Your Online Reputation Works For You 24/7
At night, when the dealership doors are closed and the sales team has gone home, you’re still selling. In the 21st century, a car dealership is never really closed.
Even after hours, people are browsing websites, leaving reviews, reading reviews, and doing research. Their opinions are being shaped and molded by what they read, nudging them this way or that down the path to purchase.
Your online reputation is either helping or hurting you, every minute of the day.
Now, you might be wondering, how do I make sure my online reputation is helping me?
Well, it essentially comes down to two goals:
- To be found
- To be chosen
Being Found Online
As the world’s top search engine, Google is fed by listings and reviews. Everything people say about you online drives this engine, either moving you up in search rankings… or knocking you down.
When shoppers search Google for a local business, the results are all calculated on relevancy. Google shows these results at the top of the search engine results page (SERPs) in groups of three. That’s known as the Google 3-Pack.
If you want to be part of a customer’s path to purchase, or even be in the consideration set, you want to be in that 3-Pack, and the results of that search must be positive.
Being Chosen: Your Positive Reputation
Being found online and perceived positively directly impacts the leads you get (or don’t get). Research indicates that customers are willing to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews. That’s because people seek out reviews to inform their purchase, and they trust online reviews as much as they trust their friends’ opinions.
While a negative review can actually cause some buyers to have more trust for your brand (since no one gets perfect marks all the time) some research estimates that companies risk losing 90% of their business when four or more negative articles appear in search results.
With a little back-of-the-envelope math, you can calculate the impact that a negative reputation has on your business, and see how your online reputation can make a difference in your business. Your reputation is critical. Listings help your dealership and inventory people find you. Positive reviews help people choose you.
How to Protect Your Reputation
Have you checked out how many stars your business has on Google lately? If you’ve got fewer than four stars, you may want to think about reputation management. It could be costing you leads.
Take an active role to manage your online reputation.
Be found by automating reviews to solicit positive feedback from happy customers so you’re generating constant content.
Be chosen by intercepting negative feedback and handling it offline so your site displays glowing reviews.
Don’t miss out on leads you could be getting if you improve your online reputation.
Get A Free Audit of Your Reputation
Wondering how your dealership’s online reputation is stacking up compared to your competitors?
Fill out the form below for a free online reputation report card.
