B104.18 - Review Solicitation and Monitoring |
This day in age, we all get lots of requests to review products and services online.
- Do you have a system for soliciting reviews or testimonials? Should you?
- Are requests made to all customers for reviews?
- Are requests made to some customers for reviews?
- Should you proactively try to get on public review sites or not?
Testimonials
Create a folder to store written testimonials (physical folder or digital folder for scanned copies). Share them on your website. Use them as appropriate. This is the only formal feedback/or "that a boy" that a small business person will really get.
If you do something special or unique for someone and they are appreciative, ask them if they'd put some information in writing to assist future clients/customers/patients with confidence related to your product or service.
If you do something special or unique for someone and they are appreciative, ask them if they'd put some information in writing to assist future clients/customers/patients with confidence related to your product or service.
Public Review Websites
Public review websites like Yelp and Angie's list were intended to be great resources for vendor transparency. The theory was sound, and while they are in fact beneficial in some ways. They are not fool proof and they can be extremely damaging in an unfair manner if abused by people willing to behave in a nefarious manner.
One Way Review Sites
Yelp is an example of a one way review site. The Business gets reviewed by customers and they can respond, but they can't review the customer back personally. The theory is decent, the reality is flawed. Some folks are just malicious and other folks enter fake reviews for competitors.
Two Way Review Websites
AirBNB is an example of a 2 way review website. Both the small business person and the consumer is a member, and each has the opportunity to blindly review the other. Each also gets an opportunity to respond to the reviews once public. While this "sounds good", the reality of it is severely flawed, especially when AirBNB cautions small business people that reviews below 5 out of 5 stars could result in suspension or termination of service.
When two people don't get along or disagree, generally they might voice their concerns, but what happens when voicing any concerns might decrease your acceptance from future business exchanges? Everyone stays quiet...
What you end up with is a bunch of year book type promos for each other "Great guest. Great stay. Left house great." The only way you find out if they were truthful is when they stay and they don't leave things the same. When that happens you are left to wonder if it was just you or if the others lied too. Then you have to decide if you are going to call them out on it, realizing if you do, they could spin it claiming you are overly picky when in fact they just blew off their responsibilities. Please don't let this sound far fetched. This is not about theory.
When two people don't get along or disagree, generally they might voice their concerns, but what happens when voicing any concerns might decrease your acceptance from future business exchanges? Everyone stays quiet...
What you end up with is a bunch of year book type promos for each other "Great guest. Great stay. Left house great." The only way you find out if they were truthful is when they stay and they don't leave things the same. When that happens you are left to wonder if it was just you or if the others lied too. Then you have to decide if you are going to call them out on it, realizing if you do, they could spin it claiming you are overly picky when in fact they just blew off their responsibilities. Please don't let this sound far fetched. This is not about theory.
Yelp.com
Yelp is likely one of the most well known, nation wide public review websites. Businesses do not create a profile for reviewing and frankly, we're not sure how a profile gets created.
We don't know if they scan state business registration systems or if they just add businesses as people want to review then or how that works. BUT... invariably small businesses may look up one day and find themselves not only with a small profile but also with a review. The vendors always have an opportunity to respond to the review.
Yelp has faced numerous lawsuits for negative reviews posted by purported customers. To our knowledge they have never been forced to take down a review. Eager consumers likely once thought such a system was a good thing, but truthfully, it's often very hard to tell truthful reviews from reviews posted by friends of the vendor.
Yelp definitely has a system for moving negative reviews to a secondary page that does not seem totally "random". They will claim they use an 'algorithm' to determine which reviews show on the first page and which show on a secondary page (with the link to the second page being extremely well camouflaged -- making that part of the give away that the second page status is not random).
BUT, what they don't seem to want to admit to anyone is that "a person" wrote the algorithm. They really want folks to believe review placement algorithms come from something other than human beings, and it's rather laughable if you have algorithmic programming background.
Most internet users these days realize reviews on sites like Yelp may or may not be legitimate, so it has lost some of its power for doing damage, but along with that, some of its power related to helping a business stand out has also been lost.
In general, try to avoid asking for reviews on Yelp and/or getting involved with them. If reviews are out there that are positive, great. If reviews are out there that are negative, if you can offer a one to two line response that you feel might clarify things, go for it. Other than that, our suggestion is to simply avoid and ignore this website.
We don't know if they scan state business registration systems or if they just add businesses as people want to review then or how that works. BUT... invariably small businesses may look up one day and find themselves not only with a small profile but also with a review. The vendors always have an opportunity to respond to the review.
Yelp has faced numerous lawsuits for negative reviews posted by purported customers. To our knowledge they have never been forced to take down a review. Eager consumers likely once thought such a system was a good thing, but truthfully, it's often very hard to tell truthful reviews from reviews posted by friends of the vendor.
Yelp definitely has a system for moving negative reviews to a secondary page that does not seem totally "random". They will claim they use an 'algorithm' to determine which reviews show on the first page and which show on a secondary page (with the link to the second page being extremely well camouflaged -- making that part of the give away that the second page status is not random).
BUT, what they don't seem to want to admit to anyone is that "a person" wrote the algorithm. They really want folks to believe review placement algorithms come from something other than human beings, and it's rather laughable if you have algorithmic programming background.
Most internet users these days realize reviews on sites like Yelp may or may not be legitimate, so it has lost some of its power for doing damage, but along with that, some of its power related to helping a business stand out has also been lost.
In general, try to avoid asking for reviews on Yelp and/or getting involved with them. If reviews are out there that are positive, great. If reviews are out there that are negative, if you can offer a one to two line response that you feel might clarify things, go for it. Other than that, our suggestion is to simply avoid and ignore this website.