If you haven’t been taking your online reviews seriously and you don’t think these comments can have any real or lasting impact on your business, think again. Online reviews may not always be reliable, but they’re here to stay. The two most popular review sites are Yelp and Google Places, and survey results now suggest that more than a third of us do a quick online search before we patronize a local business for the first time. More than 65 percent of American consumers also claim to consult online reviews before making a major purchase. We may take them with a grain of salt, but we still read them, and they can have a powerful impact on our decision to make purchases, sign contracts, or allow service providers into our homes. So what can you do to make sure the online review process works in your favor?

1. First, know what’s out there. You can’t protect yourself if you don’t understand the landscape. Google your company name on a fairly regular basis, or simply use the Google Alerts function to receive a message every time new information is posted about you online. (You can save time by hiring a digital marketing firm to do this for you.)

2. Second, improve the way you handle customer complaints. Do this by making it very, very easy for customers to complain to you in person instead of going online. Keep an accessible (not broken!) link to a user-friendly customer complaint form on your website, and keep paper forms readily available in your place of business. Train your front office staff to take customer complaints seriously and handle them with speed and diplomacy.

3. After you hear out an angry customer, follow through. Don’t just apologize and move on. Even if there’s nothing you can do to resolve the problem, be ready to provide some form of compensation, like discounts for future services.

4. Reach out to negative online reviewers privately if possible and try to resolve the issue. Don’t get drawn into online public arguments. It’s also a good idea to reach out to positive reviewers in order to thank them.

5. Stay on good terms with your competitors. This can limit the risk of turf wars and spam reviews. 

6. Never post fake positive reviews of your company. This can easily backfire and if it does, it can have a dismal effect on your reputation and credibility. Of course, the same rule also applies to fake negative reviews of your local competition.

For more information on handling online reviews—or enlisting the help of a professional digital marketing firm—contact the Texas staffing and small business management pros at Expert.