Put the comments under headings: access, workmanship, how the staff communicate, pricing, wait times and after-sales.
I have seen a single complaint about arrival instructions from a tourism operator teach me more in practice than a month of general surveys. The answer was to put out clearer directions and a proper confirmation so the front desk did not have to field a panicked call.
Make A System Of It
You need a definition of success, a routine and an owner for the strategy or else a request for a review will be a good intention left behind at the EFTPOS terminal.
Google Business Profile is generally the one to focus on for a local operation though industry platforms, SMS, email and post-purchase forms have their place.
Goals To Set
Forget about some arbitrary star rating and set down some practical measures. How many requests are you putting out? What is the average rating? Are there themes to the complaints and how many are you resolving?
The figures are straightforward:
- Response rate (in per cent) = 100 x (reviews received / review requests).
- Resolution rate (in per cent) = 100 x (review problems put right / those identified).
By way of example, 200 requests sent and 30 reviews back puts your response rate at 15%. Not a benchmark to be judged by but a baseline once you have altered the channel or the wording.
Put Someone In Charge
In a larger organisation this will be marketing or customer service, for a small business the owner will have to do it. Have a schedule to check the important profiles a few times a week and the wider picture each month. Should a review touch on anything legal, discriminatory or a privacy issue, put it in front of the relevant manager without delay.
| Stage | Recommended action | Useful measure |
|---|---|---|
| After delivery | See the product or service is in hand | Orders/jobs done |
| When the customer is satisfied | Put in a review request via the proper channel | Requests sent |
| A couple of days later | Thank the customer and see what is new | Time to respond |
| Monthly | Cull the comments for service themes | Recurring issues |
| Quarterly | Refresh your processes and training | Resolution rate |
Timing The Ask
Tie the request to a moment that has been put to rest and you will have the best of it. There is a time and place for it: after the installation has gone well, when a customer is in possession of his repaired goods, following a tour or on confirmation from a client that matters are put to rights.
Do not be hasty with a request before the customer has had a chance to see the result; that is too early. Wait weeks and it will be regarded as an administrative formality. Be brief and courteous so there is no difficulty in responding.
Useful Review Requests
Explain to the customer what you want and the reason for it. “Would you share an honest Google review of your experience?” puts things in perspective better than something like “Please support our business online” which is open to interpretation. The aim of good phrasing is to elicit an honest report and put the profile at hand, not to put the customer under any obligation to be positive. Should an issue have been raised and not yet settled, put a request on hold and attend to the problem. A perky message in such circumstances would be as out of place as a tinny at a formal dinner.
The Right Channel
For a job done or an appointment service an SMS is effective since it is seen by the customer in short order. With email one can provide order and support details, making it appropriate for online transactions and where the relationship is of some duration.
QR codes have their place at a café, market stall or reception desk of an accommodation property. Put them at the end of the experience and not concealed behind old brochures, and make sure there is an alternative for those who prefer not to scan.
A couple of requests, a polite reminder perhaps, is fine but do not bombard the customer. Repeated messages are pushy and will harm the relationship.
Facilitate Google Reviews
Your strategy should be honest and without friction. It is not much use having a customer standing in the rain outside the shop trying to find the right listing and wade through three screens.
Verify the name, address, phone number, hours and other particulars on your Google Business Profile. Inaccuracies will either misdirect the customer or put a review on the wrong profile.
One Clear Path
Test the direct review link from your verified profile on a mobile to be sure it opens the correct listing for an untroubled review. Be neutral in your request. You may refer to the team member or date of the service but leave the writing to the customer; a few identical lines touting “excellent service” are not as useful as authentic detail.
Put Obstacles in the Way of No One
Make sure the message is legible on a small screen and eschew technicalities and competing links. For older customers or those less at ease with digital means a paper form or phone call should be available.
Some think more requests will yield better results. They are mistaken. If the experience has been uneven, upping the volume of requests is only going to bear that out. Fix the leaky tap first.
Adequate Responses to All
When you respond to a review it is evident to the customer that a person is on the other end. A good response will thank him and address the point made, indicating what follows if necessary.
Maintain composure and professionalism. The original reviewer is not the only one who will read your response so there is no room for sarcasm or a rehashing of who said what on Tuesday morning.
Positive reviews warrant a thanks
Positive reviews warrant a thanks and some specificity. “Thanks for the note on the arrival instructions, Priya” is more sincere than a generic “thanks for your five stars.” Such comments can also be put to use internally. Do not resort to copy and pasting; a template is a start but there should be some relevant content in every one.
