tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41254373802854448862024-03-18T14:07:59.848+00:00HelpHound BlogHelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.comBlogger918125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-5590100755980419732024-03-15T11:45:00.002+00:002024-03-16T12:46:25.362+00:00How many people are seeing that 1* review?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Don't fall into the trap of thinking that negative Google reviews of your business are either 'not seen' or 'have no impact' (if you want reviews, <i>but don't want them to show up in search</i> there are always the review sites: Yelp, Trustpilot, Feefo and so on). For reasons better known to Google, it stopped showing the number of <b>views</b> a review received, like this...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMwBweLmyQcnfP3Ajs4C03dVsjs8AyoJDuWlO6DwsdP0VgPnC91fQt8xcLj_t1GugjnGAvSn-K3-g9NKD0-ns5WLd_GkZoxXfgdIy3PafXx8WqG41QVXVa77_4O0MlSxXLdJDkMkfZt-5JdnICoz6WqcsT5ceaU2ThO4SBA_4tgRpJrt2F3YlMVu7iUxc3/s1286/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.15.02.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1108" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMwBweLmyQcnfP3Ajs4C03dVsjs8AyoJDuWlO6DwsdP0VgPnC91fQt8xcLj_t1GugjnGAvSn-K3-g9NKD0-ns5WLd_GkZoxXfgdIy3PafXx8WqG41QVXVa77_4O0MlSxXLdJDkMkfZt-5JdnICoz6WqcsT5ceaU2ThO4SBA_4tgRpJrt2F3YlMVu7iUxc3/w459-h532/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.15.02.png" width="459" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">...a while back. There's no point in us even trying to guess Google's rationale, but it definitely enabled those who persist in thinking that the odd negative review 'doesn't matter' or 'won't get seen by many people' (those 'people' being potential customers) to relax in the comfort of their own self-delusion.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There are two lessons we can all learn from this simple screenshot:</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">That hundreds, even thousands, of people will see any negative reviews of your business</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">That if a negative review is 'liked' - the only statistic that Google still shows (the thumbs up at bottom left)...</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZs0rH20bF8bySHAtbeDzf220ZSkrGIXw4N3c2hQfF0FNIWW6lSkwL5HazYEGQb6BwYp89XcBeESGX5Pj-Os4EDbkuCfLkAtSbfv_7qB6XOturZUwWjAL-qm2e49treN0IzzDYvR5r5OJtMSaKiRsQLeoYA_UFRoemjPFkyu1IoqAeSIsiX2rkOzrT1TR_/s2132/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.16.45.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="2132" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZs0rH20bF8bySHAtbeDzf220ZSkrGIXw4N3c2hQfF0FNIWW6lSkwL5HazYEGQb6BwYp89XcBeESGX5Pj-Os4EDbkuCfLkAtSbfv_7qB6XOturZUwWjAL-qm2e49treN0IzzDYvR5r5OJtMSaKiRsQLeoYA_UFRoemjPFkyu1IoqAeSIsiX2rkOzrT1TR_/w554-h284/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.16.45.png" width="554" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">...you can be absolutely sure that it has been viewed, and read, by a whole lot more - not necessarily in the ratio of 1:1300 indicated by the first review, but the multiple will be considerable.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So: take negative reviews very seriously indeed - do everything in your power to avoid receiving them in the first place (HelpHound's <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2019/03/a-professional-business-with-more-than.html" target="_blank">moderated review management</a>?) and then deal with them professionally when they do arise.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-51065604319877006572024-03-13T16:44:00.009+00:002024-03-18T14:07:26.233+00:00Moderation - every professional business's key to reviews<p><span style="font-family: arial;">With apologies to regular readers, but this subject is so vital - it is at the core of everything we do for our client businesses and their customers. We're going to keep this article brief - but we will include links to more detailed information and analysis for those who want to mine further down into this vital aspect of managing a business's online reputation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here goes...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1. What is moderation?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is one of the most important questions we are ever asked - and one of the most important services we ever provide, to both our business clients and their customers. So let's look at a real example; here is a review, posted through the business's website and picked up - pre-publication - by our moderator...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazAuAdT8-MihzPzMkhQw5eAJZ8smT_7lzBLD2M1_ZLgL2Lc2f36OCSfDwwuy2Qd_OE5aMYk6upt2b1QL-6z_1a-7typNLeHrhv4d-EvWZePB5IT0nhxMhXOYMhnSWHgvm_iD4C-U9dSnuOEFCL9W2orH2rDpL8PzabiFndfR8gsrifuNtkjyzl-3OOZKI/s994/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2018.54.18.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="994" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhazAuAdT8-MihzPzMkhQw5eAJZ8smT_7lzBLD2M1_ZLgL2Lc2f36OCSfDwwuy2Qd_OE5aMYk6upt2b1QL-6z_1a-7typNLeHrhv4d-EvWZePB5IT0nhxMhXOYMhnSWHgvm_iD4C-U9dSnuOEFCL9W2orH2rDpL8PzabiFndfR8gsrifuNtkjyzl-3OOZKI/w556-h462/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2018.54.18.png" width="556" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We have purposely chosen this review as it is an excellent example of the kind of review that, if posted straight to Google, would remain on the business's Google page for the foreseeable future; there is nothing in the review that would give us cause to think there was any chance of an appeal to Google succeeding as it does not remotely infringe any of Google's terms and conditions.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Indeed, on the face of it, the review is an entirely genuine opinion and record of a consumer's - in this case a patient's - interaction with the business - in this case a medical practice. Also, on reading, it is a pretty convincing argument <i>not to use the business</i>. And therefore potentially hugely damaging.<br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>So: what happened during the moderation process? </b></span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Our moderator acknowledged the review by messaging the reviewer to tell them that we would be consulting the business before publishing the review. Simultaneously the review was sent to the business for comment. We make it completely clear to businesses that their response must be with our moderator by close of business the same day (if a business wants to be sure of provoking a review direct to Google, then any delay at this point is a good way of ensuring that happens). </span></p></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In this instance the clinic reverted to our moderator the same morning, addressing each point in the review in turn. This response was forwarded, immediately, to the reviewer who was then invited to do one of three things:</span></p></blockquote><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Amend their original review</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Have their original review posted</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Message the business via our moderator and leave the review unposted</span></li></ul></ul><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In this case, as happens in so many<b>*</b>, the latter course was chosen by the reviewer...</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKk4TDR_Y5uPmVqO6B1Pzk7UuMgd-dP-z_NuOBpZJiSDJMgYxnrXs2GP1aR1PGc3oy_LfCdeTkn0lbP3PDAOnTfVU8O5zvbZ-n2k8MH1bYlQ_kjZbQzlys_tuL8OeR_lPofpCz2-BUoezFbEFw2SytLoqqxLc7enjeMIrhS138grG6TIqVUpJ8Y5Kra2UV/s956/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2018.44.24.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="956" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKk4TDR_Y5uPmVqO6B1Pzk7UuMgd-dP-z_NuOBpZJiSDJMgYxnrXs2GP1aR1PGc3oy_LfCdeTkn0lbP3PDAOnTfVU8O5zvbZ-n2k8MH1bYlQ_kjZbQzlys_tuL8OeR_lPofpCz2-BUoezFbEFw2SytLoqqxLc7enjeMIrhS138grG6TIqVUpJ8Y5Kra2UV/w537-h188/Screenshot%202024-03-15%20at%2018.44.24.png" width="537" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not only the right outcome but the fair outcome. The clinic's reputation was protected and the relationship with their patient was restored. Both parties benefitted.</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>*</b></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The overwhelming majority of consumers - especially where there is a professional ongoing relationship or service at stake - are entirely receptive to a full and truthful explanation of the facts of the matter under review. Indeed, they are often grateful in the extreme for our moderator's intercession.</span></p></blockquote><div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Moderation is the act of 'having a review read and analysed for factual accuracy and/or </span><span style="font-family: arial;">mislead</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ing statements' by a person independent of the business under review. It is the only legal way for businesses in the UK (and the EU) to ensure that, as far as possible, their reviews are an accurate reflection of their business and its services.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>2. If our moderator finds either of those</b> - factual inaccuracies and/or statements with the potential to mislead someone who may rely on the review (a potential client/patient, for instance) what exactly do they do?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They message the reviewer - in private (example above) - and suggest modifications to the review before it is published. They will also correct obvious mistakes in spelling and grammar.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>3. Will our moderator ever involve the business?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes. Our moderators are experienced and understand our clients' businesses, but if there is something in the review that needs clarification - the 'he said/she said' kind of thing - they will refer to our point-of-contact at the business as well as back to the reviewer (again, see the example above).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>4. Do reviewers ever object to our moderation process?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Very rarely. We always make it clear that the reviewer always has the right - excluding profanities or allegations of illegal behaviour - to have whatever review they wish published (this keeps every party in compliance with the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a>, which specifically prohibit businesses from using any mechanism that prevents the consumer having their say). On the contrary, we often receive messages from reviewers thanking us for our intervention. Vanishingly few consumers want to have inaccurate reviews published for the world to see (the actual figure, from our own data, is far less than 1% of the 3% of reviews that enter the moderation process).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>5. What should we expect our business to score <i>with</i> moderation?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the question we get most of all: before we answer it - and we will give you actual numbers at the end of this section - we should explain that there are two elements in the customer relationship chain that we, at HelpHound, cannot (and should not) control: the first is the behaviour of your staff, which is entirely your responsibility and the second is the behaviour of your customers. We often meet 'perfect' businesses with far-from-perfect Google scores; what we know for sure is that our moderation process will address a great proportion of those mistaken negative reviews. So...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhum6bX58BlGUWW4kz_ngdGvY7AuJX3VM12ZEj9KRq1xEBwsY7kIX7oO1IEmKr0j8m0LwO6_wgy9NYlYgZv5LU-LZBKXY5MGTFJP1TuSbtIvwVW1AeT8OqrxpVBEA1yrxxL8pWTGeXfWkkzOj0FPWDJtDycKrMe0nOHoDPG9mpgNxK3wTVCrLdBi3FVEfMx/s2054/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2011.50.09.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="2054" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhum6bX58BlGUWW4kz_ngdGvY7AuJX3VM12ZEj9KRq1xEBwsY7kIX7oO1IEmKr0j8m0LwO6_wgy9NYlYgZv5LU-LZBKXY5MGTFJP1TuSbtIvwVW1AeT8OqrxpVBEA1yrxxL8pWTGeXfWkkzOj0FPWDJtDycKrMe0nOHoDPG9mpgNxK3wTVCrLdBi3FVEfMx/s320/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2011.50.09.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A (near) perfect business with (near) perfect clients? Or a business that has felt the need to selectively invite 'happy' clients to post reviews to Google? Bearing in mind that 186 reviews divided by the six years since their first Google review = 31 reviews a year = just over one fortnight, the available evidence points to the latter. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If your business currently scores between </span><b style="font-family: arial;">4.8</b><span style="font-family: arial;"> and </span><b style="font-family: arial;">5.0</b><span style="font-family: arial;"> - it will have the very best chance of maintaining that score with HelpHound's moderation (and it will be fully compliant with the CMA regulations - as will all the solutions below)</span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqpTbxUnIrMlAu7xrfDYEvhpyv33vo87mJxUEhYhu1I2TCrn80vsnfwUGCNCmB59ySH4RXto-x-OZudiV11uTb2cE9k9Ku95jfXUklaAhXPY66vVXvukhFtRZ7cl3Yiy0Lb-FLk7AjEPa_zzkupdm4N-j9Y6pyCeuG8MJMIMVboFLu0B5-N9mbxuxJupd/s2110/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2012.01.40.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="2110" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqpTbxUnIrMlAu7xrfDYEvhpyv33vo87mJxUEhYhu1I2TCrn80vsnfwUGCNCmB59ySH4RXto-x-OZudiV11uTb2cE9k9Ku95jfXUklaAhXPY66vVXvukhFtRZ7cl3Yiy0Lb-FLk7AjEPa_zzkupdm4N-j9Y6pyCeuG8MJMIMVboFLu0B5-N9mbxuxJupd/s320/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2012.01.40.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This business has worked hard to get 300 Google reviews, possibly in order to dilute the 26 one-star and 3 two-star reviews it has received, almost of which would have been effectively managed by our moderation process (a quick scan of their negative reviews shows a mix of misunderstandings - language issues in the main and plain wrong-headed comments). Going forwards they should be looking to raise their percentage of 5* reviews from its current level of 91% to far closer to 99%. This will see their score rise to 4.8/4.9 alongside their most successful competitors.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">If your business currently scores between <b>4.5</b> and <b>4.7</b> - it will have a great chance of achieving a score of at least 4.8 with HelpHound's moderation</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzroH6NusnWpglF96e8Vua1wkNp_C28TWg_xDa8sppNDtylalBIStagAosIdjFSI6CAt2XU1FE4ez_7uyiWhKrnLcZEwtPc8y2zku6ahurGtgk59ZOc5sVfMEDUgHJ8WG40kFDiLcHaT4TGoYrSSxnkajuRM6RYW7oEbBMPtSn_hdBKpPFTTs9gMgtpLyx/s1998/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2011.50.25.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="1998" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzroH6NusnWpglF96e8Vua1wkNp_C28TWg_xDa8sppNDtylalBIStagAosIdjFSI6CAt2XU1FE4ez_7uyiWhKrnLcZEwtPc8y2zku6ahurGtgk59ZOc5sVfMEDUgHJ8WG40kFDiLcHaT4TGoYrSSxnkajuRM6RYW7oEbBMPtSn_hdBKpPFTTs9gMgtpLyx/s320/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2011.50.25.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This firm had a clean sheet - scoring the full 5.0 - until a matter of weeks ago. Its experience illustrates just how vital a moderated review management system is for professional businesses. We cannot guarantee that the 3 one-star reviews posted recently would not have been posted, but the firm would have had vastly more than 14 five-star reviews to counterbalance them. This should be its aim going forward: to invite clients to post to Google as a standard practice.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">If your business currently scores between <b>4.0</b> and <b>4.4</b> - it will have a great chance of achieving a score of at least 4.8 with HelpHound's moderation</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZziIJKDRgzZhfaE1T-9f2XsWtCTgtZOBAbPfBEILeIBwnWsgIT6i-nHOQJggpl7qfQYZ6xF4iCccxdxT7_SjVL2bQPcXvN-kqqIi7mQzTPx7SpZC4d8mCpSo8hbbHSAT0SS0YS4iNzo8s1t1RHMG7vNtOYRIUE5n5CbYFkZlJbB_BoQaqIhj9fgHZnPyL/s2050/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2011.49.49.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="2050" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZziIJKDRgzZhfaE1T-9f2XsWtCTgtZOBAbPfBEILeIBwnWsgIT6i-nHOQJggpl7qfQYZ6xF4iCccxdxT7_SjVL2bQPcXvN-kqqIi7mQzTPx7SpZC4d8mCpSo8hbbHSAT0SS0YS4iNzo8s1t1RHMG7vNtOYRIUE5n5CbYFkZlJbB_BoQaqIhj9fgHZnPyL/w420-h79/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2011.49.49.png" width="420" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We're going to take an educated guess here: someone within the firm began asking their satisfied clients to post reviews four years ago, then a colleague pointed out the CMA anti-cherry-picking regulations and they stopped doing so. Then some unhappy people - not necessarily clients - posted a handful of critical reviews. So their Google score has gradually declined from 4.9 to its current 3.9. Being the lowest-ranked solicitor in its area will not be helping to drive new clients through the door. But all is not lost: a low score from a few reviews is easily rectified, whilst a low score form hundreds - or thousands - takes time (but will still be achieved)</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">If your business currently scores less than <b>4.0</b> - the only way, as they say, is up! That is, unless our initial audit pinpoints a flaw in your CRM, in which case we will advise accordingly and delay implementation until the flaw is rectified</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">To reinforce these four assertions we recommend you read these two articles:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1. <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">Results</a>:</b> two case histories that demonstrate the uplift in Google score, the subsequent increase in new business enquiries and the resultant critical quantum shift in the quality of customers acquired through Google search.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>2. <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2024/01/a-new-years-guarantee.html" target="_blank">Our guarantee of success</a></b>: see exactly what we absolutely guarantee will happen when you join HelpHound.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Does all of the above mean that HelpHound can make <i>any</i> business look great in search?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We understand, at first glance, this might appear to be the case, but it ignores two significant factors in HelpHound's own business model...</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">We only work with the <b>professions </b>and <b>service</b> businesses, and most, if not all, service businesses can improve their CRM to the stage where HelpHound's review management will work effectively for them. This is not the case with product-based businesses: a substandard product will always be a substandard product, and we leave those businesses to the review sites.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">We recognise that the reviewer always retains the option to write their review directly to Google or one of the review sites, so we always advise our clients to facilitate the maximum number of reviews through their own CRM and website. If a business ignores that advice they run the very real risk of negative reviews, often factually incorrect or just plain unfair, being written to Google. </span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>A vital - and hugely valuable - unintended consequence of moderation</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Very soon after we introduced moderation we began being asked, by virtually every business we spoke to (especially those that had taken the trouble to understand the CMA regulations - the law)...