Have you ever wondered if and how your law firm’s Google reviews are benefitting your business? Our SEO team here at Whitehardt manages the online reputations for personal injury law firms all over the country, and have seen first-hand just how important Google reviews, and Google My Business as a whole, is for generating quality leads.
In fact, 93% of consumers say online reviews influence their decisions. This is a powerful fact and proof that your Google reviews will directly impact your business. So, how can you make sure you and your team are approaching your law firm’s Google reviews the right way?
We’ve broken down our proven reputation management methodology into the top three things you should remember when responding to Google reviews to help you successfully manage your firm’s online reputation.
1. Potential Clients Are Watching You
We understand you’ve worked hard to build your firm into what it is today. When someone leaves a negative review, slandering your name and all your labor and efforts, it’s understandable to be upset and want to respond in kind. However, it’s important to remember that potential clients will see your responses and will likely take this into consideration when deciding whether to contact you over another firm. A good tip to keep in mind is that your responses to Google reviews are as much for potential clients as they are for the people who leave them.
With this in mind, it’s best to respond to negative reviewers using calm and understanding language. You can even ask the reviewer to call your office so you can resolve their issue or gain more information. This will demonstrate to members of your community that you care about all of your clients and the experience they have when working with you.
2. Every Review Deserves a Unique Response
With the busy schedule most personal injury lawyers keep, it can be tempting to neglect responding to reviews with just a few words, or even no words at all, simply restricting your focus on responding to negative reviews.
This is where the line between good customer service and great customer service is drawn. In order to provide great customer service, it’s important to respond to every review your firm receives, positive, negative, long and short, alike. Ensuring you’re responding to each and every review is also important because this is one of the many factors that plays a role in improving your local map rankings.
How to Respond to a Positive Review
While you don’t need to spend an excess amount of time crafting responses for positive reviews, a simple, polite, and customized “thank you” can go a long way. After all, the reviewer took time out of their day to do you a favor by leaving a review.
It’s easy to tell a business isn’t sincere in their customer service efforts when all of their review responses are canned. The goal here is to demonstrate to your community that you and your team are real people who care about your clients even after their case has been resolved.
How to Respond to a Negative Review
Negative reviews should require more of your time and attention. If you can access their client information and determine why they might have left a negative review, you can curate a personalized response that addresses the unfavorable experience they had. If you can’t locate their information for one reason or another, it can be beneficial to ask them to contact your firm directly so you can personally attempt to remedy the situation.
Your instinct may be to defend your firm and the efforts of your team or dismiss the allegations, altogether. Always remember, potential clients will see how you choose to handle the situation. It is better to respond with polite, empathetic language. If a reviewer is satisfied with your response, they may even take their negative review down!
3. Timing Is Everything
Regardless of your positive reviews, when a negative review goes days/weeks unaddressed, potential clients could see this as a sign that your firm provides an unfavorable experience for your clients, and their grievances cannot reach you. Potential clients want to feel like their feedback and concerns won’t fall on deaf ears, and it’s up to you to provide them with that comfort. We recommend responding to negative reviews within 1-2 days.
Need Help Managing Your Google Reviews?
We understand how challenging it can be to promptly handle Google reviews with the sincere, heartfelt responses they deserve. Our team can not only take this time-consuming process off your hands, but also optimize your responses to show your potential clients that your firm puts its clients first.
To learn more about what our legal marketing team can do for your firm’s online reputation, call us at info@whitehardt.com or fill out our online form to set a meeting with our team today.
