We all know that when a customer has a “bad experience” they will tell nearly everyone they know. But what about the countless great experiences you and your budtenders provide? How can you continually compete with the expansive reaches of the internet, and show that you are the dispensary folks should be coming to? A customer can provide rave reviews on countless websites; or they can slam your business all over the green Earth.
You might ask, “Who cares?” One or two or six customers isn’t going to make or break you or your business. The reason why you want to take notice is called Social Proof.
Social Proof is the psychological tendency we have as humans, and as consumers, to modify our behavior to match popular behavior. Therefore, if Client A posts online that your customer service is terrible, Client B (and C, and D, and everyone else who reads the review), will either avoid your place of business completely or expect terrible customer service. It doesn’t matter that Client B has no relationship with Client A. Social proof helps to form their opinion of you and your business before they ever step in the door or pick up the phone. It’s the same reason we search Rotten Tomatoes for movie reviews, or ask Siri for the “best restaurants near me”. We are making our decisions based on what others believe; what others have deemed as popular, successful, and worth our time and money.
Social Media is key to increase your positive footprint in the ever-expanding internet universe. It can help provide a tangible glimpse into what can be improved upon. You can connect with both your regular clients and naysayers to encourage them to visit you again and refer their friends. It provides a free avenue to advertise upcoming events and make special announcements. The more often you can support a positive image, the more important you become, and the more successful you will grow.
So how do you deal when someone leaves a review? Once someone leaves a review, good or bad, your inclination may be to simply let it be. After all, it’s already on the internet for everyone to see, what is your answer going to do?
There are several reasons to answer your reviews (especially the poor ones):
- Saying “thank you” to someone who took time out of their day to leave you a great review is worth your time. This shows you appreciate their patronage and their time.
- Responding to reviews further supports your presence as a real life human, and not just a brand and logo. People crave human-to-human interaction on social media. They are voicing their opinion because they want to be heard, and they want to hear from you.
- Reviews give you a chance to see what you’re doing well, and where you might be able to improve. This is basically free market research for your company!
- Taking ownership and apologizing for a poor experience, even if it has you fuming, is the right thing to do. Nobody’s perfect, and a poor review should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s difficult, but you can do this!
- Future customers want to see that you respond to reviews and address situations that need to be taken care of. Seeing a seething review followed by a professional response from the owner is much more palatable than no response at all, or worse, a rude or defensive response.
The thing to remember is that you are in business only because of your customers. Being genuine, and thanking them for their good experiences, goes a long way. Remaining professional and courteous to the unhappy customers goes even farther.
- Start by apologizing and taking ownership.
- Acknowledge that they had an issue and you will do your best to correct it.
- Thank them for taking the time to send their feedback.
- Use the opportunity to point out something positive about your business.
Here are some platforms to start with…
- Yelp
- Google My Business
- Weedmaps
- Testimonials on your website
By staying professional and redirecting your reviews to the many positive aspects of your business, negative reviews won’t make such a negative impact. If you’re interested in outsourcing your review responses for consistency and peace of mind, talk to us!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.