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">'Do we have to ask all our customers to post a review?'</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Our initial response was...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">'No, you don't, you are compliant with the CMA regulations by dint of the fact that you offer all visitors to your website the ability to post a review.'</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Sighs of relief all round! But then we took a long hard look at the individual negative reviews being posted. And we had an epiphany: we realised that clients of relationship-based businesses didn't often 'warn' those businesses that they were dissatisfied with whatever long-term service they were being provided with - they just resigned/left. And, as any such business will tell you, once a client or patient is gone they're almost always 'gone gone'. The chances of clawing them back are as close to nil as makes no difference. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">But our moderators also noticed a distinct pattern emerging: businesses that <i>had</i> invited all - or just about all - their stakeholders to write a review were receiving warnings of the 'about to go' kind. The review of the clinic at the top of this article is a good example. And, as all businesses know, a customer saved is worth a great deal of marketing £s. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So we revised our advice: proactively invite as many people as possible to write a review; the 5* reviews are gold-dust, but the 1* or 2* review that is resolved in moderation is platinum.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Lastly...</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you interrogate this blog and its 900+ articles you will find plenty that reference moderation. The first was written on 26 April 2013, eleven years ago now, but here are two more recent ones that will explain everything that this article has left out in the interests of brevity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation: the essential ingredient in every professional business's review management strategy</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/12/review-moderation-and-why-it-is.html" target="_blank">Review moderation and why it is a 'must have' for businesses that intend to grow</a></span></li></ul></div><p></p></div>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-36181663132601888292024-03-06T15:23:00.001+00:002024-03-06T15:23:15.724+00:00New to HelpHound? Try this 2 minute quiz<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Score 100% and you won't need us. Score less and we will guarantee to positively impact your earnings. This may appear, at first sight, to be a slightly light-hearted approach to what is, for all professional and service businesses, a serious enterprise. After all, adopting the wrong solution will - not 'can' - have serious long-term deleterious effects on all a business's other marketing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Question 1</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Does your business host independently verified reviews on its website?</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Question 2</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Are those reviews <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/12/review-moderation-and-why-it-is.html" target="_blank">moderated</a> before publication?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Question 3</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Are those moderated reviews copied to Google?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Question 4</b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Does your business <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2020/10/respond-to-reviews-theres-so-much-to.html" target="_blank">respond</a> to all its reviews?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Question 5</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Is your business compliant with the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a> with regard to cherry-picking and/or gating?</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">That's the 'Quiz' done. Now let us expand on these five questions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Hosting independently verified reviews</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKVfTjQBCtCSSKdvHAljE0GH6IfTHc7odrwYRqEgkUBbG-k49BZ8Lmzvr5jWhjRS6PHGRiR25uPOot5Py1da5YauRZl54Jad6uM0swgulxhnbCbL-WLFxH_TZtj5bnMioY6kOvJReWwAawfTAlr3rpJsSIuI0XExP1YIxGU9F1Wm2AY4vQbW-d0-e72hi/s1642/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2018.21.53.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1642" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKVfTjQBCtCSSKdvHAljE0GH6IfTHc7odrwYRqEgkUBbG-k49BZ8Lmzvr5jWhjRS6PHGRiR25uPOot5Py1da5YauRZl54Jad6uM0swgulxhnbCbL-WLFxH_TZtj5bnMioY6kOvJReWwAawfTAlr3rpJsSIuI0XExP1YIxGU9F1Wm2AY4vQbW-d0-e72hi/w601-h235/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2018.21.53.png" width="601" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">By definition - and by law - a 'review' must be independently verified, if it is not it is defined as a testimonial. It can be fed to the business by a review site (Yelp/Trustpilot/Doctify/Feefo and so on) or from Google. These days consumers, especially consumers of professional services, demand reviews; if they don't find reviews on the business's own website they know they will be able to find them on Google. From the business's point-of-view, especially if it has expended resources on attracting the consumer to its website the very last thing it wants is the potential customer to revert to Google and see its competitors listed under 'People also search for'...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9riPbhg7C6jAh9vCg5-y0HAPJ7vF-tw_1spNNAtrMMgSywDFQO0MTiP0XmNJ5qPFybeytMAcQdHv-iKCX8iODzXyzVKHdpI-4XqLPv4CiFGLX_Qnxzw48KDTT4Od3E8oXF-vjs0-6ocsi8UgxnFnTYqpeR7behnYFGQKaB4jf3Ln0tLWbCORPdD6hV9u/s646/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2020.18.30.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="646" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ9riPbhg7C6jAh9vCg5-y0HAPJ7vF-tw_1spNNAtrMMgSywDFQO0MTiP0XmNJ5qPFybeytMAcQdHv-iKCX8iODzXyzVKHdpI-4XqLPv4CiFGLX_Qnxzw48KDTT4Od3E8oXF-vjs0-6ocsi8UgxnFnTYqpeR7behnYFGQKaB4jf3Ln0tLWbCORPdD6hV9u/w405-h238/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2020.18.30.png" width="405" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And just before we move on to Q.2 we ought to deal with a question we still hear (albeit less and less): 'Do people read/reference reviews on businesses' websites?' Look at this review (it's only 4 months old):</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wn-UEtZbXAL392xnucZ4-yAVWqugJlUveoCAuc7Q1_aHk_FvP-LhnKoQopDK5U3WvWZRC8w-o03pVijnZC1IYEW-THayYIBhMoeNzfPt14tYD5AIPb3JHtc5J5YEckw1Q5jDVlb14lUAos6rD42Ro6Tf93YVF1SGxt_4Zgv5-KPCaW8F8baf15nBfHiT/s890/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2020.21.31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="890" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wn-UEtZbXAL392xnucZ4-yAVWqugJlUveoCAuc7Q1_aHk_FvP-LhnKoQopDK5U3WvWZRC8w-o03pVijnZC1IYEW-THayYIBhMoeNzfPt14tYD5AIPb3JHtc5J5YEckw1Q5jDVlb14lUAos6rD42Ro6Tf93YVF1SGxt_4Zgv5-KPCaW8F8baf15nBfHiT/w461-h164/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2020.21.31.png" width="461" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Already 12 people have taken the trouble to 'vote' it 'helpful'. The number that have seen/read the review will be far higher.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Are all the business's reviews moderated before publication?</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There is a reason that most HelpHound clients' reviews, whether hosted on their own websites or on Google, are overwhelmingly well-written and factually accurate: they have been moderated pre-publication. Our moderators correct spelling and grammar and query statements of fact that may be proved to be incorrect or misleading for readers (</span><span style="font-family: arial;">always with the permission of the reviewer)</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Is the business maximising the number of reviews it gets to Google?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Re1jb05ki46tnXTl9f0H_9BjpFu0vwViwJMhqeaWs1Ye7y0bUEiqs3zvd1BZukxI2r2CB4fNEerHrxe-GWpwHdpDulCZmJZlQ8B5t-Vc72oqlOeKW0TZtiW3cVFEy-TP8K2CmQUP5_eoe4spC24KyFwfSR218XPry8c8h0Qk31sbGSIQaRbvtjnGZGUS/s980/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2018.22.29.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="980" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Re1jb05ki46tnXTl9f0H_9BjpFu0vwViwJMhqeaWs1Ye7y0bUEiqs3zvd1BZukxI2r2CB4fNEerHrxe-GWpwHdpDulCZmJZlQ8B5t-Vc72oqlOeKW0TZtiW3cVFEy-TP8K2CmQUP5_eoe4spC24KyFwfSR218XPry8c8h0Qk31sbGSIQaRbvtjnGZGUS/w474-h397/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2018.22.29.png" width="474" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Every time a review is posted on one of our clients' websites the reviewer is automatically invited to copy that review to Google. Not only does this mean that virtually all the business's Google reviews are factually accurate (for more on moderation <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/12/review-moderation-and-why-it-is.html" target="_blank">see here</a> and read on below) and therefore reliable and trustworthy for consumers, it also means that our clients have a constant flow of up-to-date reviews there. Great for driving business and great for SEO.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Does the business respond to all its reviews?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFa7OBOZRYLEa-BUM31R5deWHHIfsnGULZhXIEIrVBRT65T9U-syzB223pCYjbE2H_vXKx8-qNBm7T49PB_16EI_syd2I_YM-rn9l4_jwQ3H8KE4WIKRCkOFNnGlXFmzElGKLk-7DhflDuWcZuFCZ7pytgFvsAeAWOiCLc4oEx5eEwN_dmmZFCeLde-_N/s1090/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2018.18.52.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="1090" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaFa7OBOZRYLEa-BUM31R5deWHHIfsnGULZhXIEIrVBRT65T9U-syzB223pCYjbE2H_vXKx8-qNBm7T49PB_16EI_syd2I_YM-rn9l4_jwQ3H8KE4WIKRCkOFNnGlXFmzElGKLk-7DhflDuWcZuFCZ7pytgFvsAeAWOiCLc4oEx5eEwN_dmmZFCeLde-_N/w504-h146/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2018.18.52.png" width="504" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the kind of generic response that we see all the time. It fails to address any of the issues raised in the original review and equally fails to impress a potential customer. Below is a response to a Google review drafted on behalf of one of our clients.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFv704ofnhggwUkZsKtiLkXukczjZ9JiHOc09yX_NZTzESOPpn8HWY-6DSz0wOmLG2dsRvrNq9Jas7LP2bnMjGsR113HuO6DV98S7Z2neLk76uq_Xylj_FrDGUwF3-Y3EVsSEuGjZOHZiH4zrupI5Lsx5NFCut1MsSnUW4I3UheoLZvzPUrzsJVVRV_fJ/s854/Screenshot%202024-03-06%20at%2010.35.17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="854" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFv704ofnhggwUkZsKtiLkXukczjZ9JiHOc09yX_NZTzESOPpn8HWY-6DSz0wOmLG2dsRvrNq9Jas7LP2bnMjGsR113HuO6DV98S7Z2neLk76uq_Xylj_FrDGUwF3-Y3EVsSEuGjZOHZiH4zrupI5Lsx5NFCut1MsSnUW4I3UheoLZvzPUrzsJVVRV_fJ/w529-h170/Screenshot%202024-03-06%20at%2010.35.17.png" width="529" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Surprisingly few businesses get this right - at the last count nearly 9 out of 10 businesses don't respond to <i>any</i> reviews. It is vital to respond to every review, both positive and especially negative. The response must be unemotional, address the issues raised (without compromising confidentiality) and aim to impress anyone reading it. Even responses to negative reviews can be turned into positive messages if drafted correctly. We are on hand to advise clients on these vital responses and it is a very popular part of our service.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Is the business compliant?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Businesses that we meet for the first time break down into the following four categories...</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">unwittingly cherry-picking - defined in the regulations as 'Not allowing everyone the equal opportunity to write a review'</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">unwittingly gating - defined in the regulations - and in Google's own ToS - as 'using any method to pre-qualify customer opinions so as to ensure that less than satisfied customers are not invited to post a review'</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">and in a minority:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">wilfully cherry-picking - selecting customers to invite to write a review</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">wilfully gating - sending out a questionnaire and then only inviting positive respondents to write a review</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The only businesses we see, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">with very few exceptions, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">that are </span><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">compliant with the CMA regulations</a><b style="font-family: arial;">*</b><span style="font-family: arial;"> - the law in the UK - are those that are </span><i style="font-family: arial;">not inviting customers to post reviews, </i></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>*A note on compliance</b>: there is a fairly widespread feeling in some sectors of the marketplace that 'We won't be the first to be fined/sanctioned by the CMA'. This is to miss some fundamental points: non-compliant businesses are very easy to pinpoint, for competitors as well as regulators, they also leave an indelible paper trail of that non-compliance: emails selectively inviting reviews and so on. Always remember that a competitor's best friend is that ex-member of staff who left knowing exactly how the business glowed so brightly in reviews. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We get it, we really do. If we had a pound for every time a prospective client said 'What? Does the CMA expect us to invite every customer to write a review? Are they crazy?' we would be very well off indeed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">There <i>is</i> a solution that ensures compliance and enables businesses to survive in the world of reviews, and it is called 'moderation'. Let us walk you through it...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The business <i>does not have to proactively invite all of its customers to write a review</i>. What it does have to do is have a <i>publicly visible mechanism</i> that allows any of its customers to write a review at a time of their choosing. The key word here is 'allows'. Look at this website...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNz64Ow5kiJX23Vn9JrE8EcFVV0ZwYIXrX0W7BQWqlm3S1OhVX4U5qCVSCohp1iyo9Gb7kT82L0nlf9RCJdivc2GkCfl_t0VvRwyLZfLOTXulgxvLaX7r1g2IhAWWzO4cZr6fWGeqK7CKl5pu3hrwBNvi-E18Uf_ZF0VqrB7e6i_56tlnhFdqgsca1FEMr/s1216/Screenshot%202024-03-04%20at%2012.04.23.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1216" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNz64Ow5kiJX23Vn9JrE8EcFVV0ZwYIXrX0W7BQWqlm3S1OhVX4U5qCVSCohp1iyo9Gb7kT82L0nlf9RCJdivc2GkCfl_t0VvRwyLZfLOTXulgxvLaX7r1g2IhAWWzO4cZr6fWGeqK7CKl5pu3hrwBNvi-E18Uf_ZF0VqrB7e6i_56tlnhFdqgsca1FEMr/w384-h314/Screenshot%202024-03-04%20at%2012.04.23.png" width="384" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">That 'Write a review' button ensures that the business is compliant. It also leads directly to one of our moderators. As soon as the review is written...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSV2nwElbnt4xdtzwUuC4DkMPRPgbqpThFiXvcXNbYz8vzI_jUQLF-LNKba2blf4h_5WzBnWO5FhZR3TP1UV_jlOcbdd0viwISdURx5FZ6nOnjaPwTVJF-kpIwEda0WXZVAOPcDlsvAgGKws8mjXjFBL7EUd4G90ImJ4TYaGIfGhH6zuUH1PzsVXr_dR7W/s1146/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2016.51.33.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="1146" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSV2nwElbnt4xdtzwUuC4DkMPRPgbqpThFiXvcXNbYz8vzI_jUQLF-LNKba2blf4h_5WzBnWO5FhZR3TP1UV_jlOcbdd0viwISdURx5FZ6nOnjaPwTVJF-kpIwEda0WXZVAOPcDlsvAgGKws8mjXjFBL7EUd4G90ImJ4TYaGIfGhH6zuUH1PzsVXr_dR7W/w371-h338/Screenshot%202024-03-05%20at%2016.51.33.png" width="371" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">...it is checked for any factual inaccuracies and/or potentially misleading content. In 97% of cases the review is what we term 'clean' and is immediately published on the business's website (with any obvious typos, spelling or grammatical errors corrected). In the other 3% a conversation - by email - takes place between our moderator, the reviewer and - if necessary - the business under review<b>**</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>**<span style="font-size: x-small;">A note on moderation and moderators</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;">: first, all reviews are read by <i>a person</i>. We are fully aware of some review sites where much is made of algorithmic moderation - 'our software can spot anomalies in reviews' - well, particularly with the advent of AI, we would beg to differ, it takes a well-trained human moderator to a) pick up on both the tone and the content of a review and b) then conduct a 3-way conversation with the parties involved. Interestingly, reviewers are almost always very pleased when a moderator becomes involved. Few people want what the law allows them to want - to have a factually inaccurate or misleading review published for all to see (often under their real name).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">By now you will have realised that being able to answer 'Yes' to the 5 questions will put any business in a very strong position from a purely marketing point of view: 'Yes, we display independently verified reviews prominently on our website; yes, we have all those reviews moderated to ensure they are accurate and won't mislead those that need to rely on them; yes, we get as many of those reviews as possible copied to Google; yes, we respond professionally to all our reviews, wherever they may be and yes, we obey the law in doing all the above.'</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We look forward to welcoming you to HelpHound!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading</b></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">This article</a> shows exactly how dramatic the impact of professional review management can impact a business, both in terms of footfall and in terms of the marked increase in quality of each piece of business transacted</span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-2603235927472873002024-02-09T17:19:00.005+00:002024-02-19T16:20:02.027+00:00Why, oh why, not Google?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's a question we ask all the time. Why would any business invite its customers to write a review to a review website rather than to Google?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There's currently a very high-profile example displaying on three e-billboards on the M4/A4 'Gateway to London'. Here is a similar, but far smaller one...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHi8zRRm_dhIDmIs7FDdiIBPL0G2SsmtJXq636tFLXt5wWZRl7vj4Bb679n3CYj4FumUsOYANO4v_bCIZEi5VUF-mG5NTwEuYBTSZ2XrLU9SMNdeaQ8xi-1D_dZkNVS1AkUXonwYTcTtt_m37keX8vC4ZKjwA4LfBwv8ZnRO6MKDHlRUQpo6SY6uQRaGsp/s1042/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2014.44.15.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="798" height="513" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHi8zRRm_dhIDmIs7FDdiIBPL0G2SsmtJXq636tFLXt5wWZRl7vj4Bb679n3CYj4FumUsOYANO4v_bCIZEi5VUF-mG5NTwEuYBTSZ2XrLU9SMNdeaQ8xi-1D_dZkNVS1AkUXonwYTcTtt_m37keX8vC4ZKjwA4LfBwv8ZnRO6MKDHlRUQpo6SY6uQRaGsp/w392-h513/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2014.44.15.png" width="392" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, given that this kind of advertising is designed expressly to drive people to their mobile/tablet/laptop to check out the brand and then switch suppliers, what do we see when we do just that?