People are constantly searching online for services that they need. But how do you guarantee that they call your agency and not your competitor?
You may have an amazing agency, but if you have a bad online reputation, you could be losing out on new business. If you don’t know what people are saying about you, it’s time to find out. When someone searches for a local business, Google displays the business’s average star rating and the number of reviews that have been written about it alongside its name. Because we’re so used to reading reviews, our brains are trained to judge a business by its star rating almost immediately.
Imagine searching for a local insurance agent. The first agency you see listed shows an average of five stars – a perfect score. The second result says No Reviews. The third has two stars. Do you think anyone is going to call that second listing with no reviews? Even with a strong brand name, they’ve got no local credibility compared to the first agency. No one would waste their time. And the agency with two stars? They might as well kiss any new quotes from Google search goodbye. Studies show that people are very unlikely to call a business with less than four stars.
Now do you see why you could be losing new prospects? Your first goal is to do some detective work to see how you rank. Check out your agency’s Google listing and Facebook reviews. Next, determine your top three competitors. These are the people you compete with the most for business – the ones you feel could be stealing your prospects. They could even be agencies located on the same street since you’ll frequently show up in the same search.
Now you should have a pretty clear picture of where you stand. Look at each platform and compare your results. Is your reputation winning or losing? Who would a customer call?
If you have the overall highest star ranking, congratulations! People are going to notice your agency first. You’ll want to maintain this position by continually getting new reviews from your clients. If you don’t, or there isn’t a clear-cut winner, don’t worry. There’s plenty you can do to fix it. Happy clients are always willing to leave great reviews – they just need a little prodding.
The key to getting great reviews is to ask for them. Create a streamlined process at your agency that proactively reaches out to clients after a positive experience and asks them to write a review on Google or Facebook. Start designing your review process today – and watch the inbound calls roll in!
Article By: Robyn Sharp
Source: iamagazine.com
