If you’re a business owner, you are likely aware that your business needs positive Google reviews. You’ve probably browsed a business’ Google reviews before in an attempt to decide whether to eat or shop there. So, it stands to reason that your dealership needs them too. But how do you get reviews on Google for your dealership without bogging down your sales or front desk staff? In this blog, we’ll cover why Google reviews matter, what to do with negative reviews, and how to get reviews on Google for dealerships.
While we’re focusing on your Google Business Profile and Google reviews in this blog, the same logic can be applied to other review platforms like Yelp. Google has 93% of the market share when it comes to online searches, and if a searcher is searching a keyword with local intent or searching on Google maps, your Google Business Profile is what you want them to see.
Do Google Reviews Matter?
Before we go any further, let’s give a resounding YES to this commonly asked question. Google reviews matter for three main reasons: 1) to build trust with prospective customers and 2) to improve your ranking in search results, and 3) to make your business relevant in niche searches.
Google Reviews Build Trust with Prospective Customers
This is the obvious answer as to why Google reviews matter. Most dealerships are aware that Google reviews can make an impression with potential customers before they ever visit. You obviously want that to be a great impression! Unfortunately, unhappy customers are more likely to take the time to leave reviews than happy customers. That is, unless the dealership is willing to take the necessary steps to solicit reviews from their happiest customers. That’s where our Snap21 review and referral solution comes into play (more on how in a bit).
More and Better Google Reviews Improve Your Ranking
Google takes many different things into account when it comes to how it ranks your Google Business Profile. When someone performs a local search, proximity of the searcher to the businesses is the most important thing Google considers when choosing local pack or map pack results. But review amount and review quality are important too! According to BrightLocal, Google reviews account for as much as almost 20% of weight in local pack results. This of course includes reviews on Google and the average rating of your dealership on your Google Business Profile, but Google can also factor in your review amount and rating across other sites too. These ratings and reviews on other websites that list your business’ name address and phone number are known as “structured citations.” In short, more reviews and higher rated reviews can influence Google to put your profile above your competitors in search results.
Keywords in Google Reviews Can Make Your Dealership Appear in Niche Searches
Additionally, keywords customers mention in your reviews can help your business pop up in niche search results when prospective customers are searching for those terms in the future! Google uses keywords in customer reviews in what they call “justifications.” Justifications are a little snippet that Google displays to “justify” why they displayed that business in search results.
For example, let’s say you are a Jayco dealer. A happy customer recently left a review for the Jayco Jayhawk they just purchased, and they mentioned the make and model in their review. When the next customer searches for a Jayco Jayhawk on Google Maps near your business, Google may display a justification that reads a snippet of the review mentioning the Jayhawk or it may say “Reviews mention ‘Jayco Jayhawk.’” This is why it’s important to ask customers to mention what they purchased from you when you ask them for reviews.
Do Google reviews matter
Yes. Google reviews help you build trust with prospective customers, improve your ranking in local search results and make your business relevant in niche searches.
How to respond to Google reviews
You need to respond to every single review you get – yes, even the negative ones! Thanking customers for leaving a positive review solidifies the relationship with a customer who had a positive experience with you. Responding to negative reviews and offering resolution or an invitation to a 1-on-1 discussion makes prospective customers see you treat all customers with care. With our Google Business Profile management plans and reputation management services, we take care of this for you.
How to delete Google reviews
In some cases, you can report a review to Google if it violates their policies. However, it must be a very clear violation for Google to remove the review. In most cases, Google will side with the user who left the review rather than the business and let the review stay.
What does this mean for you if you have negative Google reviews that don’t reflect your business? The only solution is to be ultra-diligent about soliciting new reviews from your happy customers to drown out the bad reviews and keep your average rating high. Our exclusive Snap21 solution will help you do just that in an automated workflow that doesn’t require much extra from your staff.
How Can My Dealership Get Reviews on Google?
Now that we all understand the importance of reviews, let’s discuss what your dealership can do to get them.
Manually Solicit Reviews
One way to get more reviews is to train your sales staff to manually solicit them from every customer they interact with. This method can be time intensive and often requires follow up from your staff. It also asks for quite a bit of buy-in from your staff to take time away from making new sales to reach back out to customers from past sales reminding them to leave reviews. In most cases, dealership owners want their sales staff focused on what they do best: interacting with the customer that’s in front of them right now and giving them the best possible experience. Let’s face it: this is not the most efficient way to get reviews on Google.
Automate Review Generation with NetSource Media’s Exclusive Snap21 Partnership
If only there were a way to automate review generation with very little effort on behalf of your sales staff. Fantastic news: there is! NetSource Media just launched an exclusive partnership with Snap21, a review and referral automation service designed specifically for dealerships. It’s the simplest and most effective way to ask your happy customers for reviews, and it’s only available for RV and trailer dealerships through NetSource Media.
How Snap21 Works to Get Google Reviews
With Snap21, all your sales staff has to do is snap a photo of the happy customer with their new RV on the lot and upload it to the platform. Snap21 does the rest! This review automation service will text the customer a link to view the photo, and they’re prompted to do two things: 1) share the photo on their own social media page and 2) leave a review of their experience on the review platform of your choice.
Starting this review generation flow immediately after the purchase captures the buyer’s attention while they’re still on the buyer’s high of purchasing their new RV or trailer. 81% of customers click on the Snap21 invitation to view their photo, and a third of those photos get shared to social media. It’s a much higher success rate than a direct ask from your sales team for a review because it makes the process fun for the customer!
Automate Your Process to Get Reviews on Google
There’s no question generating reviews is important for your online reputation and search engine ranking. Instead of asking your sales staff to take time away from future customers to laboriously follow up with past customers for reviews, automate the process to get reviews on Google and get even more.
Our team is ready to walk you through how Snap21 works and how it can level up your dealership marketing through review generation. Schedule a demo with us – abundant reviews for your dealership are right around the corner!