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We see this...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfGLTEP5W6fiept3Ierxim34PqCcdd-GmiPQ1eHeoZMczBMtxewVv8XdCzXlvRzeOKXqV8cFKETpodXtj0kf-fJpne9oCuNWY-nf9qD2edju9JZJgZqDhL1sTyD4kkgp-F0mbmo1S_2VSbJxgUG2BHkRVdVBlTa5heoj_pYqyfICLFlrArsAK8TT_jlIZ/s862/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2013.04.43.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="722" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfGLTEP5W6fiept3Ierxim34PqCcdd-GmiPQ1eHeoZMczBMtxewVv8XdCzXlvRzeOKXqV8cFKETpodXtj0kf-fJpne9oCuNWY-nf9qD2edju9JZJgZqDhL1sTyD4kkgp-F0mbmo1S_2VSbJxgUG2BHkRVdVBlTa5heoj_pYqyfICLFlrArsAK8TT_jlIZ/w400-h478/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2013.04.43.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And this...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrb-6fCaLgEls-ya59CvLjfRoMMusYWKsap3e1dH22LXS7UDyZ0uooHYbK9oCpc51Hgzrh0QDTmWcqFngI4yW_Wz_sCwAV6rCFlckLO87RoTVJVzCMThSszT_oUNB08dtwQ_r9mtkO_hemjRPBAyVamdidaj2Co0sdVb6LdIysN5OomsV8IGmYnZhQ2uNG/s728/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2013.05.10.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="728" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrb-6fCaLgEls-ya59CvLjfRoMMusYWKsap3e1dH22LXS7UDyZ0uooHYbK9oCpc51Hgzrh0QDTmWcqFngI4yW_Wz_sCwAV6rCFlckLO87RoTVJVzCMThSszT_oUNB08dtwQ_r9mtkO_hemjRPBAyVamdidaj2Co0sdVb6LdIysN5OomsV8IGmYnZhQ2uNG/w380-h316/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2013.05.10.png" width="380" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And then these, over 50 of them...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg9bQJOShyMZ4IJK2w3twOt7iX9wAakHd55NjP9rscTuPt4hyphenhyphenh67zNlD4NUKoPq6_b4KcBJG2GcKefaF1xtY99ipweT4NnBJVZftDQKTWsZoz_ur3uslvmXE4nLYot8xaec0hh4gmh5kPL-LqioNVN5aRIW4F0xVqckWn3A2WxVpSLinfyeL-QCSoSife/s1464/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2013.03.55.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1464" data-original-width="728" height="870" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg9bQJOShyMZ4IJK2w3twOt7iX9wAakHd55NjP9rscTuPt4hyphenhyphenh67zNlD4NUKoPq6_b4KcBJG2GcKefaF1xtY99ipweT4NnBJVZftDQKTWsZoz_ur3uslvmXE4nLYot8xaec0hh4gmh5kPL-LqioNVN5aRIW4F0xVqckWn3A2WxVpSLinfyeL-QCSoSife/w432-h870/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2013.03.55.png" width="432" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And on and on they go - 56 one-star reviews (and, unlike their 5* reviews, many of which are simple ratings, their unhappy customers tend to go into quite a lot of detail about their experience with Octopus - which does not use Google's free review response facility, but that's another story).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And that's about as far as most potential customers will get, they won't mine down into Google for more reviews, why should they? But we persevered on your behalf and found this...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrN_1VhVkpp6WBWtDQsSh9YL7Btx1R-IevRD6_qXmGZ5aUncQpLPV8bNmbSUn5WHtBNAwjiZWWhkT98AXdHVVPiD9EGT3SzcbEn7sEWVKs7Vf_akkwiDppbbROrPYvp-_MIs9XlscIcX2983-2Yf9KhMLA6iYdVIsxhr-5nTQgKtMO1cLaZB0PO8KZjl5V/s2318/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2013.05.35.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="2318" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrN_1VhVkpp6WBWtDQsSh9YL7Btx1R-IevRD6_qXmGZ5aUncQpLPV8bNmbSUn5WHtBNAwjiZWWhkT98AXdHVVPiD9EGT3SzcbEn7sEWVKs7Vf_akkwiDppbbROrPYvp-_MIs9XlscIcX2983-2Yf9KhMLA6iYdVIsxhr-5nTQgKtMO1cLaZB0PO8KZjl5V/w418-h256/Screenshot%202024-01-31%20at%2013.05.35.png" width="418" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So - again - the question: 'Why do businesses like this use a review site in preference to Google reviews?' Why not simply ask customers to post to Google (which, apart from all the other advantages outlined below, is free)? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We put these questions to Octopus Energy, and this is what they said...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">NOTHING!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Despite three telephone conversations with their PR department and two separate emails - both containing a draft of this article. So, like any responsible journalist facing a brick wall, we began to mine further down into Octopus Energy's use of reviews, and Trustpilot in particular. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">What did we find?</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. That out of its 230,000 plus, mostly glowing, Trustpilot reviews, it has over 7,000 one-star reviews.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2. That these one-star reviews are not just tales of minor dissatisfaction, they often contain a litany of non-communication by the company, much like our own experience. Call after email after call without response, mostly about money - serious amounts, often in the £hundreds and £thousands. You can read them <a href="https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/octopus.energy?stars=1" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Octopus tends to be quite slow in responding to these, sometimes quite urgent ('we've been cut off', 'I've gone overdrawn') reviews. As regular readers will know, our own benchmark Is 'same working day'.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Its responses are mostly generic 'Thank you for your review, please email us...' and rarely address the issue raised.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Our conclusion</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is, admittedly, going to be very one-sided, due entirely to the Octopus Energy PR department's unwillingness to answer even the most basic of questions. Here goes...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We think Octopus, and companies like it, are choosing independent review sites over Google for one very simple reason...</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">...that no one will find, and therefore read, their negative reviews.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfafPrOXEzX4wUekSkXs503Wq4UeMIVUbAyqDeCF7Q-0apAqZ8HGuovkmnUcBm4ztNURvdHwprRR11A2Aj1N2ejq6Ml4tS3oNziODq4Jm_LAukwLLjyYoNASbIkceecyxLSvf6EC2VOwCGTW5tIM6wv53aF5Q63ISuaG55yuLPqiTZZqAiyjIEhOLP4QD4/s2180/Screenshot%202024-02-09%20at%2010.59.23.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="2180" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfafPrOXEzX4wUekSkXs503Wq4UeMIVUbAyqDeCF7Q-0apAqZ8HGuovkmnUcBm4ztNURvdHwprRR11A2Aj1N2ejq6Ml4tS3oNziODq4Jm_LAukwLLjyYoNASbIkceecyxLSvf6EC2VOwCGTW5tIM6wv53aF5Q63ISuaG55yuLPqiTZZqAiyjIEhOLP4QD4/w609-h194/Screenshot%202024-02-09%20at%2010.59.23.png" width="609" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;">Their prospective customers <i>might</i> read the individual reviews - that is, if this, on Octopus's home page, were hyperlinked to their Trustpilot listing. But it's not - strange, no?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">When we say 'no one' we exaggerate, of course. Those who go to Trustpilot to write negative reviews obviously do read the other reviews - because they often quote them in their own ('Just like John X, I had the same issue.'). But just how many people looking for an energy supplier and seeing Octopus's review-driven advertising (see top of the page and any local billboard or radio station) find their way to Trustpilot? Very few, is our educated guess.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">One final point - Octopus are proactively inviting customers to write reviews; so far so fine, but one of the questions we were going to ask them was 'You send out a customer survey by text before you invite the customer to write a review to Trustpilot. Do all respondents to the survey get asked to write a Trustpilot review, or only those that rate their experience business highly?' If, as we have seen with many businesses over the years, the latter is the case, it is in breach of the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA's core regulations</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And this is what we think about the independent review site v. Google argument...</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Google reviews carry far more credibility</b> - due to being attached to a 'real' person's Google account (as opposed to 'MickeyMouse123' on a review site).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Google reviews are far more visible</b>. By a huge factor; your prospective client/patient searches and what do they see? Google reviews, every time.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Google has far greater reach</b> - many consumers head directly for Google reviews every time they are considering using a new business - especially if that business is in the professions or is a service industry. When was the last time you considered such a business and thought 'I must check how their customers view them on [Feefo/Yelp/Trustpilot...]'? Google dominate search in the UK to a vast extent - at last count, 95.53% of internet searches in the UK were made on Google.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Anyone can write a Google review</b>. Until recently, it was a common misconception amongst many businesses that the reviewer 'needed a Gmail address'. They don't, they just need to have used one of Google's plethora of services over the last two decades, and few people have not.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Google reviews are location-specific</b>. If your business has multiple locations it will receive Google reviews for those specific locations (what consumer, considering using a business in Durham, wants to read reviews of HQ in Reading?).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Google is <i>free</i></b>. Google doesn't charge for hosting and prominently displaying your business's reviews. Why should they? Considering that you are donating your customers' valuable data to Google, that's added value enough for them.</span></li></ol><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Our advice - to any professional or service business</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Invite your customers - clients/patients - to write reviews <i>on Google</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Use a <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/12/review-moderation-and-why-it-is.html" target="_blank">moderated system</a> so those reviews can be checked for factual accuracy and/or misleading statements before they are published for all to read</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Publish those reviews on your own website - don't hide them</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Think long term (a) - in five years from now Octopus will look far, far worse on Google than it does now</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Think long term (b) - Google will still be around in five years' time. Review sites? Maybe not. Imagine your chosen review site folds and with it, all your hard-won reviews end up in the ether (remember <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2016/11/goodbye-yelp.html" target="_blank">Yelp quitting the UK and EU</a>?)?</span></li></ol><span style="font-family: arial;">But if your business is selling shirts or headphones - stick with the review site; you only need the star rating, very few people read reviews of <i>products</i> (as opposed to services) as long as the headline score is 4.8+. And if the review site goes under? You are selling hundreds or even thousands of units a week, so you'll soon reach critical mass on your new review site, and all you will have to do is plaster <i>their</i> stars all over your marketing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And finally, if anyone - anyone at all - at Octopus Energy reads this article and would like to comment: they know how to contact us.</span></div>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-85645711959580768212024-01-23T11:15:00.001+00:002024-01-23T11:15:39.799+00:00A New Year's guarantee<p><span style="font-family: arial;">To be of any value a guarantee must deliver measurable positive benefits for your business. Because HelpHound is many things, depending on the position our clients find themselves in on joining, our guarantees vary depending upon that position. This post will identify those starting points and apply the relevant guarantee.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Note:</b> we have used real Google business listings to illustrate this article. We make no comment on the individual businesses or the appropriateness or otherwise of their individual Google reviews and/or Google scores.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Starting point: Less than thirty Google reviews</b></span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBoRriXf2GJFlZ32V1HlLCTd1gwOE0zgCymGlw_6pgdMyHyt894pDOWw4LFE9yjdHzlURZwluuZjEbfnq_dYw-DNwcBDJce5xS4LdN-C2SyxI4qekrTJFSdsPfcLnazLA6Z2W9eC7IV8oAIqk9zcThNKuH2G5IwhoT6n9Mmr9HJ0ggZ9benlQTMXLdMg5/s706/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.17.30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="706" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBoRriXf2GJFlZ32V1HlLCTd1gwOE0zgCymGlw_6pgdMyHyt894pDOWw4LFE9yjdHzlURZwluuZjEbfnq_dYw-DNwcBDJce5xS4LdN-C2SyxI4qekrTJFSdsPfcLnazLA6Z2W9eC7IV8oAIqk9zcThNKuH2G5IwhoT6n9Mmr9HJ0ggZ9benlQTMXLdMg5/w563-h144/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.17.30.png" width="563" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The business in this example finds itself in the same position as many professional practices: it has yet to find a safe way to invite reviews to Google and it may even be cognisant of <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">the CMA regulations</a> that expressly forbid hand-picking clients to post reviews; it has just about kept its head above water, Google score-wise, by inviting two or three clients to write a Google review as and when it is subject to a 1* negative. It has at least one review that contravenes Google's own ToS and would undoubtedly be removed by Google were the business to submit a correctly worded appeal.</span></p><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Guarantee</b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">100 Google reviews in 6 months</span></li></ul><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"> A Google score of at least 4.8 within 3 months of joining</span></li></ul><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">a 10% upift in enquiries at that point</span></li></ul><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"> Full compliance with the CMA regulations </span></li></ul><p></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">Starting point: </b><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>More than thirty but less than 100 Google reviews</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2BIgwHmF8PRsAfCGDLsa3T7wA_7dfwtgmajE_klVmw23spDfe8KD-835DzcbTVk9SErPTQ2yuIJbZhQls5eagzkTj9ZkjDTkEk9f68ZngC6-wIXglQEaK8kVoaOYvJeECPma1kpxcJOmScqCDVtYBqjVREbp7HrLApKYXDtFmhN1dYfDg_mW6qZv9Q74/s636/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.20.41.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="636" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2BIgwHmF8PRsAfCGDLsa3T7wA_7dfwtgmajE_klVmw23spDfe8KD-835DzcbTVk9SErPTQ2yuIJbZhQls5eagzkTj9ZkjDTkEk9f68ZngC6-wIXglQEaK8kVoaOYvJeECPma1kpxcJOmScqCDVtYBqjVREbp7HrLApKYXDtFmhN1dYfDg_mW6qZv9Q74/w506-h144/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.20.41.png" width="506" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This firm of lawyers has yet to find a <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">compliant</a> and effective way to invite their stakeholders to write reviews to Google; it is not as if they don't invite reviews, just that they are being invited to a site that is next to invisible in search. Can you see it in this screengrab of their Google knowledge panel in a standard Google search?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpD3LFYFWC61tDl15cgBbcBYTa9Pxk-kuqO5KlUFaaMEcubuvxmleS_EXmyKPexb0vhIMF4fltYd_S8tZ9GXZJ6FTkCxfeT5hVuLc6P8wbWTdPaB76h4os611h4u-G0VOIPP05diTILoUl5JeQRNUAaCIWctuInPpdCX46g5VgNPYt3O8wSX51R_769t52/s688/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.30.14.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="640" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpD3LFYFWC61tDl15cgBbcBYTa9Pxk-kuqO5KlUFaaMEcubuvxmleS_EXmyKPexb0vhIMF4fltYd_S8tZ9GXZJ6FTkCxfeT5hVuLc6P8wbWTdPaB76h4os611h4u-G0VOIPP05diTILoUl5JeQRNUAaCIWctuInPpdCX46g5VgNPYt3O8wSX51R_769t52/w375-h403/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.30.14.png" width="375" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But how many potential clients never get past their Google headline of 3.9 from 50 reviews?</span></div><p></p><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Guarantee</b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">100 Google reviews in 6 months </span></li></ul></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">A Google score of at least 4.8 within 3 months of joining</span></li></ul></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">a 5% upift in enquiries at that point</span></li></ul><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Full compliance with the CMA regulations </span></li></ul></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">Starting point: </b><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>100+ Google reviews</b></span></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH12yt3YnO0rJpb_LZpdKLj0F-RURDbmC0a4-zfQqmueGGgoBHquuH4r8CjyOtXPTK1jA_DnnqcW6k2XGLCz61rI1Y4JBBET4rlcOKkdUyJchBB0_0bxrugoovq5rj2q38EcUIoBVdnx9oDhyFwdUBReIYkyr6LcHKnjkGFwLAVc1uTwHqAZE96qQxtaJ7/s698/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.18.01.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="698" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH12yt3YnO0rJpb_LZpdKLj0F-RURDbmC0a4-zfQqmueGGgoBHquuH4r8CjyOtXPTK1jA_DnnqcW6k2XGLCz61rI1Y4JBBET4rlcOKkdUyJchBB0_0bxrugoovq5rj2q38EcUIoBVdnx9oDhyFwdUBReIYkyr6LcHKnjkGFwLAVc1uTwHqAZE96qQxtaJ7/w471-h119/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.18.01.png" width="471" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgkCZaSivUryPFHlYfuSOUBzRe5qod2W5OtSTEBrTCZDX9sBcqxFXH5HGXcx_UrvQucblXvplmjhu3rDhs-FS0QE-nEcBXpTC1XtCuwozvAYrOUsjG25BmNqhs5nLpWaqAJys6OGWdWTHkWM5S7_siHssXp1xRFP5Qj9Q-mRsPwsH6hPI44yY_3bnSB3E/s1320/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.33.33.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="1070" height="513" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgkCZaSivUryPFHlYfuSOUBzRe5qod2W5OtSTEBrTCZDX9sBcqxFXH5HGXcx_UrvQucblXvplmjhu3rDhs-FS0QE-nEcBXpTC1XtCuwozvAYrOUsjG25BmNqhs5nLpWaqAJys6OGWdWTHkWM5S7_siHssXp1xRFP5Qj9Q-mRsPwsH6hPI44yY_3bnSB3E/w415-h513/Screenshot%202024-01-10%20at%2016.33.33.png" width="415" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A respectable headline score - 4.6 - is only partially masking a steady drip of 1* reviews. A moderated review management system would undoubtedly enable this business to address some of the issues raised before the reviewer felt the need to commit to a potentially misleading or just plain inaccurate - or indeed unfair - Google review. </span></p><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Guarantee</b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">10 new Google reviews per month</span></li></ul></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">A Google score of at least 4.8 within 6 months of joining</span></li></ul></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Full compliance with the CMA regulations - from the date of joining </span></li></ul></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">More enquiries through Google searches</span></li></ul></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There you have it: a 'no lose' situation for those joining HelpHound in 2024. All the business has to do is implement HelpHound's recommendations in full<b>*</b> and we will guarantee your money back if the agreed</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> results are not achieved. