Google My Business Valuation Management

In Part 1, we explained what Google My Business is and how to best set up a business listing. In the second part we looked at the most important Google My Business update of the last two years. In the third part, we would like to introduce you to the meaning of Google My Business Reviews.

Facts about Google reviews To begin with, let's take a look at some of the importance of ratings for products or businesses: According to a study by Searchengineland, 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal referrals. 39 percent read reviews regularly. 88 percent read reviews to assess the quality of a local business. 57 percent of all consumers are influenced by reviews in their purchasing decisions. 50 reviews or more are already generating more sales or inquiries. 65 percent have bought a product because of positive reviews that they did not originally want. Importance of Google My Business Reviews Reviews from Google My Business are immediately and prominently displayed on every Google search and affect the user's purchase decision. However, good reviews promote trust in the brand or product. In addition, Google My Business reviews have a direct impact on local search engine rankings. Especially in the mobile search results, these are an important part of the so-called "Local SEO". For example, if consumers find their smartphone via their mobile search, more than 50 percent of them visit the store within 24 hours (see the " Understanding Consumers' Local Search Behavior " study). The Google My Business reviews can also be incorporated into your own websiteto build even more confidence for your own brand. "More than 50 percent of those looking for a smartphone visit this store within 24 hours". Specifically promote GMB valuations Some companies have it much easier than others to get many reviews in a short time. Especially department stores, which have several hundred visitors every day, quickly get many reviews. Some industries and companies need to do more to show steady growth. It is important that the reviews are genuine and grow steadily and organically. A big mistake is to bet on "fake reviews". There's no point buying 1000 "fake" reviews anywhere in India. For Google, it is easy to see that such reviews are "not genuine". It is much more conducive to achieving steady growth using, for example, the following options: Direct linking to company evaluation: This can, for example, be incorporated into the footer of e-mails, on the social media profiles, in the newsletter or on the website itself. Google itself provides a guide for creating such a link to collect customer reviews . Satisfied customers ask for rating: While dissatisfied customers take the time to write reviews or criticisms, there are often no public praise for satisfied customers. That's why it's important to alert them to possibility. For example, all employees at the last contact point could ask customers for their satisfaction again and politely ask them for an assessment. Writing a follow-up email: Express once again your thanks for the successful project, the order or the transaction (eg purchasing). Inquire again about satisfaction and ask satisfied customers for a Google My Business rating for their services. Further, for example, coupons for a next booking, a next order or a next purchase can be offered in return. E-Commerce Shop should also make sure to send the link with each order about 2 weeks after receipt of the goods - unless they have their own rating system. Setting up a Google Plus profile: Google My Business reviews can only be made with a Google+ profile. Setting up a Google Plus profile is not a big deal. Send your customers a link to the registration. Other rating systems: Some GMB entries also contain user reviews from other review portals. They are generated automatically and are based on information that Google finds when it crawls the Internet. It may also be worthwhile for Google MyBusiness to additionally promote and maintain another rating system. Dealing with GMB reviews The most important thing in dealing with reviews is to respond. A reaction shows that a company deals with the opinions of its customers. Not only should you comment on negative reviews, but you should also pay tribute to positive feedback with a personalized response - after all, your customers have also taken time to review. Google itself advises the following best practice: Always be friendly and not personal. In difficult situations, such as a dispute with a frustrated customer, avoid breaking all the bridges behind you. Therefore, an answer should always be helpful, understandable and polite. It's also important to follow the content guidelines for Google+ pages . Brevity is the soul of wit. Users expect honest and helpful answers without writing a novel. Thank the person who wrote the review. We recommend that customers who have left a positive review with comments always respond and thank. In pure rating without comment this is not necessary. Act as a friend, not a seller. The authors of reviews are already customers and no longer need to be won. Instead of offering sales or promotional offers, you should report news in the company or point out something that the customer has not yet experienced. For the entire evaluation management it is essential with the communication department to develop a guideline for reactions. Only in this way is it possible to react objectively, in line with corporate communication and uniformly. Many companies have the evaluation management implemented externally by an agency. The advantage is clear: It does not have to be an entire company trained, but only individual external employees who can much more unbiased, objective and neutral answers. Negative Reviews Once the company has a negative rating (two stars or less, here's the overall Google My Business rating system review ), it's not tragic, but may be seen as a boost to customer service. Negative ratings are always to be considered in relation to the total amount of ratings. However, negative GMB ratings can no longer be hidden or deleted. If there is still a negative rating, there is the possibility to report them via an agency on Google and request a deletion. However, Google gives no guarantee that the rating will actually be removed, but reserves the discretionary power in the first instance. There is a good chance of being deleted if the rating harms the company's reputation or if it was created by a Google user who has previously written only this one negative review. Self-created ratings, however, can be deleted again. So it can be worthwhile for negative reviews that are resolved to contact the person and ask them for a deletion. Conclusion Because Google My Business Ratings can neither be hidden nor deleted, it is very important to pursue strategic and goal-oriented valuation management. Because people within a company are not neutral, many big companies have it done externally by an agency. With the help of a jointly developed guideline, external staff members know how to react in which situation, so that communication always conforms to the company's requirements. On the other hand, an excellent service system should be promoted internally - satisfied customers automatically promote good ratings. Moreover, all employees who are in customer contact should be trained to ask customers for satisfaction after a transaction completion and "happy customers" politely request a rating. We are happy to assist you with support measures, such as the incorporation of a rating link into the newsletter, social media channels or other channels to remind customers of the rating even after a completed project or after a completed transaction.