How to Increase Facebook Reviews

If you’re like most business owners, you and your business are tested on a daily basis.  New competition.  Maybe new regulations.  And certainly, new technology.  

Technological growth has the ability to transform your business.  Certainly, things like salesforce automation, fleet tracking and email have changed the way you manage your operation.  Now, two related trends, reputation management and social media are being used together by companies like yours to grow their businesses beyond what they ever imagined.  

Luckily, most business owners are at least familiar with social media.  The question is: how can you use it to drive your business?  

Social media, particularly Facebook, gives you the ability to engage in a relationship with your customers in a more direct and intimate way than you ever have been able to previously.  Direct dialogs, reviews, announcements, promotions–the list is confined only by your imagination.

Tend Your Facebook Review Garden

Without a doubt, the most critical of these to the future of your business will be online reviews. Think of reviews of your business a bit like gardening.  First, you need to focus on growing your garden.  Plant the right seeds by asking for reviews.  And make sure they are somewhere potential customers will see them, like Facebook.  Then, tend to them.  If you don’t manage them, a few negative reviews will drive away the good customers and you’ll be left with nothing but slow sales and unhappy customers.  Better to play gardener and manage them, addressing their concerns through dialog and action.  

Just Ask for Facebook Reviews on Your Business Profile!

There’s an old saying that says that happy customers have better things to do than write a review for you.  This is why you need to promote.  If you ask your customers, they will write reviews.  And if you are taking care of their needs, those reviews will be primarily positive.  

How do you ask?  Sure, you can do this the old-fashioned way – and you absolutely should.  Ask everywhere you interact with a customer.  Put a sign in your store or office location. Put a request in the signature of your email along with a link. If you’re providing a receipt, print it on there. And don’t be afraid to send out emails periodically that tell your customers that reviews are the lifeblood of your business.  

Automate Facebook Reviews: with Software

Online reputation management software will automatically request reviews to sites like Facebook on your behalf.  Unless your business is social media, you probably had a full time job before you started thinking about online reviews.  Automate the process, and stick to running your business. You’ll be glad you did.  

Another advantage of automating the solicitation of reviews is you’re still going to want to reserve some time for managing them.  Your customers are the lifeblood of your business.    This doesn’t have to be scary and is absolutely what you should be doing as a businessperson.  Talk to your customers.

Responding to Positive, Neutral, and Negative Facebook Reviews:

Positive reviews:

• Thank them for their review
• Encourage them to tell share their experience with others on social media or elsewhere
• Invite them back

Neutral reviews:

• Thank them for their review
• Accentuate the positive aspects of the review “I’m glad you enjoyed the view”
• Address the negative aspects of the review “We’re working on improving access to the building.  I’d like to apologize for the construction during your stay. Fortunately, we’ll be completed with this process within the next week.”    
• Invite them back. Sometimes an incentive is helpful, but not required.  

Negative reviews:

• Thank them for their review  (noticing a trend here?)
• Address the complaints  “I’m sorry to hear that you found your food to be undercooked.”   
• Reassure them that your business is committed to taking care of its customers.   
• Invite them back.  You may want to consider an apology/incentive.  

I find the Golden Rule to be useful in these situations.  Not all negative reviews are justified.  And some of them might not even be truthful.  But start from the assumption that they spent money for a product, service, or experience and something about that transaction fell short of their expectations. Be genuine. Be encouraging. But, most of all just dialog with them.  Customers want to be heard.  And never underestimate the power of your potential customers seeing that you did.  

Tools will help you make this process easy, but have to use them.  Do it.  Your business will thank you.