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>*</b></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">At the outset HelpHound will conduct a full audit of the business's exposure to reviews, Google as well as others; this will form the statistical base for our recommended strategy. This strategy will be agreed and signed off by both HelpHound and our client at inception and before implementation.</span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading</b></span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/12/helphound-fees-2024.html" target="_blank">Fee scale for 2024</a></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2022/09/partner-with-helphound.html" target="_blank">How to help others and make HelpHound 'free' for your business at the same time</a></span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-76336934542385418472024-01-06T12:55:00.007+00:002024-02-21T18:12:08.958+00:00Trustpilot - big business's 'useful idiot'?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">We get it, we really do, if you are in retail - especially online retail - all you need is this...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfva4N0p6F95UeGriJHPIU5U78GvdfWMzmWKoNILCY7GAAvOJLVKPnvYIbJ3BrGEP_GEpWVwaUc6m9nPhBjAo9mTmYfBFz9CzMKmMV-oJl8Tr21Md_vzBB2yMMliF2TMUUr4QFLHrOUjJrxRDVPSv5GqLuqbOZM8aFRAJ7FM1QaTz7CL2lzmhSXbWLXoA/s1812/Screenshot%202024-02-07%20at%2016.54.31.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1812" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfva4N0p6F95UeGriJHPIU5U78GvdfWMzmWKoNILCY7GAAvOJLVKPnvYIbJ3BrGEP_GEpWVwaUc6m9nPhBjAo9mTmYfBFz9CzMKmMV-oJl8Tr21Md_vzBB2yMMliF2TMUUr4QFLHrOUjJrxRDVPSv5GqLuqbOZM8aFRAJ7FM1QaTz7CL2lzmhSXbWLXoA/w596-h325/Screenshot%202024-02-07%20at%2016.54.31.png" width="596" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As a matter of fact, all your business probably needs is this...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90mbPpoVBU1JXleXlGG7rSh4LKBdVnbAP3ZoOKR_XyOltZpOhA8reyCHO6YfzOQM1EhaFLCoW90WWovS4yMhTKgQIPuz0V89CK-ORmuxzDJp5G-FpIr9f4V5eKKqWxz80ns8qi53pCkmSuzVifM_uVUwjv-D_PGAkoxdOToo5d9aD2beynYXznOdoVhw5/s986/Screenshot%202024-01-06%20at%2011.02.20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="986" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90mbPpoVBU1JXleXlGG7rSh4LKBdVnbAP3ZoOKR_XyOltZpOhA8reyCHO6YfzOQM1EhaFLCoW90WWovS4yMhTKgQIPuz0V89CK-ORmuxzDJp5G-FpIr9f4V5eKKqWxz80ns8qi53pCkmSuzVifM_uVUwjv-D_PGAkoxdOToo5d9aD2beynYXznOdoVhw5/w415-h195/Screenshot%202024-01-06%20at%2011.02.20.png" width="415" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But, before you rush to add to Trustpilot's cash mountain, you might</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">like to consider the following points:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Why would a business want to use Trustpilot - and <i>pay them</i> - when Google reviews...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrdfSSg1xU-2qo1k2vQUxYVwkw-tbIRdhEp3A8swsWL6DdTDlWHhmMSu__DjNctvU_87P3ku0KRrg4ZmxWJm1GG11FnAhBF9CCP4-KSF8152B3GSQcanuJ5bHB3qMVa411nMfNbRpIwtvhJmTG3EyQ2kMuPrXaLzWmeJrsC9C0bXbHYexsZShLKyToG96/s596/Screenshot%202024-01-06%20at%2011.06.21.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="596" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrdfSSg1xU-2qo1k2vQUxYVwkw-tbIRdhEp3A8swsWL6DdTDlWHhmMSu__DjNctvU_87P3ku0KRrg4ZmxWJm1GG11FnAhBF9CCP4-KSF8152B3GSQcanuJ5bHB3qMVa411nMfNbRpIwtvhJmTG3EyQ2kMuPrXaLzWmeJrsC9C0bXbHYexsZShLKyToG96/s320/Screenshot%202024-01-06%20at%2011.06.21.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">...are free and unarguably trump Trustpilot for credibility<b>*</b> and, most important of all, visibility. Strange as it may seem, the answer would seem to be just that - visibility. Trustpilot reviews - and the business's headline score, rarely appear in search. This leaves the business free to use them both as, when and where it suits them best.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After all, if you were Yodel, you wouldn't be promoting your Google score...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCkp3yu_fsqQfLlIduh-bI_BsQKKDOFEfut6TnGhzLI2q67iaw3bQ7XWh3qqlNDye357WaRH2mFLc6GtplTiAxYH1CHVUO6JoOzFFHLE3RcD9D0Erme2ndzz_Acr7nWKy2yZzLBgn_-2aieXAzXVvSWpd23dxLBmXzNpdQr5HyqfF2ExfVLGIYMb11Nne/s964/Screenshot%202024-01-06%20at%2011.52.46.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="964" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCkp3yu_fsqQfLlIduh-bI_BsQKKDOFEfut6TnGhzLI2q67iaw3bQ7XWh3qqlNDye357WaRH2mFLc6GtplTiAxYH1CHVUO6JoOzFFHLE3RcD9D0Erme2ndzz_Acr7nWKy2yZzLBgn_-2aieXAzXVvSWpd23dxLBmXzNpdQr5HyqfF2ExfVLGIYMb11Nne/w652-h126/Screenshot%202024-01-06%20at%2011.52.46.png" width="652" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">...would you? But that's exactly what searchers are going to see - every single time they conduct a Google search. Like this...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayQJsF72VBgTVSLoWPRPUDXUE4uffrxaUxWD_vleGvSqinNRs-ZX0Gumn6F0lUXn1HWDfN5lAiFUkaWeLclRHKUpBqR5pvg-zeuE3nBqAy6JlAfSueYaToH1A4XLY7dj5xBBiEp4aS2r6TXFIyAjYmRKrm__DPr_xUzAoATyiAX1ZdR_vcQvP0OF0pOWF/s908/Screenshot%202024-01-07%20at%2009.55.57.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="694" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgayQJsF72VBgTVSLoWPRPUDXUE4uffrxaUxWD_vleGvSqinNRs-ZX0Gumn6F0lUXn1HWDfN5lAiFUkaWeLclRHKUpBqR5pvg-zeuE3nBqAy6JlAfSueYaToH1A4XLY7dj5xBBiEp4aS2r6TXFIyAjYmRKrm__DPr_xUzAoATyiAX1ZdR_vcQvP0OF0pOWF/w368-h481/Screenshot%202024-01-07%20at%2009.55.57.png" width="368" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Another possible use of review sites</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Suppose a business came to us, or any other agency, and said 'We want to bury negative reviews of our business as far away from the eyes of our potential customers as possible whilst being simultaneously open and welcoming to comments.' Let's look at a real-life business that would <i>appear - we stress 'appear' - </i>to have done just this (no names):</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3xqqA_ELLgq7MvAKo-p8php6doPgsJJvzVF2pLTxe7XTgS-L8mhbwBWyuL2rB2blc6Z_YiUaxsTazoGWuO28ToIz-F7l2fkTdUntqWsSmTsqF_mDJ83VEJckvALITcaIJ4qZFXLStHCo4cryVhGIgkPQciu1gJi8n0gNM9ZPeBTi80O4gktRyOl-v2NT/s2136/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%2016.24.12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="2136" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3xqqA_ELLgq7MvAKo-p8php6doPgsJJvzVF2pLTxe7XTgS-L8mhbwBWyuL2rB2blc6Z_YiUaxsTazoGWuO28ToIz-F7l2fkTdUntqWsSmTsqF_mDJ83VEJckvALITcaIJ4qZFXLStHCo4cryVhGIgkPQciu1gJi8n0gNM9ZPeBTi80O4gktRyOl-v2NT/w629-h144/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%2016.24.12.png" width="629" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Best in the world? How does this business look on Trustpilot?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzkrLz5AfTCBne1M1PbNkar_1aPKtYag6AYBS-48H4972bvEqTNGN1h3mT3mkhoQIyiIBaUunnzQcjrZJZfXuBGnpkOnmhZDVrS39CdwC-UEGQX8a2AT8gFmpWwhQ4tjX_PElIYQCHhIS0jex1ykFDjmYE8ozCJCkVDVlvxDGJTjhI92UyDMuoWU6auN5/s1422/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%2016.13.09.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="1422" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzkrLz5AfTCBne1M1PbNkar_1aPKtYag6AYBS-48H4972bvEqTNGN1h3mT3mkhoQIyiIBaUunnzQcjrZJZfXuBGnpkOnmhZDVrS39CdwC-UEGQX8a2AT8gFmpWwhQ4tjX_PElIYQCHhIS0jex1ykFDjmYE8ozCJCkVDVlvxDGJTjhI92UyDMuoWU6auN5/w404-h364/Screenshot%202024-02-21%20at%2016.13.09.png" width="404" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, we know the 'Best in the world' bar is set pretty low when it comes to retail banking, but even Trustpilot, with its notoriously generous (some might say 'business-friendly') descriptors can only bring itself to call it 'Average'. That 28 percent represents nearly a third of all reviewers and more than 10,000 1* reviews</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But does it really matter when those reviews, and that distinctly 'average' score, are not returned in the first<i> fifty </i>search results when the business's name is googled? Cynical observers might say 'Job done: reviews welcomed but invisible to all but the most diligent searcher.'</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All professional or service </span><span style="font-family: arial;">businesses</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> - as opposed to online ret</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ail - should focus on Google reviews. But wait, we hear some of you say, that would mean that all our potential customers will see all our Google reviews in every search they make. But they already do! So get HelpHound's <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> working for you to ensure that those reviews are as accurate as they possibly can be - no factual inaccuracies or misleading statements (and with any errors in English corrected).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>*</b>Google's credibility derives, in the main, from the fact that almost all of us know that we can write one whenever we like and that there is no Google mechanism for preventing us (Trustpilot allow businesses to appeal negative reviews - actually any review, but we'd be surprised if a business appealed a 5* review). It also derives from familiarity - we all consume Google reviews, consciously or unconsciously, because we see them and their attendant headline score in every single Google search on a business we make.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Getting your business's Google reviews strategy right will not only protect its online reputation - it will boost it so inbound clicks and calls rise to a higher level and remain there. Read all about the results you can expect <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">here</a></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">In case you missed the link to the advantages of a moderated review system above, <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">here is an article</a> that explains just why it is the key to successful long-term review management</span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-25049557670512301382024-01-05T17:13:00.002+00:002024-01-05T17:14:22.484+00:00Education - the one professional sector lagging behind with reviews <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoidjXCYNROtfUWNGX9O5Qtq2fKDlbNNAlI-rCxlluKU7Cm3q4Djr6X_xbrodfhSNREJ5hcU7KfYA6OIEwbVqXeA_bJ4eNKQcY-nn1gS2jHHFFR1xf4MBzSHhJbxvuR7OECS2ljGAO1_QDKZ25BePo_kFZPIKiPcA1FP-Feovh-4oAzaZ-UN_G4nQ45Ec/s1150/Screenshot%202024-01-02%20at%2009.31.21.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="1150" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoidjXCYNROtfUWNGX9O5Qtq2fKDlbNNAlI-rCxlluKU7Cm3q4Djr6X_xbrodfhSNREJ5hcU7KfYA6OIEwbVqXeA_bJ4eNKQcY-nn1gS2jHHFFR1xf4MBzSHhJbxvuR7OECS2ljGAO1_QDKZ25BePo_kFZPIKiPcA1FP-Feovh-4oAzaZ-UN_G4nQ45Ec/w559-h287/Screenshot%202024-01-02%20at%2009.31.21.png" width="559" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the metaphorical 'race to succeed with reviews' education is the runner in white at the top of this photo finish. Luckily the analogy is flawed: in the world of reviews the race is never-ending. The white-shirted runner (who is actually a lap behind the rest in 2024) can still catch the field, and even win the race.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But first, let us examine why entering and then running in the race is so important: according to a recent article entitled 'How to choose the right school for your child' in Independent School Parent magazine (note: this post relates to all types of educational establishments, not simply independent schools) the first thing any parent should do is 'Research your options'. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And what is almost every parent's first 'research' move? Often even before speaking to friends, before looking at individual schools' websites, before consulting Ofsted, even if looking for a specific school? A Google search of course.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But what do they currently find? </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04U9mQSNj0JCGVJCYEpQODfQELSg1WrfG6jiXay4ANz4cdGL__N3pCLIE2pBcY8W_N7ZhAI3l1ShyIvSDu2YaatZdlqgKkz2vsF4VDgtJ_hXlnFN2OViQwKUVoKN0OTcVlZqWWaMlvRxYbR3CcGQLkEM7hRXrJDKQ6aorocM_fTqWAjgMrD3qcvRSLCKr/s1508/Screenshot%202024-01-02%20at%2010.03.22.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1508" data-original-width="554" height="888" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04U9mQSNj0JCGVJCYEpQODfQELSg1WrfG6jiXay4ANz4cdGL__N3pCLIE2pBcY8W_N7ZhAI3l1ShyIvSDu2YaatZdlqgKkz2vsF4VDgtJ_hXlnFN2OViQwKUVoKN0OTcVlZqWWaMlvRxYbR3CcGQLkEM7hRXrJDKQ6aorocM_fTqWAjgMrD3qcvRSLCKr/w327-h888/Screenshot%202024-01-02%20at%2010.03.22.png" width="327" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">An almost universal lack of engagement. From zero reviews to very few, few schools have yet to find a way to successfully harness the opinions of their stakeholders and turn them into a credible presence online.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><b>How is this?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It is simple really: they have not found a <i>safe</i> way to do so. Safe? Exactly. Simply inviting stakeholders to post a review directly to Google can be a high-risk strategy: no educator needs us to tell them how often misunderstandings arise and having those misunderstandings aired for evermore, for everyone to see, in a Google review, can risk unfair - and difficult to repair - damage to any organisation's long-term reputation (if any readers doubt the harm a single online review can cause we would suggest reading <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/02/a-review-is-damaging-your-business.html" target="_blank">what happened to this firm of solicitors</a>).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>HelpHound to the rescue</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course, we have a solution - actually, <i>the only</i> solution - why else would we be writing this article? For over ten years now we have operated our moderated review management system on behalf of clients in the professional services sector. The key word is 'moderation': we define moderation, in the context of reviews, as the practice of engaging with the review <i>and the reviewer</i> pre-publication. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At least eighty per cent of reviews are what we term 'clean'; in other words, they are the genuinely held opinion of the reviewer (client/customer/patient/parent) and they 'pass' moderation straight away and are published on the business's website and the reviewer is invited to copy their review to Google. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Of the remaining reviews - still in moderation - some will simply be written in English that is poor enough to mislead a reader. Our moderator will correct them with the reviewer's permission. Others, more seriously for the business and unhelpfully for readers, will contain errors of fact or statements with the potential to mislead those who in future may come to rely on the review. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In these cases, a three-way dialogue will often ensue, between the reviewer, the business (in the context of this article: the school or other educational establishment) and our moderator. The object of this dialogue is solely to ensure that the final published review is as factually accurate as possible and to allow the business and the reviewer to understand each other's position to that end.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Results</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When we first introduced moderation we held our corporate breath. Would reviewers allow us to engage with them and would they be happy to engage with the business under review? The answer, to our relief and that of our client businesses, was a resounding 'Yes'. That is except for two categories of reviewer: the troll (to use current internet parlance) - someone who was simply airing an unfounded opinion of a business of which they had no first-hand experience, and the 'five-thumbed typist' who had reviewed the business in error (company names can be very similar).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Everyone else, with very few exceptions, reacts positively: from grudging acceptance - 'OK, I exaggerated...' - to sheer relief - 'I hadn't realised I was wrong in what I had written, thank goodness you stepped in.' </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There you have it: a safe way to engage with Google reviews, guaranteed. With the added bonus of independently verified reviews to host on your own website.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>A note for 'perfect' establishments</b></span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We sometimes encounter businesses, of all kinds, that say 'We are so great at what we do we won't need moderation, we'll simply invite our stakeholders to post reviews direct to Google.' Those businesses should remember that <i>they</i> may be perfect, or as close as makes no difference, but it's their customers and other stakeholders that may not be quite as 100% on the ball. Moderation is expressly designed for great businesses - under the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a> we cannot aid or abet any filtering or deflecting of any genuinely held negative opinions - but one misconceived negative review has the potential to do untold harm, and it is just that review that moderation is expressly designed to address. We refer you to the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/02/a-review-is-damaging-your-business.html" target="_blank">case history</a> already mentioned above.</span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;">Conclusion</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Educational establishments have nothing to lose and everything to gain...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">shining in every Google search</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">wonderful content for their websites and social media</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">savings - in both time and money - on all other forms of marketingnt</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">...from engaging in professional moderated review management. At the time of publication, HelpHound is the only channel currently providing this, not to mention our 10+ years of experience in doing so. We look forward to helping your educational establishment achieve all of the above - to A* level!</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Compliance is key - so many businesses flout the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a> that expressly forbid cherry-picking known satisfied customers to write reviews</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Results: all of our clients see positive results - Google scores of 4.8+ from hundreds of reviews and consistent uplifts in contacts and enquiries. <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">This article</a> puts numbers to those promises</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2016/06/unfair-negative-reviews-hurt-nearwater.html" target="_blank">The hotel</a> that was very nearly unfairly shut down by a single 1* Google review</span></li></ul></div><br /><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-6317529699257401692024-01-05T14:01:00.001+00:002024-01-22T13:45:26.001+00:00How fast will our advice impact your business's online reputation?<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> How's this? The business on 1 December 2023...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQToOjtL6uzJLQAEByqhSVOKl2A4Kf1XkarlEhWbhdf64j4Cm7g1MrOOBas7cABJigKGD9WZpj0gIdXG28UfNRQw0LkyVBljvticDNjJ7JF5AnM1eY7_ZJT4iS7iwHPepddlP3owRfP7UkhifFUsKqWjNBL4eNqzgMSCIeZqD3Maby0Nv3P2XkP2quP20w/s1808/Screenshot%202024-01-05%20at%2013.54.38.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1808" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQToOjtL6uzJLQAEByqhSVOKl2A4Kf1XkarlEhWbhdf64j4Cm7g1MrOOBas7cABJigKGD9WZpj0gIdXG28UfNRQw0LkyVBljvticDNjJ7JF5AnM1eY7_ZJT4iS7iwHPepddlP3owRfP7UkhifFUsKqWjNBL4eNqzgMSCIeZqD3Maby0Nv3P2XkP2quP20w/w408-h169/Screenshot%202024-01-05%20at%2013.54.38.png" width="408" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>And now?