Repair Negative Experiences
As for negative experiences, acknowledge the concern but need not take every allegation as gospel. Convey regret that the matter did not measure up and that it is under review, and put the customer in touch with a named individual to go over the specifics.
Public replies are no place for staff commentary, booking or payment details, medical information or anything of a personal nature. Keep such matters off the record. Under the Australian Privacy Principles, which form the privacy framework for any organisation in this country, there is a duty to be considerate with personal data. One would do well to consult the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on these principles before you put in place review workflows that involve the sharing or collection of customer particulars.
When a complaint has merit and a mistake has been made, make it clear what will be put right. Should the reviewer not get in touch in private, future readers can still see from your response that the issue was not brushed aside. It is more important to see a resolution than to have the upper hand in a comment thread.
Local Growth from Reviews
A business can gain some visibility through local SEO reviews if they are in keeping with the services and locations people already know you for. Do not expect a magic boost to your Google position; any adviser worth his salt will tell you he cannot put a number on where you will rank. They are an element of your overall local search presence, nothing more.
The way a review is written can also put things in perspective for a prospective customer. When one talks of a hot-water emergency in Bendigo, a same-day alteration in Geelong or a dog-friendly visit to the Mornington Peninsula, the next person looking at your page has the context he needs.
Converting Feedback
Put your reviews in front of you with the sales and enquiry figures. You will see if pages with testimonials on show are putting in more calls or bookings, but then again correlation is not proof of causation. Where your process permits, employ customer comments in marketing on the basis of permission. There is no room for taking a private message and making a public endorsement of it without consent, nor for editing a review to suit or excising context.
Putting Numbers to What Customers See
Your monthly report should tell you the story: how many reviews, the average rating, how old they are, response times and the like, as well as enquiries from local channels. Segment by service or location if it is lawful and makes sense. With those figures you can determine if the website copy, the signage or staff training is in need of attention. In this way local search tactics are put to work as sound business decisions, not just marketing verbiage.
Mistakes That Cost
There is risk in managing reviews when a business makes an enemy of an aggrieved customer and sees every comment as something to be used for marketing. Defensiveness is spotted in a heartbeat, in smaller communities in Australia where news gets about quicker than a road train on the Stuart Highway. Have a process in place for staff to escalate the hard cases and to abide by platform rules and privacy requirements. A system that is easy to follow is all the better when faced with an unfair or emotional review on a busy Saturday.
Some Common Pitfalls
- You will run into trouble offering rewards for five stars alone; it erodes trust and may be at odds with consumer expectations or the rules of the platform.
- So too is having family or staff put in artificial social proof.
- Do not be in the habit of deleting criticism unless it is a matter of safety or privacy or contravenes policy; fix the problem instead.
Gating feedback is another error. Do not put the disgruntled customer to a private form and only the happy ones to Google. Be fair and open in your public requests for feedback even while you can offer private support to put things right.
Frequently Asked Questions
One comes across plenty of half-remembered platform rules and bold assertions in the world of review advice. The best course is to be practical and transparent and to verify the current requirements where a policy or privacy matter is at stake.
How to get more Google reviews in Australia?
After a piece of work is done or support has been resolved, put a link to a Google review in front of the customer. A short message asking for an honest review will do; a follow up is fine if warranted. But you cannot long mask unreliable service with more requests, so improve the experience.
What is the proper way to ask?
Be polite and do not put pressure on for a certain star rating. A direct approach via SMS, email or QR code is fine, provided you let the customer know their honesty is of value to you and others.
Negative reviews?
Do not have an argument in public. Put forward a sensible way forward and keep your reply brief; a protracted defence does little good. Get the facts internally and address any failure in service.
Are they good for local SEO?
As part of a wider programme they can add to your credibility and visibility, especially if they are recent and pertain to what customers are after. They are no substitute for a good website and accurate business information, however, and will not of themselves ensure a ranking.
Incentives?
Tread carefully. An incentive can raise questions under consumer law and platform policy, so look at what applies to your industry first. Never put a reward on a positive review or manufacture one. Usually the unadorned request is the cleanest way to go.
Service and Feedback
For an Australian business the most effective strategy is a matter of habit: give a good experience, ask at the right time and respond in a human way. Make it simple to leave a review.
By tracking the patterns and mending what the customer has cause to criticise, you are doing more than getting a respectable star rating. You are putting in place a record of trust for the local customer and giving your team some hard evidence as to what is worth keeping and what requires rethinking.
