In a recent blog post, we wrote about digital marketing for hotels and bed and breakfasts. In it, we discussed the general importance of industry-related digital marketing strategies, including how to get Google reviews – not to mention the importance of said reviews. Understanding why and how to get Google reviews is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy, particularly since Google is the largest search engine platform in the world.
Knowing when and how to respond to negative reviews is just as important as understanding how to get Google reviews. Negative Google reviews can sink a business just as quickly as positive reviews can build it. But knowing how to respond to negative reviews can be an integral step. Below, we’ll include tips on how to get Google reviews, including a discussion on why it matters and other review platforms. Then we’ll focus on best practices regarding how to respond to negative reviews.
As always, keeping on top of website, digital marketing, and other best practices related to innkeeping and the hospitality world, in general, is an essential aspect of owning, running, and maintaining a successful lodging property. Inn Marketplace is your go-to source for industry best practices, industry-related news, tips and tricks, and dedicated professionals with extensive knowledge in this field. Book your free consultation with our industry-leading experts today!
Why do Google Reviews Matter?
Google is the most used search engine in the world. At the writing of this article, Google has more than 1 billion services, and surprisingly, more and more users are coming to the internet, and Google, every day. As the most used platform in the world, then, it makes sense that it’s important to know how to get Google reviews for your business. Understanding why those reviews matter is even more important!
When was the last time you looked at reviews? Odds are, the last time you considered visiting a new restaurant or booking a hotel that was new to you, reviews played an important role in your decision. Google reviews play a decisive role in elevating your business’ online profile and are one metric prospective guests use to determine whether they want to engage with your business. A growing number of Google reviews also plays a critical role in your website and the business’s overall search engine optimization.
It seems straightforward enough that reviews, such as those on Google and other relevant platforms, matter, but it’s also essential to understand how to get Google reviews.
How to Get Google Reviews
There are some tried and true methods when it comes to just how to get Google reviews. The most obvious is asking guests at your property directly to leave you a review – particularly when you know they’ve had an excellent experience interacting with your business. These verbal requests are often met with enthusiastic replies, but does that always translate to an actual review? Not always!
After your guests have left your property, there are some tried and true methods for how to get Google reviews. The first is a follow-up email that can come directly from your website’s reservation system. This can be an effective method to increase your Google reviews, as it reminds guests that they were (maybe) already asked to do so and might be inspired to share their experience. However, it’s also really easy to forget about an email and leave it in your inbox until some point in the future when you decide to delete the email and move on – without leaving that review! It’s all too easy to do!
However, there’s another method that’s much more effective regarding how to get Google reviews, and that’s utilizing a text messaging service. Users are increasingly engaged with text messages, especially when compared with emails. When you use a review-gathering service via text, it’s quick and easy to leave your feedback, resulting in a higher conversion rate for guests leaving you reviews.
The best tool in the industry to help you gather Google Reviews is Review My Stay, a product exclusively offered by Logan Marketing, a leading industry expert in all things Digital Marketing and the preferred marketing vendor here at Inn Marketplace. To get a free demonstration of this product and learn more about how we can help you market your bed and breakfast successfully, book a free consultation with Logan Marketing today.
Do Other Reviews Matter?
The short answer is yes. Reviews from other platforms, such as Tripadvisor, are just as important as Google reviews. Indeed, any review is a positive step in digital marketing for hotels and bed and breakfasts. Next to Google, TripAdvisor is the most vital source to focus your review-gathering efforts.
As a go-to travel source, Google has become increasingly common for users, especially younger users. However, millions of people still use TripAdvisor as their go-to trusted travel source, so having extensive reviews on that platform is equally as important. TripAdvisor also uses the quality and volume of reviews to rate and rank their properties. Reviews are critical to staying on top of the list and beating out your competitors.
Just as crucial to understanding how to get Google reviews (and others) is understanding why and how to respond to negative reviews!
How to Respond to Negative Reviews
So you’ve established a protocol for how to get Google reviews, and you’ve been increasing them over time, relishing the subsequent improvements in business as a result. But then it happens – you get a negative review! What do you do next? While it’s undoubtedly an essential part of any good business and digital marketing strategy to understand how to get Google reviews, it’s just as important to know when and how to respond to negative reviews.
Knowing how to respond to negative reviews can take a bad situation and turn it around – or at least give you an opportunity to let other potential guests and reviewers understand both sides of an experience and, more importantly, demonstrate to them that the guest experience matters to you! When it comes to learning how to respond to negative reviews, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:
- Be calm and always lead with kindness. In other words, don’t respond to a negative review with negativity. This is a place to “be the bigger person,” no matter how hard that can sometimes be.
- Make sure your response is not only kind but personalized and genuine. It doesn’t do you any favors to appear removed and uncaring, and one of the best ways to limit that is to be personal in your response.
- Thank this guest for your feedback, and demonstrate to them (and everyone else reading it) that you care about the guest experience and will take any negative feedback to heart. The goal of reviews, after all, is to ensure you are offering a great guest experience every time. You want to know when things don’t go quite right!
- Stick to the issue, and don’t get distracted by unnecessary details. Addressing the issue, being authentic and sympathetic, and finding a solution are all that matter in this instance.
- Ask for a second chance! Once you’ve demonstrated that you’ve listened to their feedback and taken steps to address the issue, encourage them to come back and try again. This can go a long way in establishing a loyal repeat guest – the bread and butter of the lodging industry!
With dedicated experts on your side, it’s easy to understand how to get Google reviews, why it matters, and how to respond to negative reviews when they happen. These things and more are critical elements of a good Digital Marketing strategy. Our experts are standing by to help you when you’re ready to make your Bed and Breakfast as successful as possible. Book your free consultation with our industry experts today.