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wauNk-VXa0posgmGcOjH2_P_f3b2xuvAJJtIzFyUFquSosReCKMVwqflRke6bYE3wPriMcKqNrEYDWVDB4Eg651zQsuAuvzsKygh076OP86A7xX3DAzdXNcAfgxFPFcLxjRG8tx4jMofiPkdGL8LYIKln9h740BSjEY5VEOCBftMS-LbQv5p4vgrbrQK/s1482/Screenshot%202024-01-05%20at%2013.54.52.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1482" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wauNk-VXa0posgmGcOjH2_P_f3b2xuvAJJtIzFyUFquSosReCKMVwqflRke6bYE3wPriMcKqNrEYDWVDB4Eg651zQsuAuvzsKygh076OP86A7xX3DAzdXNcAfgxFPFcLxjRG8tx4jMofiPkdGL8LYIKln9h740BSjEY5VEOCBftMS-LbQv5p4vgrbrQK/w418-h180/Screenshot%202024-01-05%20at%2013.54.52.png" width="418" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Early days! But a great start - especially given the holiday period - and we look forward to the business getting to the hallowed 4.8* any day now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Update 22 January 2024 </b></span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And now, after a successful appeal against a one-star review that contravened Google's terms of service!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyPCbh-zUb_xScdL_ZSWA5LW-ejq9yqcageMFwO0zbxFdod-KtVyd2gRj1PgVFbgPFPyr8iwEatvju84AF8u31eBDF5KMqK21PDQMtgUdnkNrIoR-u0bODYr8HGTP0S0ooaiMhJUxw5VbdxldO0owflVAsRqpEwQXF-RaNUleoejjpNuVxe-3SQuNwPCe/s314/Screenshot%202024-01-22%20at%2013.25.50.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="62" data-original-width="314" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyPCbh-zUb_xScdL_ZSWA5LW-ejq9yqcageMFwO0zbxFdod-KtVyd2gRj1PgVFbgPFPyr8iwEatvju84AF8u31eBDF5KMqK21PDQMtgUdnkNrIoR-u0bODYr8HGTP0S0ooaiMhJUxw5VbdxldO0owflVAsRqpEwQXF-RaNUleoejjpNuVxe-3SQuNwPCe/w447-h88/Screenshot%202024-01-22%20at%2013.25.50.png" width="447" /></a></div><br /></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">*4.8? Years of research and client feedback show that this is the score at which consumer trust really kicks in; below 4.8 and consumers will read all a business's negative reviews, 4.8 and above and they will simply make contact.</span></p><p><br /></p></div>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-13790976839394375042023-12-13T12:26:00.001+00:002023-12-13T12:26:53.549+00:00The world of Google reviews is upside down - it's up to all of us turn it the right way up!<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Google reviews are </span><span style="font-family: arial;">available in inverse proportion to their need. There are 100 times more Google reviews of any McDonald's than there are of lawyers or financial advisers, and many more of those than there are of medical specialists. Why is this the case? There are two main reasons...</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">More people use fast food outlets than GPs or lawyers</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The professions, and service businesses in general, are extremely wary of Google reviews - for good reasons (see '<a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a>' below)</span></li></ol><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Note:</b> All of the following discount 'personal recommendation'. Of course, we all welcome and take note of personal recommendations, especially for categories 0 - 4. But the further up our scale we go, the less likely any individual or business is to know someone well-qualified to recommend such a business. Note we don't say 'impossible', but far less likely. This leaves the responsibility for getting Google reviews fairly and squarely in the hands of the '<b>6 - 10</b>' businesses:professions and services in the main.</span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>0 - 1</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Entertainment</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vqtFpayURNJpwzJnEP6s-48-J5PlzY06DQDQUxGPgCaK1lCYGVu9-VFIaKQin8SAtCUhl_hQmQa1XUEkCa3ifY5dBuTlyh3xbVo5-PIX8I47QF5U5jGLkS6WKP47Ci1H_eFevCVsO_M2FrFaQWea40DDpycalCDpGUIFDtAlSTRjZwkmSDNweDdx1coW/s866/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2018.35.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="866" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vqtFpayURNJpwzJnEP6s-48-J5PlzY06DQDQUxGPgCaK1lCYGVu9-VFIaKQin8SAtCUhl_hQmQa1XUEkCa3ifY5dBuTlyh3xbVo5-PIX8I47QF5U5jGLkS6WKP47Ci1H_eFevCVsO_M2FrFaQWea40DDpycalCDpGUIFDtAlSTRjZwkmSDNweDdx1coW/w419-h281/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2018.35.20.png" width="419" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">More people write reviews of entertainment venues than read them! How can we tell? By the very few 'Likes' the individual reviews receive</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Few people read reviews of venues. If your favourite actor/band/play is on at the ABC Theatre that's where you're going. Reviews of the venue may warn you that the queue for the toilet at the interval is horrendous or that the refreshments are overpriced but you will still attend. We <i>do</i> read reviews of performances - but not Google reviews!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Retail</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NeR2XvB4FRoyA7Xcq-Kroj-Br0Tb8Lr-cR1g2k6oBtOtXf6A3vM6bAWHf4FLfAmsMskgNWyA3xiRCDmo4nuQl2EZiQxBKsFgPLpb4vrkts_NUX9xY70dmyuvtOp4mGcP-ll9BSOiPDY9A2-XJvbOnmDMa8NgMP0DhwUSCpdmnbJiOijFR3HQ7wWzDsq1/s1614/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.07.30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1614" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-NeR2XvB4FRoyA7Xcq-Kroj-Br0Tb8Lr-cR1g2k6oBtOtXf6A3vM6bAWHf4FLfAmsMskgNWyA3xiRCDmo4nuQl2EZiQxBKsFgPLpb4vrkts_NUX9xY70dmyuvtOp4mGcP-ll9BSOiPDY9A2-XJvbOnmDMa8NgMP0DhwUSCpdmnbJiOijFR3HQ7wWzDsq1/w553-h273/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.07.30.png" width="553" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We want it? We buy it. Savvy retailers will use product reviews to add/drop lines - when did you last see a 1* toaster for sale on John Lewis's website?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Well-known services</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8VAPAfddin5stRlp5kBqsZtAwkXqhqu-2CuNw2yP9Eh4mXWpPZNOqtokFJY5ZZa9JgS5pZO9UPAqJIXvwJGhJWo-S07XmtMKU-HtbvoDRExGgAg8a9abQLwQyUngjSaMa0Zvog9E1wNr6PqYkzi3BHIoQNhd0oW4YYr8M8_CMCau3AYpn9v01yfmeGGb/s1274/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.10.00.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="1274" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8VAPAfddin5stRlp5kBqsZtAwkXqhqu-2CuNw2yP9Eh4mXWpPZNOqtokFJY5ZZa9JgS5pZO9UPAqJIXvwJGhJWo-S07XmtMKU-HtbvoDRExGgAg8a9abQLwQyUngjSaMa0Zvog9E1wNr6PqYkzi3BHIoQNhd0oW4YYr8M8_CMCau3AYpn9v01yfmeGGb/w619-h99/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.10.00.png" width="619" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">McDonald's? Boots the Chemist? RyanAir? Reviews are written - by unhappy customers in the main, but will that stop most of us from using them? Will we even read their reviews? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>2 - 3</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Hotels and Restaurants - hospitality </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfr_kEgmBXT0dwieGJ7CTR6VLep8oTjU1W4qex4BhKjyltmhXWGxc4Dsamw6mgmdHCZ36qfy5X-yDGxlm2tgtYzgeKvNvStqlkX80Gsh3UgXMWmmeMzg3AMMHMC5mdNdB63lFe3E-KRltd3-9nUGI0Wq7CScfN1FCuJxrI8TelXUsj668Ro1owdhBLp2QQ/s1550/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.13.36.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1550" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfr_kEgmBXT0dwieGJ7CTR6VLep8oTjU1W4qex4BhKjyltmhXWGxc4Dsamw6mgmdHCZ36qfy5X-yDGxlm2tgtYzgeKvNvStqlkX80Gsh3UgXMWmmeMzg3AMMHMC5mdNdB63lFe3E-KRltd3-9nUGI0Wq7CScfN1FCuJxrI8TelXUsj668Ro1owdhBLp2QQ/w630-h368/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.13.36.png" width="630" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Most consumers now use a specialist site when booking hospitality - and, to make doubly sure, the sites dominate search by block-booking Google ads (note - of all the links in Booking.com's site that could have been served, it's 'Top Reviewed Hotels' that gets the nod)...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOwT370qaALSmoEQBrPp2gRjhaPYqmkpJLJlOe4cPHvPkzhwzqzf6Yoc1XtZPOK_1T9Qy5L8AtOasv5PSDaNHF7-yoJ8OFUx44aJaYkqSP7PelBjtrxO56vtfhXC5K2qfYJKlZ0dFqbsdyksn4GuCm-PbSWizpsexnNNduymqXbpJJxVj6u1ZMXp4LYe9/s1636/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.16.49.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="1636" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOwT370qaALSmoEQBrPp2gRjhaPYqmkpJLJlOe4cPHvPkzhwzqzf6Yoc1XtZPOK_1T9Qy5L8AtOasv5PSDaNHF7-yoJ8OFUx44aJaYkqSP7PelBjtrxO56vtfhXC5K2qfYJKlZ0dFqbsdyksn4GuCm-PbSWizpsexnNNduymqXbpJJxVj6u1ZMXp4LYe9/w581-h281/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.16.49.png" width="581" /></a></div><p><br /></p><span style="font-family: arial;">And just a click away, with over 6,500 reviews...</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY12cnSHxrpU60QIt17JJbm_5x1eoYUTS_UufY4iLiE3Do2KZTkaJKI0oBTE6Ii8575MkiALJuffvO1Y-xq9-ivZHtqzxDbb5z5Fyy1KTb_RMDEJpBWDrCwgiTRndlOn48UhaDnFBuucgkRLmqZqS44S_FwkkdB28EsgPAo_p5Ics-eSwkTsAWOYBaR9Nl/s1112/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.18.17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="1112" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY12cnSHxrpU60QIt17JJbm_5x1eoYUTS_UufY4iLiE3Do2KZTkaJKI0oBTE6Ii8575MkiALJuffvO1Y-xq9-ivZHtqzxDbb5z5Fyy1KTb_RMDEJpBWDrCwgiTRndlOn48UhaDnFBuucgkRLmqZqS44S_FwkkdB28EsgPAo_p5Ics-eSwkTsAWOYBaR9Nl/w643-h185/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.18.17.png" width="643" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The one sector where specialist websites win hands down. Of course, a good Google rating helps, but TripAdvisor, Expedia, Booking.com and the like are so well-established (and funded) that it is a secondary consideration.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>6-9</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Business services</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As the consumer's need for them rises, the number of Google reviews dwindles dramatically...</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYRGBocC_3dhb-NdEeaDM64wz1RWZPl6UX1Mq2bjoaWc4ViLW6aDFEORIo3wUOgmGJy-LJefUGwhzMJQpDLhU6twNem_JniQFfKYuea0vSbveIFOzRQBJ-WXv2MWw0QdzSLPe6VzWCrXkw_5ViPB-GAu_bB3Sk-4xCQSFwYMMRFsLcj8wXNPEuyGeyq_P/s1418/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.21.04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="726" height="643" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYRGBocC_3dhb-NdEeaDM64wz1RWZPl6UX1Mq2bjoaWc4ViLW6aDFEORIo3wUOgmGJy-LJefUGwhzMJQpDLhU6twNem_JniQFfKYuea0vSbveIFOzRQBJ-WXv2MWw0QdzSLPe6VzWCrXkw_5ViPB-GAu_bB3Sk-4xCQSFwYMMRFsLcj8wXNPEuyGeyq_P/w330-h643/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.21.04.png" width="330" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Accountancy, recruitment, advertising, PR, marketing, web design, SEO, review management (!). All of these are a minefield, especially for SMEs. Why 'especially SMEs'? Because large businesses often have in-house capability, at least enough to be able to judge a specialist service - for example: a CFO of a large business will invariably have accountancy training and qualifications, so will be better placed to make an informed choice of an accountancy service; an SME director, almost always an entrepreneur, will seek out as much independent reassurance as possible. If your business is targeting the SME market, it needs to find an effective, and safe, way to engage with Google reviews.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Education</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCT2dlXhnj47bQOpuxX0LEb-2FkvUrc3WPhpN1CwCr4_Jzf8thyfvzdHPEciSEsf55spBFGgdmfPdgMkKocIn7PSHj-MnTQ1bnw29w1LGRjqnz3LIzU1Hq8850AsSON6fWkeyQXa2jGowixM0ya3W8GiCLHZ2AcTwRb90WWuL7KFGBWsPbdNJQlFeRAqD/s1454/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.24.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="726" height="714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCT2dlXhnj47bQOpuxX0LEb-2FkvUrc3WPhpN1CwCr4_Jzf8thyfvzdHPEciSEsf55spBFGgdmfPdgMkKocIn7PSHj-MnTQ1bnw29w1LGRjqnz3LIzU1Hq8850AsSON6fWkeyQXa2jGowixM0ya3W8GiCLHZ2AcTwRb90WWuL7KFGBWsPbdNJQlFeRAqD/w357-h714/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.24.20.png" width="357" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This is an interesting one. There is a huge amount of information available about educational establishments from preschools all the way up to universities and beyond. But with pastoral care increasingly in the headlines these days, parents, especially, are looking for added reassurance - outside of their own social circle (When did you ever hear a friend say 'I chose XYZ school for my little Jimmy and it's rubbish'?!). Very few schools indeed - if any - have yet to find a safe way to proactively engage with Google reviews. Prospective parents and guardians, as well as other stakeholders, need those educational establishments to find a way to engage.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Legal</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs46LZSPQQ0nRb0CCCNaOevBBERA1RIaWUPTjcorKUhxBS4VRRdzf4roqAMfAQ62c6kP33LQtEM1InfYFHGAp0mtYkN4GS0KmXn6PuNRtGJ2SQ8DaBluTR2ETFIItWYhBx0WampejKodg5Dg8ThFgR42IcEnxoGPc4GMjuAqNIZtLMmXMhDXEPaS-zEGrA/s1362/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.27.46.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="720" height="672" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs46LZSPQQ0nRb0CCCNaOevBBERA1RIaWUPTjcorKUhxBS4VRRdzf4roqAMfAQ62c6kP33LQtEM1InfYFHGAp0mtYkN4GS0KmXn6PuNRtGJ2SQ8DaBluTR2ETFIItWYhBx0WampejKodg5Dg8ThFgR42IcEnxoGPc4GMjuAqNIZtLMmXMhDXEPaS-zEGrA/w356-h672/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.27.46.png" width="356" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Heard the term 'A legal minefield'? Of course you have, and it sums up the quandary facing anyone about to engage with the profession. There is a huge discrepancy in both areas of expertise - will the solicitor that conveyances your house purchase have the expertise to manage your divorce? - and quality of advice.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Those seeking legal advice will seek out Google reviews for reassurance. But is that law firm finding a complaint way to engage with Google reviews?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Financial</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Financial advice, investment management, banking and insurance. Financial institutions spend fortunes promoting the value they supposedly add for consumers, whatever their specialism. The only true benchmark is past performance combined with Google reviews - and my, do they seem to do everything they can to ensure the bare minimum of Google reviews are written. Here is arguably the UK's largest retail fund manager, in the news this week...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEq1yHmY3X0f3p7BTOj83fnXRSvC-7tyTLi5U9CVPMsse9TLKSwlk6aVQOJh4yEjYGrtoNoFop6ECerL6oT7wnVKPz6iAPT7NrWs0VycdQ3AgmrMOnx4rJs4anOzx1FfnLCydL5bOOWQmW78QzQHqVTkY4b2TkxxIDxqBbIOPSFz4eYdC1Ng_v4PzLgpES/s1454/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2016.46.59.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="714" height="685" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEq1yHmY3X0f3p7BTOj83fnXRSvC-7tyTLi5U9CVPMsse9TLKSwlk6aVQOJh4yEjYGrtoNoFop6ECerL6oT7wnVKPz6iAPT7NrWs0VycdQ3AgmrMOnx4rJs4anOzx1FfnLCydL5bOOWQmW78QzQHqVTkY4b2TkxxIDxqBbIOPSFz4eYdC1Ng_v4PzLgpES/w336-h685/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2016.46.59.png" width="336" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And, to be fair, it's not alone in not engaging with Google reviews...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Q60qSRwdesjXv7s4cTfiMhW0GAWmedfBIMRPfAmqRCoIunjWd1oBUcZIeDoMuoch16Z2SOSD2hnY_cAWFmAvVCuSvfncnK396cnMBkSW9c3FTXs7Cg4wdn7DljdTsOQOH72P8sBv9gOIPq4zTDADVIhKlcYhsWsAEM7h_HjQCybGSeN73_XLE4xD9g_e/s1508/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2019.29.33.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1508" data-original-width="640" height="950" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Q60qSRwdesjXv7s4cTfiMhW0GAWmedfBIMRPfAmqRCoIunjWd1oBUcZIeDoMuoch16Z2SOSD2hnY_cAWFmAvVCuSvfncnK396cnMBkSW9c3FTXs7Cg4wdn7DljdTsOQOH72P8sBv9gOIPq4zTDADVIhKlcYhsWsAEM7h_HjQCybGSeN73_XLE4xD9g_e/w404-h950/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2019.29.33.png" width="404" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>10</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Medical and healthcare</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiTDi3-s1PMiDEgXqVidMico4gG-C9e6goxQbdwmIhoHdE_sv7KERSNrx7ch9n9gNurLB7Zo4Ab1JTCNSZCyNUgOsUsWOPmIZRy3qjjYTyjuQ9QKy0VsgY5ucuhUZ9H-1cjo_TUT9Fq8wfuvAK0gnk5V_Q-BPhErQSWUwKu32h6XX6Uu4vSmOuZH6HBiL/s1400/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.30.00.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="706" height="778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiTDi3-s1PMiDEgXqVidMico4gG-C9e6goxQbdwmIhoHdE_sv7KERSNrx7ch9n9gNurLB7Zo4Ab1JTCNSZCyNUgOsUsWOPmIZRy3qjjYTyjuQ9QKy0VsgY5ucuhUZ9H-1cjo_TUT9Fq8wfuvAK0gnk5V_Q-BPhErQSWUwKu32h6XX6Uu4vSmOuZH6HBiL/w391-h778/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.30.00.png" width="391" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">GPs, specialists from ENT to oncology, hospitals, and nursing homes. Here we are often dealing not only with the person involved but with relations as well. Reviews - Google reviews - will be actively sought out <i>and</i> read. We stress 'read' because in the 1-6 categories a Google score will often be all the reassurance someone needs before contacting the business; in the case of medical and financial businesses, the reviews themselves are far more likely to be read.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The reason they all send you so many requests for reviews - either directly to them or to an otherwise obscure site, but almost never to Google, is because they - and/or their advisors - understand that a negative opinion will do far less harm on a specialist review site than on Google. It's a purely defensive measure. But it doesn't help those seeking out the right practitioner at all.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>A shining beacon</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There is one sector that has embraced Google reviews like no other, and we wonder if you can guess from the following clues which it is...</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The average transaction - across the whole of the UK - is just shy of £300,000</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The average revenue to the business - per transaction - is £4,000</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">It is one of the top 10 'Least trusted occupations' in the UK, after politicians and press!</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">...and you would think it would be one of the last to want to invite its customers to post their opinions to Google. But it's not. Why not?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Back in the middle of the last decade we were approached by a well-known and well-regarded Plc estate agency. They took the plunge when estate agencies had few reviews, and many of those reviews, across the profession, were negative (you can imagine the kind of thing, we're sure).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We had just introduced <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> - the function whereby every review that is posted through HelpHound is read and, if it contains errors of fact or potentially misleading statements, a process is initiated to ensure, as far as is legally possible within UK law and the CMA regulations, that those are corrected before publication. We already had enough experience of this moderation process to reassure Winkworth Plc that their franchisees would not be exposing their businesses to reputational risk (as would have definitely been the case without moderation - roughly 1 in every 10 reviews is subject to some kind of moderation, and many of those would cause considerable unfair damage to the business if published unchallenged). </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's just one of their offices on joining...