Online Local Reviews Soar
January 8th, 2010 • Posted by Spa Kat • Permalink
There is a reason, as Tech Crunch reported, that Google was looking to purchase Yelp, an online local review website. Local review websites like Yelp are becoming very important in the mind of the consumer. More and more, consumers are looking to their peers online to help them make every day purchase decisions. Managing your spa's online reviews has never been more important.
These sites, which include Yelp, CitySearch, UrbanSpoon, Yahoo Local and MenuPages, rely, in part, on voluntary, user-generated reviews of local companies. And they are becoming increasingly influential among consumers. — Diana Ransom, Wall Street Journal
Read the article.
Pay attention to what consumers are saying about your spa online and look for ways to resolve any negative reviews quickly. Businesses that deliver quality service and tangible value consistently to their clients will see positive online reviews increase.
As always, building a strong relationship with loyal clients continues to be very important. Expand your effort and get to know new spa customers. The handshake and extra time spent with a new customer may bring forth a review that builds momentum for your business.
• Trackback • Posted in Creating Customers, Spa Business Management, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing
Online reviews are great when they are authentic. The best of web offering online reviews allow for the merchant to respond online as well as contacting the complainant if they actually identify themselves. We have only had a handful of online complaints and we make every effort to verify our excellent customer service before the client leaves the premises. It does happen on occasion.
For example, we recently had an anonymous review from a client whose appointment we had to cancel over one hour before arrival (in a town in only takes 5–10 minutes to get anywhere). Since this was on a Saturday, and we were fully booked and the cancellation was due to an employee crisis, we could only offer a reschedule. We accept that clients cancel at the last minute or don't show up as well, and while we have a cancellation policy, only enforce under egregious circumstances. Sometimes cancellations are unavoidable from both sides of the transaction.
We'd love to see the ability to respond online — even thank you's!
I have had a problem with false reviews from who knows and have contacted the place holding the review with no results. The bad false review was never removed. How can that be addressed? I called and emailed several times but nothing.
Gerald
Gerald:
Each online directory has its own policies. You will have to go through the channels and see what they require. Keep in mind, each directory has different policies. A bad review is not the end of the world, in fact, you need a few less than stellar comments or no own will believe the good ones. The best defense is not to rely on any one review site and make your website the core of your online reputation. See this for a nice overview on how important this strategy should be for local businesses.