It’s hard to know who you can trust when it comes to getting your car serviced. Fortunately, online reviews are a great way to get recommendations! That also makes them an important focus for auto repair shops. Reviews help potential customers know what to expect from your business. They are produced by real people that have been to your business, which makes them one of the most powerful and trusted sources of information.

Search Engine Rankings

Reviews for your business can be found on several platforms (Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc.) and play a major role. They influence potential customer decisions on which business to choose, boost your search engine rankings, and increase the number of people that find your business. Reviews are a crucial factor for where your business may show up in search results. That’s because the search engines like Google are more likely to rank your business higher in the results when you have more and better reviews than your competitors! Of course, other factors come into play to determine where your business will appear in search engine rankings, but your reviews are a critical aspect, too.

Negative Reviews

In the business of customer service, not all the reviews you receive will likely be positive ones. Whenever you receive a negative review, use it as a great opportunity to learn what areas you may need to improve on. Negative feedback can help you learn from your mistakes and also show various ways you can make your business better. It is also a great opportunity to participate in conversations with your customers. You can respond to a negative review in a way that solves their issue. This is a great way to show others reading how you respond to complaints and that you are willing to help even if they end up having a bad experience. Read our tips on how to respond to negative reviews in one of our other blogs here: How to Respond to Negative Reviews (Examples).

Asking for Reviews

It is important to make sure you are asking customers to leave you a review after their service. Doing this will not only boost the number of reviews you receive but will also build trust with customers by showing that you value their opinion. Acquiring new reviews is vital when trying to grow your business and stay competitive because it will help you stand apart from your competition. Remember, your competitors will also be striving to acquire as many reviews as possible, so you must continuously build your reviews to stay competitive. It may feel difficult or awkward to ask a customer for a review, but developing a strategy and making sure your front desk team is consistent helps.

When a customer is checking out, you can say something as simple as, “Thank you for your business! If you enjoyed your experience with us, we would appreciate it if you could review us on Google.” I previously worked as a Service Advisor in an auto repair shop, and we did this regularly. You can even go one step further and leave a reminder on your invoices also asking for a review. Anything you can do to remind the customer will improve your chances of getting a review.

We’re Here to Help

At Autoshop Solutions, we offer several marketing packages that include review monitoring service and assistance with writing review responses. We understand how important it is to respond to customer reviews, especially negative ones. Many times it can be hard to create a response to a negative review without getting upset and retaliating because negative reviews can hurt your business. It is important to have a clear mind, so you don’t act emotionally when responding to negative reviews. People that read your response will usually pick up on a defensive tone and may lose confidence in your business. Don’t worry, we are here to help! We have review experts that will help create the best possible responses to your reviews and positively represent your business at the same time!