Do Google reviews factor into your marketing plan as a beauty business? If they don’t yet, they should. As one of the first things potential customers see when they search for a new beauty service, good Google reviews of your business can be the deciding factor that nets you a new client or not. Why? It’s all about the social proof. We trust reviews from our peers and have grown to depend on them when we’re info gathering to find a new, trusted beauty therapist. Get enough good Google reviews and that could be enough to convince someone to give your business a go. So, what does it take to get your clients spreading the good word about your business? Professional Beauty talks to Podium, a customer interaction platform, that specialises in helping you get the Google reviews you need to help your business thrive in this digital age.
What steps can businesses take to get good Google Reviews?
Podium says that “Google doesn’t openly share details about how they calculate local search rankings. However, according to their guidelines, there are three major factors businesses should focus on when optimizing for local search: relevance, distance and prominence.”
Kate Christopher, Head of Marketing for Podium Australia, also tells Professional Beauty “We always say that providing great service is the first step to a good review, but the next step should always be to ask for it. We recommend asking for that review by text message, as texts have a 98% open rate in the first 90 seconds. Let the customer know how much a review means to your business, as it helps you get found and chosen.” When your customers leave the salon, you can use Podium to send them a text inviting them to leave you a review about how much they loved your service!
Why are they so important?
When’s the last time you went anywhere (salon, spa, nail salon) without looking up the Google reviews first? It’s now just baked into how we decide where to spend our dollars. And it’s one of the best ways to boost your SEO. Christopher says “Consumers need to read at least 10 reviews before they feel like they can trust a business, and in 2021 the first thing they’ll do is search for you online. If they don’t see you as a trustworthy business, they will dismiss you as a good option without you ever knowing.”
What happens if your business doesn’t have any Google reviews?
More likely than not, they won’t become your customers. We trust online reviews and are wary salons, spas, nail salons and treatment rooms without any. “If you do not have any reviews then you are not visible to customers,” says Christopher. “They will skip straight past you and choose another reputable business over you.” Podium’s advice is to text customers to ask for a review. “After switching to text to collect reviews,” says Podium, “Paul’s Pest Control jumped half a star on Google within 24 hours and gathered more reviews in one month than they had in five years.”
Also create a Google review link shortcut to make it as easy as possible for the customer to leave you one, and then manage them once they’re up. “If you want to collect reviews, it’s crucial to show your customers that reviews matter to you—and that means managing them. Respond to negative reviews within 2 hours and positive ones within 24 hours” says Podium. Respond to both the good and the bad, show people that you’re proactive and provide stellar customer service.
How do you deal with bad ones?
The first thing to do is acknowledge the bad review, the feelings of the reviewer and simply apologize in a calm fashion before offering to help fix the issue. Then “drown out bad reviews with good ones,” says Christopher. “It’s that simple! People don’t mind seeing one bad review out of 100, but make sure you are responding to any bad reviews to show other consumers you care.” And unfortunately the problem of fake reviews does exist, but Professional Beauty has an article to help you with that one here.
You can also get your copy of Podium’s guide to managing Google reviews here.
Watch demo here and read more about the brand here.
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