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WZ8tVGowMK85kPuLTspv1Bdj9aHnrki9ZcM-iFFYFXNXwMzv5vt4_WuaHU1LP2NUj_poHHwpvYhPY3gPy8E6RAqoYd6URO_a0e5AzJyBXycUhmgDKD6tTIjuWqLpV57rs3NOmI2KM9OfBIZfcQSwORyO0jqFlVuuTTE2JMY7gmCWu6rTeTqbritw3eKz/s1516/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.51.44.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1516" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WZ8tVGowMK85kPuLTspv1Bdj9aHnrki9ZcM-iFFYFXNXwMzv5vt4_WuaHU1LP2NUj_poHHwpvYhPY3gPy8E6RAqoYd6URO_a0e5AzJyBXycUhmgDKD6tTIjuWqLpV57rs3NOmI2KM9OfBIZfcQSwORyO0jqFlVuuTTE2JMY7gmCWu6rTeTqbritw3eKz/w440-h272/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.51.44.png" width="440" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And now...</span></div><div><br /></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXex6VBSIjvQDPLAG9E5F8o3nu6Dq7iqNQrBymbsndWZg-jYPUWNvVR1CPLAFtmkCbYLnSYOvtAD5fPdUojWtP9HkLeFcfCxTFeanMKeX8FWiZ70eCiQHXaW-YKJ_-s1h7xjOixGcm9z5ufZ0WSn9D4pW4fLVoIWBzpKweePEpxflQNNjaTfCgf4CuQzW/s2450/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.52.34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="2450" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXex6VBSIjvQDPLAG9E5F8o3nu6Dq7iqNQrBymbsndWZg-jYPUWNvVR1CPLAFtmkCbYLnSYOvtAD5fPdUojWtP9HkLeFcfCxTFeanMKeX8FWiZ70eCiQHXaW-YKJ_-s1h7xjOixGcm9z5ufZ0WSn9D4pW4fLVoIWBzpKweePEpxflQNNjaTfCgf4CuQzW/w664-h247/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.52.34.png" width="664" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And in local search...</span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCep8D2eTa_jdsJuqyPu4DkWNOZCCsMsN7OmBvTvUub_c2btEhstUrnvTVUAI3aIAm0RYP86MlgZOvmp42gckslUNpjeDr7POIU8xFk4niJ5cHV2LxStR_CLjK7NgNYPS1d1jK0dr88PN5IR4RqqOh9SMmEoNCt5DcmiKjnKmWvNMMiLjbbNnCqYc4cj8/s1540/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.53.00.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1494" data-original-width="1540" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOCep8D2eTa_jdsJuqyPu4DkWNOZCCsMsN7OmBvTvUub_c2btEhstUrnvTVUAI3aIAm0RYP86MlgZOvmp42gckslUNpjeDr7POIU8xFk4niJ5cHV2LxStR_CLjK7NgNYPS1d1jK0dr88PN5IR4RqqOh9SMmEoNCt5DcmiKjnKmWvNMMiLjbbNnCqYc4cj8/w532-h515/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.53.00.png" width="532" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This, understandably, lit a fire across the entire profession when their competitors realised the power of Google reviews to drive business through their doors, so a search now looks like this...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48TxQi62XJvdTpCx2AWZfaf619WJCIPItk15ve4lFymSDI2YbEZeROqN2emK4C2eXct2a4pOK78x9Jd44ZEH77JkJN4q-dv8yM7xBwr4phkiV5eDPPtPRQstF000f2-Ztsovm0N8trAaqEviWobhpIJQMBGR_UDjmFx9zDkcV-ZCWNaBXNlLCobkn_EU0/s1398/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2018.07.17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1398" data-original-width="714" height="840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48TxQi62XJvdTpCx2AWZfaf619WJCIPItk15ve4lFymSDI2YbEZeROqN2emK4C2eXct2a4pOK78x9Jd44ZEH77JkJN4q-dv8yM7xBwr4phkiV5eDPPtPRQstF000f2-Ztsovm0N8trAaqEviWobhpIJQMBGR_UDjmFx9zDkcV-ZCWNaBXNlLCobkn_EU0/w428-h840/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2018.07.17.png" width="428" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We have examples of other high-value and sensitive sectors as well. For anyone thinking, quite understandably, that 'my clients/patients won't want to write publicly visible reviews', just take a look at this client and take a minute to <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=the+harper+clinic&sca_esv=584551767&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB1002GB1003&sxsrf=AM9HkKnKdW0iUA37rQSGT8wMF1FDgataHQ%3A1700650541117&ei=Ld5dZaXgBoOThbIP38WhsAk&ved=0ahUKEwjlqo_7uNeCAxWDSUEAHd9iCJYQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=the+harper+clinic&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiEXRoZSBoYXJwZXIgY2xpbmljMgoQIxiABBiKBRgnMhQQLhiABBiKBRjHARivARiOBRiRAjIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgYQABgIGB4yBhAAGAgYHjILEAAYgAQYigUYhgMyIxAuGIAEGIoFGMcBGK8BGI4FGJECGJcFGNwEGN4EGOAE2AEBSKYKUABYxAJwAHgBkAEAmAGKAaABmAOqAQMyLjK4AQPIAQD4AQHCAgcQIxiwAhgnwgIQEC4YgAQYDRjHARivARiOBcICCBAAGAgYBxgewgIfEC4YgAQYDRjHARivARiOBRiXBRjcBBjeBBjgBNgBAeIDBBgAIEGIBgG6BgYIARABGBQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp" target="_blank">read their reviews</a>...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6ibVXzgW-eFMaonXr7Azc6uRCgQWM3Dpx97iQKX4JN3gyNFIkuunhry-s9ztbGq4AvVjAuwVRhdTDUKkVQJsED79w6dvXAQstXm8PVPIVOHbf8qwOUYH8-9haskPKXNdrLbIiRG_zMSKqn1V3XW1kohjfRA9FXgYirje9FIzPSKfTD2_HNMcx30Mwdvf/s1316/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.59.14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1316" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC6ibVXzgW-eFMaonXr7Azc6uRCgQWM3Dpx97iQKX4JN3gyNFIkuunhry-s9ztbGq4AvVjAuwVRhdTDUKkVQJsED79w6dvXAQstXm8PVPIVOHbf8qwOUYH8-9haskPKXNdrLbIiRG_zMSKqn1V3XW1kohjfRA9FXgYirje9FIzPSKfTD2_HNMcx30Mwdvf/w484-h417/Screenshot%202023-11-20%20at%2017.59.14.png" width="484" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not a huge volume - but enough grateful patients to provide a very helpful impression have taken the trouble to post a review to the Clinic's own website and then on to Google</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The most complex and demanding businesses - and the consumers that use them - need reviews far more than simple ones, by a huge factor. The only thing stopping them is a safety net to prevent unfair reputational damage, and it's called </span><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">moderation</a><span style="font-family: arial;">. With moderation, the business can relax in the sure knowledge that the factually inaccurate, potentially misleading or just plain unfair reviews it might receive if it simply took the - unnecessary and unhelpful - risk and invited its customers to post a review directly to Google, will be highly unlikely to see the light of day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We hope this encourages businesses in those '6 - 10' sectors to become proactive - to give their prospective clients/customers/patients the moderated reviews* they crave and you will see enquiries/clicks and inbounds surge - guaranteed. </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>*Note:</b> alongside the safety features inherent in moderation there are other helpful 'side-effects'...</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><ol><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The reviews posted through a moderated system tend, on average, to be longer and more detailed and, as a result, more helpful to readers - your prospective customers. Consumers also report that they are far more likely to be convinced to interact with a business having read a detailed review (see 'Results' below)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Consumers that have posted a positive review of a business tend, on average, to be more likely to interact with that business on multiple occasions or remain as ongoing customers of the business they have reviewed</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Consumers are far less likely to post critical reviews of businesses when the review process is initiated by the business under review</span></li></ol></ol><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading</b></span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a> - protecting both business and consumer from factually inaccurate or potentially misleading reviews</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">Results</a> - businesses with great Google scores and significant numbers of reviews commonly see rises in both enquiries (often in the 15 - 25% range) and the quality of the resultant transaction</span></li></ul><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-63657857386144847302023-12-04T16:53:00.017+00:002024-02-04T17:36:57.960+00:00Review Moderation - and why it is essential for all professional and service businesses<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We were prompted to introduce moderation, way back in 2013, when a prospective client said...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"If my business gets 99 five-star reviews but one really well written but factually incorrect, or just plain unfair, review, all the wonderful impression made by the 99 may be undermined."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And they weren't wrong. If we look at the many thousands of reviews that have been corrected before publication by HelpHound's moderation process over the years, some were simply bad English, but so many were what we call 'call and click stoppers', the kind of 'factually inaccurate, potentially misleading or just plain unfair' review that will stop someone searching for a service from making that first vital contact with the business in question, even if it has been highly recommended by a friend or colleague.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How can we prove this? You would be right to ask. We have three answers to that key question...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1. Why have many businesses still not engaged with Google reviews?</b> Is it because they don't think scoring 4.8+ with 50 or more Google reviews will win them more new business?</span> </div><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With the help of our clients, we have proved that doing so will win between 15 and 25 percent more than the equivalent business with a lower score or fewer reviews - and not only in numbers, but in quality as well. See those exact numbers <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">So it's not that engaging with Google reviews is unproductive.</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The reason for the lack of engagement is simple: the businesses are, just like the potential client back in 2013, very much afraid of the damage a single unfair or inaccurate review will have on their inbound enquiries. They are searching, still, for a solution that will enable them to engage <i>with the absolute minimum of risk.</i></span></div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>2. Imagine your business receives a review like this... </b></span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzAhthYeXt55YsxVrBC9w_XwBqMaSMjqZijli5Rjm8bwEkB6TL066qQB1JIc8qhEj2dJxnbFFnkBOo1YCGlMMDSrMqHl2fmlkGFmOeMBwlMx0uSlif3bxaYFEfvABO628XfY3n38Bioa2VTFg3p24sIgc1cgANsEujSTTtb1-S5nxojA2y_kqG6FxkZEy/s1002/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2012.59.48.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1002" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLzAhthYeXt55YsxVrBC9w_XwBqMaSMjqZijli5Rjm8bwEkB6TL066qQB1JIc8qhEj2dJxnbFFnkBOo1YCGlMMDSrMqHl2fmlkGFmOeMBwlMx0uSlif3bxaYFEfvABO628XfY3n38Bioa2VTFg3p24sIgc1cgANsEujSTTtb1-S5nxojA2y_kqG6FxkZEy/w458-h458/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2012.59.48.png" width="458" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is an actual review (the firm's name redacted by us) left on a well-known review site. Luckily for the business the review did not appear on Google, where it would have been far more visible and done far more damage. As it is, the firm was awarded £25,000 in damages by the court. </span></div></blockquote><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNSjBQewgth6D-TIxQCWIvgS7YfsmIp1M-y-UsJbBp5m3Fw31N8U8RZ7BOG6TSPO1IwqjLWNp6pXOUuTo3F7fv3ycVhkwKYb_GxPgz_6kCIKVqgpGfhyphenhyphengH9lT1z8WC4OKz_n6kBhHZk58RalJVAplu5PYRJNfVqyssG9h75HpyF8xuULufXekhoQc7gjW/s1614/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2012.52.38.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="1614" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNSjBQewgth6D-TIxQCWIvgS7YfsmIp1M-y-UsJbBp5m3Fw31N8U8RZ7BOG6TSPO1IwqjLWNp6pXOUuTo3F7fv3ycVhkwKYb_GxPgz_6kCIKVqgpGfhyphenhyphengH9lT1z8WC4OKz_n6kBhHZk58RalJVAplu5PYRJNfVqyssG9h75HpyF8xuULufXekhoQc7gjW/w573-h68/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2012.52.38.png" width="573" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44GjD2GMRvufS0yF7x4fo7czl_qLQR8NsHvOS5J_VWDwDl_KUEWR9Qv60y4dv7jbotpd1utZ-dbjdheQTuBSPa-msz4-ebVOxesBnZRUDKaRoLNleUETjqFpGnCMkkYsTmtMuEAEdK42Qi3l7gz3ip3VR93_4k6JHKF89F6nQeN09NKN1IT0ot_L5wZVY/s1620/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2015.34.46.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="1620" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44GjD2GMRvufS0yF7x4fo7czl_qLQR8NsHvOS5J_VWDwDl_KUEWR9Qv60y4dv7jbotpd1utZ-dbjdheQTuBSPa-msz4-ebVOxesBnZRUDKaRoLNleUETjqFpGnCMkkYsTmtMuEAEdK42Qi3l7gz3ip3VR93_4k6JHKF89F6nQeN09NKN1IT0ot_L5wZVY/w567-h68/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2015.34.46.png" width="567" /></a><br /></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These two extracts from the Law Gazette reinforce our point; to the firm's undoubted chagrin the case was picked up by all the mainstream media, from the Mail to the Guardian to the TV news</span></div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The salient point here is that, unlike in US civil actions (where punitive damages may be awarded), the damage to the firm had to be proven beyond reasonable doubt to the judge. £25,000 is a lot of enquiries deflected by a single review, and the firm was able to prove its case. And can you imagine how much soul-searching took place before the firm went to court, with all the attendant publicity?</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Again, had this firm adopted a moderated solution, it is possible that the client in question would have gone down that route - at least initially; allowing the business at least the opportunity to resolve the issues he had.</span></p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: arial;">3. Another salutary tale: </b><span style="font-family: arial;">We had a client - every business has one such - that, despite us reducing their fees by 50% throughout Covid, taking it from a handful of Google reviews when it joined to critical mass (well over 200 reviews on its own site and in excess of 100 on Google, advising it on constructing an appeal against two extremely damaging negative Google reviews aquired before it joined (both far more potentially damaging than the one above - they were both on Google and both written by someone who understood the power of social media very well indeed - we were, among other things, able to identify the author) and visiting it on multiple occasions to explain its options, still persisted in cancelling its membership in order to invite their clients to post their reviews direct to Google, thus 'saving' them less than £200 a month.</span> </div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And imagine what happened next? They received <i>two more</i> damaging - and demonstrably unfair and misconceived - Google reviews, but this time, instead of having a moderated HelpHound feed on their website, they had a feed straight from Google - so double the exposure for those 1* reviews and the only too predictable damage to the flow of inbound enquiries.</span></div><p></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFneKTkKE-q2pc0V2ppDishMVprcQ6rDrN0ZZtoqMmWFamwCZUT5-8ZbVlI-yrZGfGrQkAWI4fcK0Xfy_-Yxn_Cqak5jNiskpeoCm3ypVaup80Z7gPHolJwXGdQAXmZoxOXxHmSL0jzDiFwQEhC5iv4-TOqheuJVIyQvRboZDBwrTx14-9ZFKIIDrZ6SXc/s1810/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2016.07.40.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1810" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFneKTkKE-q2pc0V2ppDishMVprcQ6rDrN0ZZtoqMmWFamwCZUT5-8ZbVlI-yrZGfGrQkAWI4fcK0Xfy_-Yxn_Cqak5jNiskpeoCm3ypVaup80Z7gPHolJwXGdQAXmZoxOXxHmSL0jzDiFwQEhC5iv4-TOqheuJVIyQvRboZDBwrTx14-9ZFKIIDrZ6SXc/w640-h370/Screenshot%202023-12-04%20at%2016.07.40.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This kind of Google reviews feed is available from a number of third-party suppliers, mostly US-based, as it is legal in the US to manipulate the feed so only positive reviews are shown. It is not legal to do so in the UK (or EU)</span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></blockquote><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We were called by its advisers and asked if we would be prepared to act on the business's behalf again in appealing both reviews to Google, a service we offer to all our clients. Our response was: of course, should they wish to rejoin. Instead it simply chose to delete the Google reviews feed from its website until such time as it had been able to muster sufficient new positive reviews to drive the damaging 1* reviews down the list. Cunning? Yes. <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">Legal? No</a>*. </span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">*It may be that the business in question is never sanctioned by the CMA, but it would be optimistic in the extreme to assume that none of their competitors had noticed the changes to their website. Playing fast and loose with reviews fatally undermines their value (by playing directly to the cynical consumer's 'You cant trust reviews' attitude), as well as calling the business's own ethics into question. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/12/helphound-fees-2024.html" target="_blank">follow this link</a> and read about our charges. Some clients view them as an insurance premium - their online reputation is, in their view, just as important and valuable and in need of protection as any other business asset; most, though, just like to be seen as offering their potential customers an effective and credible window onto the services they provide in a manner that is <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html">fully compliant</a> with UK legislation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>And finally...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We frequently meet businesses that have perfect - 5.0 - Google scores. When we meet these 'perfect' businesses we sometimes have to remind them that not all their customers are as 'perfect' as they are. Then they invariably look at each other and name names...'What would happen if we asked that Mr Jones from Reading to write a review?'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The author of the 'A total waste of money...' review shown above was just such a case. Great businesses need great review management. Welcome to HelpHound.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading</b></span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank"><b>Compliance with the law</b></a> - and how non-compliance hands compliant competitors a big win</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank"><b>Results</b></a> - professional review management will bring more customers to your door, guaranteed</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a></b> - more on this key ingredient (and, by the way, HelpHound currently offers the only moderated review management service, globally)</span></li></ol><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-19424501735452450512023-12-04T16:29:00.006+00:002024-03-11T11:15:02.646+00:00HelpHound fees - 2024<p><span style="font-family: arial;">As clients know, we have held our fees since well before the onset COVID-19 (we also reduced them by half for the duration of the pandemic). For 2024 we are introducing a new fee scale - this will reward clients that...</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">achieve critical mass with both their own and Google reviews</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">recommend us to other businesses</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The basic<b>*</b> fee scale is as follows...