by Brian Warfield

So you are covering the basic steps needed in your business in order to get the most from your marketing services, right? You know…things like collecting email addresses and closing invoices. But are you still looking for ways to get even more BANG for your marketing buck?

Try responding to your customers’ positive reviews. You might be thinking, “Why does it matter? They were happy with the service—no need.” However, responding to positive reviews can arguably be just as important as responding to negative reviews.

Think about it. Responding to and acknowledging your customers’ positive reviews validates their positive opinion of your shop, shows you value them, offers the opportunity to pitch more services and proves that you’re shop is attentive. So what are the best ways to attack a positive response?

Let’s take a look at SureCritic’s 6 Guidelines for Replying to Positive Reviews to find out how responding to positive reviews can help you create better customer relationships.

1. Reinforce the positives by highlighting their personal experience: Thank your customer and tailor your response to their experience.
2. Ask what you can do better: Ask for constructive feedback; it lets the customer you care about improving your service for them.
3. Add a helpful plug of a special or a service: Don’t be shy about using this as an opportunity to let that customer and others about a service or special; however, be mindful that you don’t get too “salesy.”
4. Share reviews on your social channel to boost SEO: Sharing your positive reviews on social media, like Facebook, can boost your search, making it easier for customers to find you.
5. Watch the words you use and always use positive language: Perception is everything, and whether you realize it or not, even the wrong “positive” word could not translate well. First and foremost, it is important to use positive language always, and secondly, be mindful to us glaringly positive language. An example of this would be using the words ‘great’ or ‘terrific’ rather than ‘good.’
6. Use keywords to boost search results: Using the right keywords in your responses can also help improve where your auto shop listing ranks amongst competitors in a search.

Click on the image to see this example of a positive review response and other auto shop marketing tips and tricks.