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In his article this month, Rod talks about the changes Google has made with regards to how you can ask for reviews, and with those changes comes the possibility of receiving a few more negative reviews.

Of course everyone only wants to get positive reviews. As a Dealer Principal, anything negative can really feel like a gut punch, bringing with it all kinds of anger and the desire to go on the offense. After all, how dare someone call your baby ugly, right?

Now, we all know that about 5% of the customers who walk through your doors are just plain bat-crap crazy. It’s simply the law of averages, and there’s not really a lot you’re going to be able to do about that. Life simply isn’t perfect.

Occasionally, those idiots are going to find their way to a keyboard, and test your patience along with your customer service skills. It just is what it is.

There are also, unfortunately, those times where a customer has a legitimate beef with your dealership, and you’re going to have to do the right thing to restore the relationship. Your baby isn’t ugly, but at certain angles, and in a certain light, he might look a little like Winston Churchill. Into every life a little rain must fall…

There are a small number of dealers whose baby is truly a beast. Like, face caught on fire and somebody put it out with a shovel, kind of ugly. I’ve seen your reviews and you have bigger fish to fry. This article may help down the road…

Right now I’m talking to the majority of dealers who read this newsletter, who are astute, and take the reviews game seriously. You’re the folks who push hard for that perfect 5-star average, because you know it means that people will know, like, and trust you – and that equals sales.

Here’s an interesting fact for you: a perfect 5-star rating isn’t the most desirable rating. Why? Northwestern University conducted a study that showed that consumers are most likely to purchase when a product/business has a 4.2-4.5 star rating. 5-star ratings were considered “too good to be true,” while 4.2-4.5 were considered to be transparent and balanced. Potential customers don’t expect your baby to be perfect. That’s good news.

A Power Reviews study showed that 82% of people seek out negative reviews in an effort to get all the information they can before deciding where to buy. 60% read negative reviews first. If there aren’t any, that’s a problem. When they do find some, if they’re mostly that crazy 5% group, that’s okay. The crazies self-identify pretty well, and get dismissed by those with any sense – and hopefully act as a deterrent to other crazies. If there are a few other legitimate low score reviews with good responses, that shows potential customers that while you may not be perfect, you care and will take care of the few problems that may arise.

Another interesting thing that came out of a Centennial Shopper survey was that 44% of respondents wouldn’t trust a product/business without negative reviews.

I’ll give you a real life scenario to kind of bring this all together. I found it interesting that my experience played out the same way as the study results did.

I’m a Corvette fanatic. Don’t judge me, at least it’s not Mustangs…

I bought my dream car last year (2006 Z06), and couldn’t have been happier or more excited. It’s a monster.

I needed to have some work done on it, (because, MORE HORSEPOWER) and as you may have guessed, I was VERY particular about where my baby was going to get it done.

I researched all the specialty Corvette shops in the Atlanta area, and found that there were three within 90 minutes of me. The first thing I did was check their reviews – negative first. 

One got ruled out immediately, because their reviews gave an overwhelming feeling of a rookie shop ran by idiots. 

The second one had better reviews – even the bad ones were better than the first shop. I did get the feeling with a couple of the responses that while they were trying to make things right… well… could’ve done a little better. Didn’t rule them out yet though.

The third shop had a lot of reviews, including some that weren’t immediately flattering. The good thing though, was that the bad reviews were pretty clearly very limited to the crazy 5%, with a few legitimate sprinkled in – and all were handled head-on in a very professional, positive, manner. 

I called the second and third shops, and as you can probably guess I ended up going with the third. I don’t think it’s coincidence that they had a 4.5 star rating.

The bottom line is this, negative reviews are a necessary evil that gives credibility to your dealership – as long as there aren’t many of them and they get handled appropriately. Keep an eye on them (because potential customers are), keep them under control, and they can actually help build trust.

We have a system with our Local Web Dominator program that can help you grow those 4-5 star reviews to keep the balance.  Give us a call at 877-242-4472 to find out more.

Talk soon, 

Brad