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Joining, set-up and implementation<span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span></span>£ 495</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Monthly<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span>£</span></span> 349</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span><span>until 100 reviews on own site and 50 on Google</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span>Monthly, after the above numbers are achieved<span> <span> </span> <span> </span>£ 145</span></span></span></span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hourly advisory fee<b>**</b><span><b> </b><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span><span>£ 295</span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span></span></span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><span><span>Drafting an appeal against a Google review<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span>£ 200-500</span></span></span></span></span> </p></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Important Notes:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>'Joining, set-up and implementation' </b>includes everything from supplying the code for your web designer to enable them to implement our API (or module) on your website to advising you how best to train your management and staff to achieve the optimum results from your membership.</li><li><b>The monthly fee</b> includes full moderation of every review submitted via your website or any other mechanism - your email to your customer inviting them to submit their review, for instance - and full support by our client services team from 9-5 on every weekday as well as an emergency number to contact us outside those hours</li><li>The <b>reduced monthly fee</b> reflects the fact that once these numbers are achieved you and your management and staff are likely to need far less input from HelpHound - you will have achieved critical mass on both your own website and on Google, where the positive results of Professional Review Management really begin to bear fruit: increased enquiries through both your own website and through Google search.</li><li><b>Drafting a Google appeal</b>: the chances of you needing this service after you have joined HelpHound are much reduced (our moderation will ensure that) but in cases where a customer - or another poster: a disappointed applicant or a competitor - writes a review, direct to Google, that contravenes their terms of service we will use our extensive experience to draft an appeal to Google.</li><li><b>*The fees outlined above</b> are 'per location' and assume a flow of reviews to the business's website of <= 30 per calendar month. In instances of businesses with multiple locations/branches a scale of reduced fees will be applicable. In cases where review flows average significantly in excess of 30 per month, fees will be agreed on a case-by-case between HelpHound and our client.</li><li><b>**Advisory fees</b>: these are charged when a business requires detailed advice on integrating review management with its CRM processes. They are not charged for the initial consultation and are waived entirely in cases where HelpHound's own software (API) is implemented as part of the recommended solution.</li><li>If <b>travel outside the M25</b> London Orbital is required, both time and out-of-pocket expenses will be charged.</li></ol><div><br /></div><div><b>Initial meetings</b></div><div><br /></div><div>We will begin with an online meeting to establish your business's exact requirements, during which we will agree on a strategy for implementation and training. In the majority of cases this meeting - which is free - will be all that we both need to progress to full implementation. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Recommending HelpHound</b></div><div><br /></div><div>As any business knows, some of the best new clients often come by recommendation from existing clients. In this case, HelpHound credits the recommending business with 25% of the fees invoiced to the recommended business for the first year of membership. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Further reading</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2024/01/a-new-years-guarantee.html" target="_blank">Partnering with HelpHound</a> - a great way to help non-competitive business contacts and add an income stream for your own business</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2024/01/a-new-years-guarantee.html" target="_blank">A guarantee of success</a> - rare in the world of business services, HelpHound guarantees success</li></ul></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-22095479876943554752023-11-28T14:14:00.007+00:002023-11-29T12:50:55.630+00:00Reviews 101 - or 'The beginner's Guide to Reviews'<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Notice we say 'The...guide' not 'A...guide'. HelpHound has been advising businesses about reviews since the middle of first decade of this century. There are more than a million words on this blog alone - Tolstoy's 'War & Peace' contains a mere 587,000! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So: follow the advice contained in this article and the links embedded in it and your business will thrive - at least as far as reviews and their potential to drive new customers are concerned. On the other hand, continue to ignore the power of reviews or listen to a salesperson from a review site and opportunities of all kinds will be missed and your competitors will gain a head start that may become insurmountable.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Note: </b>HelpHound is all about <b>Review Management</b>, a term we coined back in 2009, just eighteen months after Google first introduced their review function. Back then we ran a review site - similar to Trustpilot, Feefo, Yelp and the others, but we soon realised that professional and service businesses were always going to be served best by Google reviews, because consumers were being given a one-stop review service with visibility and credibility that could never be matched by a review site.</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We might have simply folded the business right then but for the fact that we realised that Google had no intention of <b>moderating</b> - another HelpHound word meaning 'ensuring the factual accuracy and veracity of' - their reviews and that if they were to be of significant value to the business under review and the readers of those reviews then moderation would be essential. <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a> remains the core of the value we add for all our stakeholders - clients, their customers, reviewers and consumers, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">not to mention Google, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">relying on reviews to be accurate - right up until today.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Lastly: </b>you only need to click on the hyperlinks if you wish to mine down into the subject under discussion. We recommend you read all of this article before you do so. And then speak to one of us.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>In the beginning</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It became rapidly apparent that professional and service business reviews were of immense value to consumers: far more so than product reviews (helpful as those might be). A consumer requiring a medical, financial, legal or educational professional to look after their health, investments, legal issues or children's education was going to pay far more attention to, and have a far greater requirement for, reliable reviews. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Put simply: a product with a headline review score of 4 out of 5 will sell and <i>the underlying reviews are highly unlikely to be read</i>, a service needs to score 4.8+ and <i>the reviews themselves <b>will</b> be read.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Your business's starting point</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Will be one of the following...</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">It has no reviews, or very few</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">It has many Google reviews - because it has realised the value of reviews and, as a result, has been inviting selected customers* to write reviews to Google</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">It has focussed on a review site - the likes of Trustpilot or Feefo or Reviews.io</span></li></ol><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">*those reading this article are likely to describe their customers as 'clients' or 'patients', in the main. For simplicity's sake we will refer to them as either 'customers' or 'consumers' depending on the context.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">From the very beginning, it became clear that businesses in category 2 gained far more business than the equivalent businesses in categories 1 and 3. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Category 1</b> businesses were either very small, very new or very nervous. The first of those three are self-explanatory, the third - 'very nervous' requires further explanation: they were - are - nervous of having inaccurate or misleading (and therefore damaging, from the business's point-of-view) reviews written to Google. And they are right to be: we would never advocate that a business in a complex area, easily misunderstood by the layman, invite customers to write a Google review about its service without some form of safety net. Hence <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> (see more on this below).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Category 1</b> businesses were missing out of the power of Google reviews to bring new customers to their door via search and <b>Category 3</b> businesses were expending energy acquiring reviews that were going to be seen by far fewer potential customers - at least until they reached the business's website - than if those reviews were posted to Google. Of course, a 4.7 rating of a shirt will support sales on your website, but we're not talking about online retailers here - we're talking about professional services, and those need the superior visibility and influence of Google. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Moderation</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It comes under the heading of 'boring, but absolutely essential', like making sure there's engine oil and anti-freeze in your car. It means: getting the review written in private first and then vetted for accuracy by an independent intermediary - in this case, HelpHound - before it is subsequently published on the business's own website and on Google.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The business's website?</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45pf485YVx9Ba7SQB-GHWtD90LJSQcqfVo-xHweYpAGRxUPaP1hHwWDGzIq-0QZSIT05l091oOlltiJZreQSHH6QS5UYskryxohikKkTk3xNShgfwn3eFnnUfnq6PbvV7mEtdRdsvvOPiUxr8pB6OEpyw0QLC8PBclyIe8TTav_B7W078y-vc3o9tYqU8/s1844/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2018.22.08.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1844" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45pf485YVx9Ba7SQB-GHWtD90LJSQcqfVo-xHweYpAGRxUPaP1hHwWDGzIq-0QZSIT05l091oOlltiJZreQSHH6QS5UYskryxohikKkTk3xNShgfwn3eFnnUfnq6PbvV7mEtdRdsvvOPiUxr8pB6OEpyw0QLC8PBclyIe8TTav_B7W078y-vc3o9tYqU8/w632-h456/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2018.22.08.png" width="632" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The reviews hosted on this Harley Street clinic's website <i>are </i>read by prospective patients (29 readers have voted the 'Life Changing' review at bottom right 'helpful') - do we think that they are convincing? you read them and be the judge</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Once you accept that reviews drive business - enquiries, calls and clicks - then it becomes self-evident that having those reviews prominently displayed on the business's website is <i>a good thing</i>. The fact that this allows the business to capture valuable data on its customer's opinions and make sure those opinions are not damagingly misleading is a double benefit.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Obeying/breaking the law</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">here we are talking about <b>Category 2</b> businesses. Many currently break the law, which states that businesses must not...</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">'<b>Cherry-pick</b>' customers to write reviews. You are not allowed to invite happy customers to write reviews - - anywhere - to the exclusion of other customers or stakeholders</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">'<b>Gate</b>' - gating means employing any mechanism that filters customers to establish which are most likely to write a 5* review of the business. A common way of gating includes sending out a customer survey and then only inviting those who indicate 100% satisfaction to write a review </span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We understand <i>why </i>they break the law, some without even realising they are doing so: they know they need to look great on Google but they are - again, rightly - terrified of attracting factually incorrect or just plain unfair reviews if they follow the CMA regulations. Boy, are Category 2 businesses pleased to encounter HelpHound!</span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Category 3 - review sites</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPbUc7XjU1uqxIAUWfQfaFUuZvl8YvTMU8yZiK99gySr6lMg-8Lb1W5qRLurtggNRJjckm789sQ2So2dXarIX30ZvCZd7kBHopD3zlYuW5ByKVRkdsNOC9UaG_7cUMwq58SqI18vPwuDh3ZuOUIPtrVxb2_PsFKkZLKJSH7Kq9AvKSSg4Ju-g6k6UI44y/s1314/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2018.39.36.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="1314" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPbUc7XjU1uqxIAUWfQfaFUuZvl8YvTMU8yZiK99gySr6lMg-8Lb1W5qRLurtggNRJjckm789sQ2So2dXarIX30ZvCZd7kBHopD3zlYuW5ByKVRkdsNOC9UaG_7cUMwq58SqI18vPwuDh3ZuOUIPtrVxb2_PsFKkZLKJSH7Kq9AvKSSg4Ju-g6k6UI44y/w636-h266/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2018.39.36.png" width="636" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Why would a business such as this ask its customers to review it on a review site with far, far less visibility than Google (on the right)? Furthermore, why would a business pay a review site - Google reviews are free - when it includes the following in the business's <a href="https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.wiltshirefarmfoods.com" target="_blank">listing</a>...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7o2bvc1-mj0_4p1d79know7ZAiNWdFdPOtT0bOSr-7QztXQ5SLRPp8Gb9M9q7-yOGdUzRu-zwo66530iaNmYowRw4lmHQLe1lLf7diE9s0MqsXSXwU7L4UBrzoqA0hEj2KOlXPEJrxx2n8gHCnPF3bGy6_Ebt8c77eFkA05sKlZb6-Ky_lZ6XQkkKUMc/s1026/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2018.45.11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1026" data-original-width="642" height="579" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif7o2bvc1-mj0_4p1d79know7ZAiNWdFdPOtT0bOSr-7QztXQ5SLRPp8Gb9M9q7-yOGdUzRu-zwo66530iaNmYowRw4lmHQLe1lLf7diE9s0MqsXSXwU7L4UBrzoqA0hEj2KOlXPEJrxx2n8gHCnPF3bGy6_Ebt8c77eFkA05sKlZb6-Ky_lZ6XQkkKUMc/w362-h579/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2018.45.11.png" width="362" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Businesses that are paying for review sites fall into two distinct categories...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Those in retail - online or otherwise - need a review score to support sales. There's no doubt that a Trustpilot 'badge' next to a product reassures purchasers of products (as opposed to services).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8IAi-Svpl50HWrllYhhg9vMsRb94y5L0YBxEnbic34WmO0keU5tBLohOOAwD7vDDIVzil5ImgQWuJK6jGVGimYPRyW4V4CwY3c5NB6CPXf5nDXsR63YSS7l5uDjdCfxG5yymKzY2dARHiBfY4ySMGP57CEEbfHeSEhaYAAOijAEVNrBKjwAMWcOfm-gHy/s1352/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2019.13.58.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="1352" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8IAi-Svpl50HWrllYhhg9vMsRb94y5L0YBxEnbic34WmO0keU5tBLohOOAwD7vDDIVzil5ImgQWuJK6jGVGimYPRyW4V4CwY3c5NB6CPXf5nDXsR63YSS7l5uDjdCfxG5yymKzY2dARHiBfY4ySMGP57CEEbfHeSEhaYAAOijAEVNrBKjwAMWcOfm-gHy/w661-h294/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2019.13.58.png" width="661" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A professional/service company that has suffered by choosing a review site over Google reviews. The results on the left are only available for potential clients who bother to visit the review site, those on the right are seen by all. Just look at the search result below...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQaMkYWkeclSv8Cag03DaYeLagCIUbcj4s_fmk9ioviAj1eIlZEE7WfhzgGGlD0vRasXFAsvJMuLCBaMV5_C9GcJRLMzEPymN4R6u7CCBZNwNKu-oMdaNX78cpxkw0F3Y9BcnwjvqE5Z4vLbxOCwMPxL5no1prR54paMCGZCkJw2fc09YbA_Q1ycGkarT/s2544/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2019.27.05.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="2544" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQaMkYWkeclSv8Cag03DaYeLagCIUbcj4s_fmk9ioviAj1eIlZEE7WfhzgGGlD0vRasXFAsvJMuLCBaMV5_C9GcJRLMzEPymN4R6u7CCBZNwNKu-oMdaNX78cpxkw0F3Y9BcnwjvqE5Z4vLbxOCwMPxL5no1prR54paMCGZCkJw2fc09YbA_Q1ycGkarT/w663-h233/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2019.27.05.png" width="663" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>...the business's Google score and reviews are displayed in the knowledge panel on the right for all to see, read and access - ouch! Their Trustpilot reviews? Nowhere in the top 50 organic results of the same search. Would your business </span><i style="font-family: arial;">pay</i><span style="font-family: arial;"> for this?</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Those in the services and professions - that have either been 'sold to' by the review sites (they all spend impressive amounts on sales and marketing) or have simply failed to find a better solution. The latter - the professions and allied service businesses - should focus on getting reviews<i> to Google and their own websites</i>. This advice is unequivocal: Google's reviews have an unrivalled profile in search, and this, coupled with their credibility (the fact that the business is not paying them to host reviews is part of that) makes it a hands-down winner where impact and effectiveness are concerned.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>What should your business do?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">No matter what category your business currently finds itself in, it should look to adopt professional review management going forwards. Then it will...</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">get significant numbers of reviews on its own website</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">get significant numbers of them copied to Google</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">be fully compliant with UK and EU law - from day one</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">enhance its SEO</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">stand out in every search</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">receive measurably more clicks and calls</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">have wonderful ammunition for sales and marketing</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">make your management and staff proud</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And, before you know it, your business will look like this...</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Yf5PiF2FwDMDv0E4Cr1fK8xQB4eVaDnhgewEen1UDahi9AH96uW0vdTh8YP-Jp4gVvifWh5xKL_bGcKHhgfAHyXXCQGUPU7kgo3qKpHbRzA0HPb4TPY4t1zBAKlNp4wMHoqEPdBWuv8Zbl2pksJY9hagTKy3od5Zg70bOAA9j7NTt6u0irQb5Sn-3Qmy/s2192/Screenshot%202023-11-28%20at%2008.53.44.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="2192" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Yf5PiF2FwDMDv0E4Cr1fK8xQB4eVaDnhgewEen1UDahi9AH96uW0vdTh8YP-Jp4gVvifWh5xKL_bGcKHhgfAHyXXCQGUPU7kgo3qKpHbRzA0HPb4TPY4t1zBAKlNp4wMHoqEPdBWuv8Zbl2pksJY9hagTKy3od5Zg70bOAA9j7NTt6u0irQb5Sn-3Qmy/w658-h313/Screenshot%202023-11-28%20at%2008.53.44.png" width="658" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">...on its own website - with the 'Write a review' button (arrow/swoosh) ensuring compliance by enabling anyone to write a review (don't worry! Remember they will all be moderated), and like this...