Yes, Customer Reviews can make or break your Auto Repair Shop Owning a business is no easy feat; mainly due to the fact that you have to constantly cater to the needs of your customers. Customer loyalty is one of the most important aspects of making a business successful because, without customers, businesses simply wouldn’t exist. Regardless of the type of local business you own, the most important thing you need is a positive reputation. There are a lot of businesses out there that gain and lose customers on a daily basis. The loss or the gain of customers largely depends upon the reputation a business has in many cases. The internet has allowed people to become vocal with their opinions about just about everything – including how they feel about companies they do business with. People leave online reviews for the whole world to see about businesses and the products and services they offer. This is why it is crucial that you stay on top of what is being said about your company online. When it comes to having a positive online presence, your company will reap the benefits no matter how large or small it is. In other words, every satisfied customer you have will bring you even more customers. On the flip side, if your online presence contains some negativity, your business could be critically challenged.

1. How Online Customer
Reviews Can Impact Your
Local Business
By: Ed Burckhardt
Phone: (800) 520-9498
ed@ecommnow.com
www.buyfamous.com
LOGO

2. Why Customer Reviews Are So Important
 People go online first to search
for local products and services
 Consumers post negative and
positive feedback about
businesses online
 Other consumers rely on this
feedback from other
customers to help them make
purchasing decisions

3. Why Customer Reviews Are So Important
 An ample amount of reviews
will help you get new
customers
 No reviews – or mostly
“negative” reviews will hurt
your ability to get new
customers
 Reviews can help your
business flourish or become
critically challenged

4. Let’s Take a Look at Some Numbers
72% of Consumers Trust Reviews
52% are More Likely to Use a
Local Business with Positive
Reviews
77% of Consumers Regularly
Use Online Reviews to Make
Decisions about Businesses
WHY Your
Online
Reputation and
Customer
Reviews
MATTER
Company name

5. Encourage Your Customers to Leave Reviews
 The more online reviews your
business has, the better
 Avoid “fake” reviews at all
costs
 Simply “ask” your satisfied
customers to leave online
reviews for your company

6. ASK Your Customers for Reviews
 Ask customers who come into
your shop to go online to leave
a review. An effective way,
print postcards with the URL’s
for your Google+ Local and
Yelp pages.
 Create a poster with the URL’s
of your review sites, Yelp,
Google+ Local, Facebook, etc.
 Ask for reviews by hanging
that poster on the wall of your
waiting room, check out
counter, etc.

7. ASK Your Customers for Reviews
 Ask for reviews in your email
autoresponder messages that
go out to your customer list
 Ask for reviews in your direct
mail materials
 Ask for reviews on your social
media profiles…
Just don’t be afraid to ASK!

8. Make it EASY for Your Customers
 Provide links to your review
site profiles on your website
 Give your customers tips
about leaving online reviews
 Provide great and top-notch
service to make your
customers WANT to leave a
great review for your company

9. Ask Them to Leave Reviews on Multiple Sites
 Don’t overwhelm your
customers by asking them to
leave reviews on multiple
sites.
 Concentrate on the most
important ones:
 Review Sites:
 Google+ Local
 Yelp
 Yahoo Local
 Superpages
 Citysearch

10. How Negative Reviews Can HURT
 There will be “some” negative
reviews, which is good as long
as they’re not overpowering
 Don’t ignore negative reviews;
otherwise, you could come off
as “uncaring”
 Don’t argue with negative
reviewers as it could enhance
the negative impact

11. How to Respond to Negative Reviews
 Do not panic or over-react to
negative reviews; it’s bound to
happen
 Assess the situations carefully
and resolve any issues with
unhappy customers
 Do not “argue” with your
unhappy customers
 Post your responses publicly
so your customers and
potential customers see that
you actually care

12. How to Build and Maintain a Positive Image
 Register your business on as
many review sites as possible
 Monitor all of your review site
profiles regularly
 Respond to all reviews, which
allows you to engage with
your customers as well as
show that you care
 Google your business name
adding “reviews” to it and see
what type of comments come
up in the results

13. How to Build and Maintain a Positive Image
 Create a blog and post
content related to your
business consistently to
create more “positive”
content that will rank high in
the search engines
 Be consistent and post often
for best results
 This will help push down any
negative reviews and
comments

14. www.ecommnow.com
If you would like more information about how
to handle negative online customer reviews or
how to build a strong, positive online
reputation, contact me today!
Ed Burckhardt
LOGO
(800) 520-9498
www.buyfamous.com