Review Your Reviews

“Happy customers are your biggest advocates and can become your most successful sales team .” - Lisa Masiello

Review Your Reviews

Introduction:

If you are like most legal professionals in business, taking the time to read and respond to your reviews may seem like a task and a half. Understanding the importance of reviews and what they can do for your business could mean the difference between having thousands of extra dollars in your pocket per year or missing out on clients you didn't even know you had.

According to an article in natlawreview.com, Sarah Bottorff states that 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they would a recommendation from a friend or family. That means most of your business can be won or lost without you even having the chance to speak with the potential client. Setting yourself up for success starts with taking priority of your online reputation and taking the time to establish good relationships with your clients.

With that said, here are some important steps to help increase your reviews and improve your online reputation.

Update Your Google Business Profile

Setting up your google business profile is a must for legal professionals as this is the easiest way for consumers to find you online. A google business profile establishes the location, type of business, and rapport that it has within the local community. The stars that people see are what they see out of you, and the desired range is 4-5 stars.

Reviews you receive from verified google accounts from your clients will help boost your rating in the algorithm and push you higher up on the search bar. The goal is to come up first when people look up anything related to an attorney or law in your area. Clients typically go through the first few choices on google's suggestions when choosing attorneys, and understanding this will help you gain those extra clients you need to keep that calendar full throughout the week.

Respond to Your Reviews

Many legal professionals believe it is essential to only respond to the bad reviews, but in reality, the good reviews are just as beneficial. Sarah Bottorff goes into great detail about this and suggests that personalized replies to comments help the customers feel like they are talking to someone, not just some robot that responds. It establishes an opportunity to validate the customer's response and keep The door open if any further need arises later in life.

Responding to these reviews is a win-win as it aims to fix the problems that occurred with unhappy clients but also builds upon the relationship you have with clients who are already happy. Consider these reviews an opportunity to increase your business's growth and ensure that your most satisfied clients are doing this for you. Then, asking your clients for reviews after working with them may seem like another extra task you do not want to deal with, but it can make such a difference. Prioritize reaching out to clients with a good relationship and experience working with you to create reviews for you that improve your social reputation.

Optimize Your Review Process

Optimizing your reviews can be challenging to do alone and time-consuming if not done correctly. Sending out individual review requests to each client can be tiresome and almost seem not worth it when most of your clients may not even take the time to do it. A recurring extra 5+ reviews per month, though, could mean all the difference in your placement on google's algorithm, which is why it needs to be of higher importance to your business.

At CommQuality we have been actively applying a funnel system software that allows our clients to facilitate reviews and reach out to past clients with just a few clicks. The software at CommQuality enables us to access your client lists and promote a review campaign through email, SMS distribution, or both. So, rather than taking the time for you to do this individually for each client, we want to help more legal professionals save time and improve their reputations by reaching out to these clients who did not provide feedback. It's too much work on your end to try and keep track of who you contacted for review and who you did not. Using the software for the process makes your life easier and helps build and maintain your reputation, which is the goal at the end of the day. If you want some more insight or want to discuss how we can automate the review process, don't hesitate to reach out.

Author: Trevor LaParl, Director of Strategy

email: trevor@commquality.com

Source: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/2021-guide-importance-online-reviews-law-firms