Ten is the magic number. I know you thought it might be 867-5309 or 3.1415926. It’s not.
Ten is the base number of reviews a consumer reads before trusting a business. Granted, that business needs a minimum of 40 reviews total to even make the initial cut. So why is it that dealers across the country are so infatuated with getting thousands of reviews?
The industry continues to see dealers with 1500+ reviews and little to no utilization of those reviews outside of increasing their Google My Business rating.
If your only goal is to get 100+ reviews a month with a five-star rating, no customer comment, or response from your team, stop reading. This is not the place for you.
If your goal is to see how you can score points with consumers while using your reputation outside of becoming another 5-star rating in the field, keep reading.
Score 1:
Reply to every review you receive authentically.
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- Consumers are no longer just relying on what the customers say in positive and negative ratings. 89% of consumers read local businesses’ responses to reviews. Your ability to reply quickly and authentically will be affected if you subscribe to a stream of 100+ reviews. A “thank you, next” approach doesn’t cut it. Quote specifics in your reply and genuinely attempt to resolve issues.
Score 2:
Publicize your reviews on places other than review sites.
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- There’s nothing better than the fuzzy feeling of seeing your great five-star review. Don’t hesitate to brag about it! Repurpose that single review into content that you can utilize all-year long.
Score 3:
Advertise your star rating.
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- I’m not talking about SEO reach here; a businesses’ high score will already improve their ranking. I’m talking about good, old-fashioned funnel marketing to target users actively shopping for your product (using Oracle data is a great way to do this!). Create a funnel campaign around a “Why Buy Here” message complete with highlights of your top reviews.
Rethink the way your reviews can play into larger strategies, and you’ll graduate from thinking you need more reviews to knowing how to effectively use the reviews you already have. For everything else in-between, schedule a demo to see how our reputation strategies can take your dealership to the next level.