How to get a rating of 4.0 or higher on social media sites
Most businesses these days rely heavily on internet marketing. And part of internet marketing is the comments left by your past and present customers. In today’s world, it’s not who you know that is important, it’s what people who know you are saying about you on social media!
In today’s world of instant access internet through the use of smartphones, the social media platforms of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google, Yelp, LinkedIn and others allow access to the current online “rating” of a company. You can also post a business review instantly with the same tools. This is good for consumers and it may be good for businesses … or not. When someone is unhappy with the service you just provided, the food you ate at your restaurant, or the product you just bought that broke, you can tell the world right away. They feel better and their online rating just plummeted.
These days, it is very important that your satisfied customers leave positive comments about your business on the Internet. People looking for anything from a restaurant, a haircut, a jewelry store, or a property manager, can search for a business based on their qualifications online over a cup of coffee. Why would you choose a company that has 2.5 stars out of 5 when you can choose a company that has 4.5 stars out of 5?
But how do you get your customers to post positive comments? In the property management business, we have two main groups; owners and tenants. Each is approached in the same way and good service is not limited to either group. We work hard to provide the best service to our landlords and tenants, and by providing excellent service to both groups, we have a broader audience to reach out to. But don’t stop there, reach out to everyone you do business with; current clients, train clients, suppliers and professional contacts as well.
All staff in our company are instructed to be aware of the positive feedback they receive from any viable business contacts. If they receive a compliment or some positive verbiage regarding a situation or problem, we follow these guidelines:
– Send that person a preformatted email requesting a comment.
– In the email, the staff members thank the person for the compliment and request that they do the staff member a favor and post a positive comment online.
– Request a “five star” rating.
– Provide the links in your email to the social media platform where you want them to post. This is important as most people will need your guidance to get to the right online platform where you want them to post. Also, you can control where they are posting so that it has more value in your overall rating.
– Thank the owner, tenant or business contact again and let them know that you appreciate their time and positive comment.
Unfortunately, you won’t always get positive feedback and that’s hard to control. On some social platforms, you can refute the negative comment, and sometimes that will cause it to be removed. Also, when you ask for “five stars”, that will give more weight to the positive comment than to the negative comments and your rating will increase.
The best policy, of course, is to provide excellent service to ALL of your customers. Since the internet and online ratings are not going away, just consider this part of your daily business life and keep it up! And remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day!
