Bright Ideas

Today's consumer values convenience over loyalty. If your business isn't easy to find or highly ranked in searches, customers will just go to your competitors who are. Online reviews will boost your local SEO and build trust and loyalty with your customers.

Even the best of businesses will inevitably find themselves on the receiving end of a bad review. It’s not the end of the world - sometimes, it’s not even your fault. But bad reviews offer the chance to see your business through the eyes of a customer. Here are three steps below to determine what to do when you receive negative feedback.

Looking for a quick sales booster for your dealership? Last month was a little slow and you need to make up some ground this month? A simple fix is to start generating more online reviews. 90% of customers say their buying decisions are influenced by online reviews.

But online reviews are from customers who already made a purchase, we want consumers who are currently looking for a vehicle.

As an up and coming business, you have a lot of things on your plate, right? You’re in a stage of growth, new employees are coming on board, and you’ve got a pretty strong name in the local community but you’d like to take on a bigger market. You’re doing everything the 24 hour day will allow minus time for sleep, usually. So what about those online reviews you don’t have time to worry about? Who actually reads those anyway? Unfortunately, a lot of consumers read those reviews and they can greatly affect your business.

Does your company have a local business page on Facebook? Does it put your best foot forward for customers to easily find you? If one or both of those answers was “no,” the good news is you have time to update the situation without falling too far behind competitors. Facebook has recently launched Facebook Professional Services, which will allow businesses to be found more easily along with a quick description, ratings, and reviews. Customers can search and find the best rated local companies for all of their business needs.

As a small to medium sized business, you most likely don’t have pages and pages of online reviews. Those big companies make it look easy, that getting reviews is like getting a new shipment of supplies because they’re always coming in. However, the trick behind getting online reviews is to be pro-active about it. Waiting for reviews is not ideal, especially as a small or medium sized business. Here is a list of five simple ways to generate online reviews without having to twist arms.