If You’re an auto repair shop owner getting floods of positive reviews for your business is a dream come true. Many owners are confused about where to direct their customers to leave feedback but the best platform to guide them is Google My Business and we will tell you why.
Reviews Are The Lifeblood Of Auto Repair Shops
The amount of customers a repair shop gets in a year average around 700-1000. A survey that we conducted in the automotive industry and customer reviews revealed that 50% of customers left an online review when asked or pressured by the establishment. Only 15% of customers went on to leave a review when not asked. The customers never really felt obliged to leave a 5-star review if the experience was exceptional or a 1-star review if they felt cheated or the service was horrendous.
Some of the best social media platforms for auto body repair reviews are:
Notable mentions for auto body repair shop reviews are:
You should look into creating and claiming your online profiles before anyone else does and share these platforms with your satisfied customers after every single job.
Embrace The Good and The Bad Reviews
All reviews that you get for your auto repair shop are good. The only negative review that frustrates an owner is when they feel like they are being attacked by someone. This can rarely happen but if it does, the owner should think about how they would feel if someone was having their car fixed by them and then complained about them.
Overall the online reviews do not affect your auto repair business negatively, but instead, boost you up improving your customer service to boost future growth.
When You Get A Bad Review Don’t Lose Your Cool
When your running an auto repair business you have to put your ego aside and people will say and do things that you will never understand. However, don’t lose your cool when someone has a negative experience with your auto repair service. Find a way to resolve the issue promptly and if you still feel that what they said is unwarranted then professionally contact your customers for them to reconsider their opinion about your business. Most review platforms will give the vendor a fair shake and publicize their response and actions you declare to remedy the problem. This is a win because it shows the public that you are looking after your customers’ interests.
What To Do When You Get A Bad Review That You Can’t Do Anything About
When you receive a bad review that is unwarranted then you need to take immediate action. most review platforms like Yelp, Google, and Trust Pilot have mechanisms in place to protect you and your staff from abuse. We advise that you file a complaint and be very professional about it the likelihood of getting the bad review removed is very high.
Getting Good Reviews Is a Key Reputation Marketing Strategy
When your auto repair business ages it’s common to see over 1000 reviews on Google My Business. When you get enough positive reviews it boosts your reputation and credibility, which can generate more business for you. Reviews are vital to your business because they help consumers decide whether or not they want to do business with you. When getting the reviews on Google we have discovered that they have the most benefit because they are linked to your actual website and we believe that they send a strong SEO signal that helps you elevate the search rankings.
External platforms like Yelp & Facebook are great for compiling reviews but their objective and overall design is to keep users in their ecosystems and away from your website. Companies like Yelp have had a firestorm of complaints with auto repair shops that we have worked with.
Why Auto Repair Shop Owners Hate Yelp So Much
I don’t want to speak badly of other businesses but I feel this must be said because we have encountered this issue too many times when helping grow customers for auto repair shops. Auto repair shop owners are frustrated around the country because they are forced to pay $300-$900 per month on maintaining a positive listing for their business through Yelp.
Common Issues
They can’t leave a review and it never shows up on Google and it’s frustrating, to say the least. Missing reviews and unfavorable placements and pushy phone sales reps are just the tip of the iceberg and most common we hear when our clients ask us for help in this area. Another problem with Yelp is that sales reps will try and get you to buy advertising on the website even if you don’t want it. This is a big problem because your sales rep might start calling and harassing your staff some of our clients had unfriendly exchanges and the fear and presumption were that they retaliated and now their reviews were slashed or many 1 star reviews started appearing out of nowhere. This could be catastrophic because these reviews might appear on the top of your listing and scare away potential customers from your establishment. It could be comparable to 2 large goons coming to your storefront and smashing out all your windows with baseball bats, Yelp does this digitally and the aftermath is losing potential customers.
How To Handle Yelp
We give auto repair shop owners the same helpful advice when dealing with Yelp,
Fill out your profile and make sure that all the information on your listing is correct
When salespeople call politely decline if you are not interested and mention that you will reach back out to them in 9 months so they remove you from call lists momentarily.
If your business has been successful with Yelp continue your efforts but doesn’t bite off more than you can chew. The paid click option and paid placements can become an additional expense.
Reward Your Customers For Leaving Great Reviews
When you get a great review it’s a very satisfying feeling to know that your hard work has paid off.
The problem for most repair shops is that they don’t have the resources to do much in terms of rewards other than saying thank you or giving them a small discount. Give them a free piece of branded merchandise, T-shirt, or hat. Having customers remember your business with a small gift like a mug or something that they can use every day is one of the best ways to give thanks and an excellent way to advertise for your business.
How To Get Customers To Leave Reviews On All The Platforms
Getting customers to leave one review can be difficult enough but it’s even harder to get them to leave reviews on all the platforms where your auto repair business is listed. In addition to Google My Business, you need to make sure that your clients go to Yelp, Facebook, and even your website and leave a review. Don’t underestimate the importance of a good reputation because it will help you grow your business exponentially.
We noticed that a little strategy you can use is to create abbreviated links and QR codes for the review platforms, create as little friction as possible if you need to send them a long URL the chances are that when they get home they will completely forget. Have a sign visible in your shop’s waiting area and encourage staff members to politely request reviews when the moment is right.
Be Consistent To Get Reviews For Your Auto Body Repair Shop
Using email follow-ups is the best way to persuade customers to leave you a review. If you see that they left a positive review on Facebook reach out to the customer personally and thank them for the kind review. Doing this will build rapport with your clientele and you can politely ask if they would be willing to leave you a Google Review also to help you out. Happy customers are generally good people that adore your business and we have noticed by simply asking they will go out of their way to get you the reviews you need to balance your review intake profile.
