Online reviews can make or break a business. For car dealers, Auto Trader, Google and Facebook stand out as three of the most influential. Positive 5-star reviews on these platforms can significantly impact your business’s reputation and, ultimately, increase or decrease your likelihood of making sales. But it can be difficult to know where to start, and importantly, what to do if a bad review comes in. Luckily, we are here to help.
5 Reasons Why Reviews are Useful
1. Build Trust and Credibility
A high number of positive reviews signals trust and credibility to potential customers. When individuals are researching products or services, they often turn to online reviews to gauge the experiences of others. This will go up in relation to how expensive the potential purchase will be, so having good reviews is a must for automotive dealerships.
2. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):
Google and other search engines consider online reviews as a ranking factor. The more positive reviews your business accumulates, the higher it is likely to appear in search results. This increased visibility can lead to more organic traffic, making it easier for potential customers to discover and choose your business. If you want to know more about SEO and how it can help you, read this.
3. A chance to engage with your customers
Responding to positive reviews gives you a chance to engage with your customers after they have left your dealership and completed their purchase journey. Expressing gratitude or offering any additional support or information they might need in a public forum shows that customer and future customers that they are more than just another sale to you – that you care about their opinions and feedback.
4. Create a competitive edge
In a very saturated market, it’s harder and harder for dealers to stand out from the crowd. However, good customer service and positive customer experiences will always be a crucial part of any customer’s decision on where to purchase their next vehicle. Consumers are spending more time on the internet than ever before, researching their next car purchase. Showcasing reviews on a public forum allows you to tell the world that you are the dealer to go to in your area. You can also showcase your reviews on your own website, meaning your customers can read about your great service as well as browsing your stock.
5. Shout about them on social media
Coming up with an endless list of social media content ideas can be really challenging, especially if you are looking for variety. By shouting about some of your best reviews on social media, not only do you have a bank of content ready to be used in any way you wish, but it signals to potential customers what great reviews you have. This is especially useful if they come to your social media before looking at your online reviews – and will make them more likely to continue their buying journey with you!
How to get your customers to leave a review
Asking for good reviews is easy, getting them might be harder. There are a few things to consider in order to make sure your customers are leaving you your well–deserved five stars.
1. Make the process easy – email customers after their purchase journey with direct links to where they can leave reviews. The less work they have to do, the more likely they are to do it
2. Always actively encourage people to leave them – it can be easy to forget, but every time someone leaves your dealership happy, remind them to leave a review. You can also do this through email campaigns, social media, and on your website.
3. Be responsive with your reviews – people like to feel acknowledged and appreciated, especially if they have gone out of their way to support your business. Responding to reviews shows that you really do care about them, and others may be more likely to leave you a review as a result. Better yet, use personal details if you can – not just a boilerplate response.
What do you do if you get a bad review?
The first thing to remember is to not take it personally. There could be many reasons why someone has left a bad review, and not every one is a direct reflection on you. The second, and perhaps most important thing to remember, is that any response you make is on a public forum.
If their complaints are legitimate, direct them towards the official complaints procedure for your organisation, or suggest they contact the manager directly to discuss what happened. Just remember to be courteous and remain professional – it can be tempting to jump on the defensive, especially if business is at stake, but a hot-headed response in a public forum will not instil trust in other customers, it will do the opposite.
There you have it…
The complete Spidersnet guide to reviews and why they matter. If you wish to showcase your reviews more prominently, talk to us about adding reviews to your website and how that can improve your sales leads.