Just like smartphones are doing right now, the internet and social media has shaped the way we live, and even more importantly, the way we buy. Gone are the days where a person’s bad experience at any kind of establishment can be covered up easily. Thanks to online review sites like Yelp! and Google + the power has been given to the consumer! Today, if you happen to go to a restaurant and have a bad experience, you can let the world know about it. And not only can you let the world know about, the world will tend to take your advice. In fact 80% of consumers will trust an online review of a business.
That is why having an effective strategy for handling your company’s online reputation has reached critical mass. Dealer principals and GM’s need to start recognizing online reputation management, not as something to add to the budget, but as a necessity, a utility if you will. Just like a heating or water bill.
But where to start? To arrive at the best answer, you must first think like a consumer. The average consumer is spending 10 hours online researching the vehicle they are going to buy. The first place they will look to is social media to find out what others are saying about their potential options. Once a consumer has made up their mind what to buy, the next question becomes where to buy.
This is where your online reputation can make or break you. In 90% of cases, a consumer will go to two websites to find out about other people’s experiences with your dealership. These two sites are Google +, and Yelp! But what about Dealer Rater you ask? Not everyone knows about Dealer Rater. The ones who do know tend to be a bit more savvy, and have more knowledge of the automotive industry. Or they learn about it after a sale is made. So while your dealership may have an outstanding rating on Dealer Rater, it is more important to focus your efforts on how you are perceived on Yelp! and Google +.
Imagine you’re in a city you’ve never been to and no one at the front desk is available to help you. You want to find a restaurant nearby that serves Italian food. What do you do? In most cases you’ll grab your smartphone, or laptop and go to Google or Yelp! to find that Italian restaurant near your hotel. You didn’t go to Zagat? The industry standard for restaurant reviews? It’s the same thing with Dealer Rater.
So how do you begin cleaning up your online reputation? First off, go to Google + and Yelp! and read through any negative reviews. If your company has accounts on one or both, you can login and answer each negative review. It is best to have someone of a higher power within your dealership (A general manager at the least) respond to these negative reviews. It doesn’t need to be long and drawn out, just a simple;
“Jon,
Thank you for taking the time to review our dealership and share your thoughts with the community. I want to apologize for your less than stellar experience as we here at Audi of Audiland strive to offer the best customer service experience possible. Obviously we were not able to deliver that to you and for that I do extend my apologies. I have forwarded your review to my entire staff in an effort to make sure this never happens again. I would like to invite you to contact me personally at (617)-123-4567 ext. 1234 so I can correct this error.
I look forward to the opportunity of gaining back your business
-Joe General Manager”
It doesn’t matter if the review is one week old or 3 years old. By responding you prove to consumers your dealership is serious about customer service. And you may even win back an old customer who wrote you off years ago. Another strategy to use is start linking positive reviews to your social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, etc…). Since social media plays an integral role in shaping the customer experience, by having online reviews posted on your site from reliable and well known sources it grows your social proof and makes a potential customer much more likely to do business with your dealership.
While these tactics are great to begin with, only a true online reputation expert can assist you with implementing a proven strategy for improving online reputation. Online reputation experts can effectively grow your positive image while burying old, negative press at the same time. Even if your dealership has been plagued by negative reviews for years, an online reputation expert will work with you to clear up your bad name. Businesses that have been able to increase their online reputation from two stars to four stars have seen up to a 64% increase in business.
What could a potential 64% increase in walk-in traffic do for your dealership?