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjWT-W4O1dZEFVPoBTk3OGNKWF5TIRIMxTFjakWCZy7N5roHkjk0qfJae-K9-srX5gHPZ3qK8RpPKfGGuPvp_miOGkdWygR-KfGycGHMsmGulqOst8pc3o-QGcsMIOXqYTElsDb8KZvkGOJxRQ1EzY0kZMiwPvAmtNNqnzXu_c9Jvn66WI9_78T697QPD/s1194/Screenshot%202023-11-28%20at%2013.52.26.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="1194" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjWT-W4O1dZEFVPoBTk3OGNKWF5TIRIMxTFjakWCZy7N5roHkjk0qfJae-K9-srX5gHPZ3qK8RpPKfGGuPvp_miOGkdWygR-KfGycGHMsmGulqOst8pc3o-QGcsMIOXqYTElsDb8KZvkGOJxRQ1EzY0kZMiwPvAmtNNqnzXu_c9Jvn66WI9_78T697QPD/w559-h528/Screenshot%202023-11-28%20at%2013.52.26.png" width="559" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ultimately having the best chance to lead local search, with stars (5) and a rating (4.9) pulled from its own reviews (573), unlike its competitors</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">...in local search, whenever a potential customer is looking for a business in your sector, and like this...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpT_YuuYyAD4hoVeHf8uLdxyG6KCft0QE7zsxodh1Nn3L6vHUQ2Qa7T4btFSO4vMIF94N0CVTYt3ZJny9sfNdVaG1KoEgfClucFykSCJLuYrt0ByNvG6SNv6nJzeyeSnnK_ITvFqM57RCemgcBIOYFm4DitzKa24P6l6ItvX4ePIwNtMORgivJbbZlMZsE/s1292/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2021.56.13.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="1292" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpT_YuuYyAD4hoVeHf8uLdxyG6KCft0QE7zsxodh1Nn3L6vHUQ2Qa7T4btFSO4vMIF94N0CVTYt3ZJny9sfNdVaG1KoEgfClucFykSCJLuYrt0ByNvG6SNv6nJzeyeSnnK_ITvFqM57RCemgcBIOYFm4DitzKa24P6l6ItvX4ePIwNtMORgivJbbZlMZsE/w476-h76/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2021.56.13.png" width="476" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Scoring at least 4.8 from hundreds of Google reviews. Even the most cynical or sceptical consumer is forced to admit that over three hundred reviewers can't be that far wrong - especially when they read the content of the reviews for themselves (you can do just that by googling 'Winkworth Kingsbury' to see exactly what a prospective fee payer sees)</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">... whenever a potential client searches for your business specifically (those looking for contact details having been recommended by a friend, for instance).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HeHmhOd9GGYLD_7TIpaWreKum-HLXSs5fnloJ0f90RgWleaH373_Vd8co3Si310IlMT0cP8vWJieKUkf52xLahKDsymgm8s4qzaT189giuMZzmJ4Z30qyILaDfr5OWl08dHaipymkSYSYYHfiAsjOiRHoZpx_ts49wGkL6OCMidSPpUqSszDCaFg2tET/s374/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2022.12.30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="356" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8HeHmhOd9GGYLD_7TIpaWreKum-HLXSs5fnloJ0f90RgWleaH373_Vd8co3Si310IlMT0cP8vWJieKUkf52xLahKDsymgm8s4qzaT189giuMZzmJ4Z30qyILaDfr5OWl08dHaipymkSYSYYHfiAsjOiRHoZpx_ts49wGkL6OCMidSPpUqSszDCaFg2tET/w223-h234/Screenshot%202023-11-27%20at%2022.12.30.png" width="223" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Taken from a new client's first meaningful Google My Business report. What would you give to have your business's calls and other inbounds rise by a similar amount?</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Can you imagine the impact on your potential customers? If you have any trouble doing so please read <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">this article</a> which focuses entirely on the uplift in enquiries through Google search and your own website and the equally impressive rise in the <i>quality </i>of the resultant business transacted.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Professional review management combined with <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> will achieve the following:</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">a steady flow of reviews to your website and your Google listing</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">an increasing flow of enquiries through both</span></li></ul><span style="font-family: arial;">Secure in the knowledge that your business will be protected from factually inaccurate, potentially misleading or even downright malicious reviews.</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Welcome to professional review management and welcome to HelpHound. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading...</b></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">Results</a> - they're why you have read this far!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">Compliance</a> - boring but essential</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a> - less boring, but equally essential</span></li></ul></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-73965991050147069032023-11-24T11:28:00.001+00:002023-11-24T11:28:10.982+00:00Review sites - could this be why they are so attractive to some businesses?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Why would any business choose any of these...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9_7uDmKV5sHyrCYb80QELSLjCCBjtINj0mtXFwnRFHF6ePSU39EgnV1hKfUX7WjSRI7CQQ89VC1HeGpJgVUYgqFBT_YGeZ6ZVEev_sU-O-ZWuRVNiMJZtU7zz2G_mVcJdKato-jxyPW_Zwhrx2fWOi0TSzHV63uhxBDGf6_qUspZMUSIg7DJQatB4uly/s638/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.10.06.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="638" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9_7uDmKV5sHyrCYb80QELSLjCCBjtINj0mtXFwnRFHF6ePSU39EgnV1hKfUX7WjSRI7CQQ89VC1HeGpJgVUYgqFBT_YGeZ6ZVEev_sU-O-ZWuRVNiMJZtU7zz2G_mVcJdKato-jxyPW_Zwhrx2fWOi0TSzHV63uhxBDGf6_qUspZMUSIg7DJQatB4uly/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.10.06.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0C4Xamh5HHWZ8inZj7qQcKxZcngXBPF8Hph7AiuGOIHOpnE1qeJLVN1S0BwqkVspaiV-dTAAmHGPaJdH5MVQKK4LLvdpLBTwoCTvfkmukC4MzMoFkMMTWg2SIHl6bQmNsPxdiwkvvYgMylDT9YFDWCeFiFfmLyMpTeTW6tpH7Ybc8CTJ0sKl3PJdqTCY/s454/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.10.39.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="454" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0C4Xamh5HHWZ8inZj7qQcKxZcngXBPF8Hph7AiuGOIHOpnE1qeJLVN1S0BwqkVspaiV-dTAAmHGPaJdH5MVQKK4LLvdpLBTwoCTvfkmukC4MzMoFkMMTWg2SIHl6bQmNsPxdiwkvvYgMylDT9YFDWCeFiFfmLyMpTeTW6tpH7Ybc8CTJ0sKl3PJdqTCY/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.10.39.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYz3UgJywRgQbj4GltSMQh_7de-Lvcb-TmrBvhDndQxufJkZFv_h1rmlIi_NbNQMGlkltn-mk81V93nyuUytBaPNeryRNCGvca4Dxj8SS0UI0I3sv_dABUnl1no11bE3SvVJy720czZN-LuInr9OiJHq6FpHOZkLB8FvEko-PG8tzkrmbRXpXooo58sQ9/s626/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.11.00.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="626" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYz3UgJywRgQbj4GltSMQh_7de-Lvcb-TmrBvhDndQxufJkZFv_h1rmlIi_NbNQMGlkltn-mk81V93nyuUytBaPNeryRNCGvca4Dxj8SS0UI0I3sv_dABUnl1no11bE3SvVJy720czZN-LuInr9OiJHq6FpHOZkLB8FvEko-PG8tzkrmbRXpXooo58sQ9/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.11.00.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTd_qvP_Bh6qhW0zW6PNkfJ7xOwY9D2q1JAeZhzs9LjZYWWffwAIfa8R5p9tLOXHvJ5qkKo86yhgZOjwI1vob3EvdevhxbcLl8iMQjCTC01eQRyhp5FL-7mNKiU2C3nkc3THEyoBK_IjpDh3I8SFsRM0TDuMlARWPcmi9MpEOtnHuUeeYcqo5gPBfuBVJ/s572/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.13.23.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="572" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTd_qvP_Bh6qhW0zW6PNkfJ7xOwY9D2q1JAeZhzs9LjZYWWffwAIfa8R5p9tLOXHvJ5qkKo86yhgZOjwI1vob3EvdevhxbcLl8iMQjCTC01eQRyhp5FL-7mNKiU2C3nkc3THEyoBK_IjpDh3I8SFsRM0TDuMlARWPcmi9MpEOtnHuUeeYcqo5gPBfuBVJ/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.13.23.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Over these?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6tcpsjU9n169rhUInsH5S8eKwOP-vKD1SZrMR0cgjyjutLT8p8xJNOhvou1bMRHKrTp2kwM6K9zyBIFNGvy30H5pCfIdXb6ILxfsytZZxwU1UNa8q-hww_Npv9TLUCkp5Au9PvuiejkqzVp8cGUFSQ7pc77ER2kA9dIfsclBVo4kZR2NaMlWkfOEP3bD/s554/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.11.27.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="554" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6tcpsjU9n169rhUInsH5S8eKwOP-vKD1SZrMR0cgjyjutLT8p8xJNOhvou1bMRHKrTp2kwM6K9zyBIFNGvy30H5pCfIdXb6ILxfsytZZxwU1UNa8q-hww_Npv9TLUCkp5Au9PvuiejkqzVp8cGUFSQ7pc77ER2kA9dIfsclBVo4kZR2NaMlWkfOEP3bD/s320/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.11.27.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It has long been a puzzle - and not just to us here at HelpHound, <a href="https://www.reviews.io/company-reviews/store/trustpilot" target="_blank">just look at one of them on another review site</a>...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHaSvKfryJgw-pAovcmwcYH-pdLm-W8J7TBgNBSQKO9TkWoGZkbzAxv2KK6g1SKiPDmdc0YX9Ml134aTbdJboLYTXIpXqp8dBNg34XQKd8dmTo6DUqNSaem7o_V7T61qC3qNwA8beyToTGh19NaTntpxnjSuRC25uuFvnR69DdM3fVFUBXewQiSCyjWCI/s2352/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.19.37.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="2352" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHaSvKfryJgw-pAovcmwcYH-pdLm-W8J7TBgNBSQKO9TkWoGZkbzAxv2KK6g1SKiPDmdc0YX9Ml134aTbdJboLYTXIpXqp8dBNg34XQKd8dmTo6DUqNSaem7o_V7T61qC3qNwA8beyToTGh19NaTntpxnjSuRC25uuFvnR69DdM3fVFUBXewQiSCyjWCI/w601-h148/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.19.37.png" width="601" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">...and, to be scrupulously fair, <a href="https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.reviews.io" target="_blank">reviews of that site on Trustpilot</a>...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RGTHH1xmMCS6xf_-d98RxxBLcsuEpkOZUNAbla5bSH5Q4mp7GUGuJUjRswixCiPkScsAZC-Dnb5Aa3QCdFe4FhuA1en9JQfbwXuHwT_Nu5pz_8eZZGb1EaDhb0W1cuSl4DfmLP5X8u1lPSb5QCYSgT7mb8SBTphstWp6hg8OZLhNY7cU8OogaIEztdG2/s2218/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.18.02.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="2218" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RGTHH1xmMCS6xf_-d98RxxBLcsuEpkOZUNAbla5bSH5Q4mp7GUGuJUjRswixCiPkScsAZC-Dnb5Aa3QCdFe4FhuA1en9JQfbwXuHwT_Nu5pz_8eZZGb1EaDhb0W1cuSl4DfmLP5X8u1lPSb5QCYSgT7mb8SBTphstWp6hg8OZLhNY7cU8OogaIEztdG2/w572-h145/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.18.02.png" width="572" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">...and Trustpilot (UK) on Google...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduu-nwP_pOSJtXZpO5EzY8NU7iKuGzDYE3dxMya4Hxz3qgzEiW7eyOjg_IO3ZhDFC5jBkiM7o-rj1e61fEDOmE6A_TE-GDdDGYygWw_Fe58RtELwTnPsVySoB0fLj217FrS78YDmH79UuNs53D5KOA2UUxesNEAyVEkiWVoPiLS2zFGqMQDwxxoJ-W9zB/s1300/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.16.10.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="1300" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgduu-nwP_pOSJtXZpO5EzY8NU7iKuGzDYE3dxMya4Hxz3qgzEiW7eyOjg_IO3ZhDFC5jBkiM7o-rj1e61fEDOmE6A_TE-GDdDGYygWw_Fe58RtELwTnPsVySoB0fLj217FrS78YDmH79UuNs53D5KOA2UUxesNEAyVEkiWVoPiLS2zFGqMQDwxxoJ-W9zB/w517-h467/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.16.10.png" width="517" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And their Copenhagen HQ?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqlv039hZkXGKochjduFxLpp-prnTxxwyKVhl1JICxKSTui-XFqCQ8Rs8s4ceSV-1FXNN-OvDESgQkGOW-z4sKbSSe5T26KOyYr0flB5HNPX7LlwxmacNCUuXLI4uvwvIXAUtz-oJFHRZjbJJgMmyLzNVFhPrDx3j3W_MERChi5BCWNM_Z202Z5DNNuDP/s1320/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.22.27.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1320" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqlv039hZkXGKochjduFxLpp-prnTxxwyKVhl1JICxKSTui-XFqCQ8Rs8s4ceSV-1FXNN-OvDESgQkGOW-z4sKbSSe5T26KOyYr0flB5HNPX7LlwxmacNCUuXLI4uvwvIXAUtz-oJFHRZjbJJgMmyLzNVFhPrDx3j3W_MERChi5BCWNM_Z202Z5DNNuDP/w472-h437/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.22.27.png" width="472" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's our question for any service or professional business using Trustpilot or Feefo (or Yelp - although they pulled their sales operation out of the UK and EU a while ago) in preference to Google reviews (we acknowledge that online retailers simply use it to reinforce sales of individual products - although, even in that context, we constantly find reviews of product A being used to promote product B). Why would you pay a review site when Google reviews that are...</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>more visible - far <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/reviews-in-2023-key-indicators.html" target="_blank">more visible</a></i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>credible - far <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/reviews-in-2023-key-indicators.html" target="_blank">more credible</a> </i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>easy to collect</i></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">...and - wait for it - <i><b>free</b></i>?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We wrote about the obvious answer years ago - and there's a clue in many of the negative reviews - the fact that the review sites offer what we consider to be marginally compliant benefits to businesses that have the ultimate effect of reducing the number of negative - 1* - reviews that are published. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSLmTszDZkXVmKbkUMFsmD_yFlse7xi_fRKBv8ONtbus2au4d0bPC-BLE3oZaBXn1yOXRjrOLAyiN-kwegxxE21uIVqKqUMp66ymaroOocWmCB7Q8EK2K19b6NhSGmqgLr0soHsmjQWOBPmFE9ytm1NkB2WiMcyolWR3GK8mQ_qatojy7kPGDgqKOVF9G/s2020/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.57.07.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="2020" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSLmTszDZkXVmKbkUMFsmD_yFlse7xi_fRKBv8ONtbus2au4d0bPC-BLE3oZaBXn1yOXRjrOLAyiN-kwegxxE21uIVqKqUMp66ymaroOocWmCB7Q8EK2K19b6NhSGmqgLr0soHsmjQWOBPmFE9ytm1NkB2WiMcyolWR3GK8mQ_qatojy7kPGDgqKOVF9G/w561-h306/Screenshot%202023-11-10%20at%2015.57.07.png" width="561" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A review site may be just what a business in retail - online especially - needs when it is looking for support for its advertising and marketing. This business, for instance, has more than 4,000 one-star reviews, but few prospective customers will look past their five-star rating to the actual reviews themselves</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>In the case of Trustpilot, that consists of what we call 'quarantine' where a business can challenge any review - weirdly they don't seem to challenge 5* reviews! - and the reviewer is then required to provide proof that they have used the business - invoices/emails or the like. We can hear some readers saying 'That's a great idea!' but it has at least one disastrous unforeseen consequence which we christened '<a href="https://www.helphound.info/2018/05/deflection-its-becoming-epidemic.html" target="_blank">deflection</a>' many years ago - the savvy rejected/unpublished reviewers and their one-star reviews simply migrate to Google, damaging the business in question's image there, for all to see. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">But it has now dawned on us that there is another reason...<i>lack of visibility </i>in search. How would <i>not appearing in search</i> be seen as a benefit? Simple really, when you think about it: it gives the business far more control over who exactly sees their review score or the reviews themselves. Use Google reviews and the world</span><span style="font-family: arial;">, including every one of your prospective customers, will see your reviews. Use a review site and they will only see them when and where the business wants them to (few customers bother to visit the review sites) - in its marketing and advertising and exactly how and where it wants them displayed on its website.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If we were consumers - and of course we are, after hours! - we would be asking any business that has adopted a review site 'Just why?' 'Why not Google?' With a <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated system</a> such as HelpHound protecting a business from inaccurate, potentially misleading or just plain unfair reviews and ensuring that their positive reviews make sense too, and getting them to both the business's website and to Google, there's no reason to give up the vastly superior credibility, visibility and longevity (they'll definitely still be around in ten years'</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> time) of Google reviews.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you sell products - stick with your review site - if you provide a professional service we heartily recommend you invest the money saved in HelpHound membership and start looking amazing in Google searches - <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">compliantly</a>.</span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-61032132035837602532023-11-13T13:36:00.008+00:002023-11-15T17:19:45.243+00:00Why did they join? - and why do they remain members?<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Those of you who read '<a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/10/how-to-succeed-with-reviews-secrets-of.html" target="_blank">How to Succeed with Reviews</a>' last week will know that we have been speaking to some of our most successful members recently - more than we usually do! - so we could pass on the secrets of their success to new members. It won't come as a great surprise, we are sure, to find that once we had finished mining for those nuggets we went on to ask them what attracted them to HelpHound in the first place and - just as importantly, if not more so - what, once they understood HelpHound and how their managers, staff, clients and customers reacted to their relationship with us, they valued us as the relationship matured?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We weren't surprised to find that some of the less obvious benefits at inception became more valued as time passed - we hope you find these illuminating.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>A note</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We have used estate agency clients to illustrate this article - as we often do - everyone understands the stresses and strains involved in buying or selling, letting or renting a property, and we can all imagine just how often estate agency clients and other stakeholders misunderstand aspects of what can be a complex and stressful transaction, with the potential for factually inaccurate or potentially misleading - and ultimately very damaging for the businesses concerned - reviews. In the following article you will find multiple references to <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> - the process whereby we ensure that the vast majority of our clients' reviews are accurate and fair - and we make no apology for those; if there is one thing that sets HelpHound apart from every other review solution on the planet it is our moderation service, which we would suggest is essential - vital - if any professional or service business is to engage with, and benefit from, effective review management. </span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before reading on, we would ask you to read this review, of a service even more complex and easily misunderstood (and, dare we say, vital) than estate agency: medicine. Then ask yourself if you think such a business would be likely to engage with Google reviews without the safety net provided by HelpHound's moderation...</span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WAQdbD4m3GEcVX_U1fbRzHdrIHuAHiegtJiEi2ow98HQN3N3FfSMoWVfKW8igjn9UvE1foQElJHgJ6qxyVj6Xxp-8chkxqjlN1sJ_RjlMIrqtmFtq65-ixBTRjmEf39SeDlyoAdthRo5Sn0IPNaENB6lt4Invn1meg0_1EgNvRy3biw4quDlORZ7itmf/s1308/Screenshot%202023-11-14%20at%2018.55.07.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1308" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WAQdbD4m3GEcVX_U1fbRzHdrIHuAHiegtJiEi2ow98HQN3N3FfSMoWVfKW8igjn9UvE1foQElJHgJ6qxyVj6Xxp-8chkxqjlN1sJ_RjlMIrqtmFtq65-ixBTRjmEf39SeDlyoAdthRo5Sn0IPNaENB6lt4Invn1meg0_1EgNvRy3biw4quDlORZ7itmf/w606-h332/Screenshot%202023-11-14%20at%2018.55.07.png" width="606" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p> <span style="font-family: arial;">...and also ask yourself how much more likely you would be to make the first vital contact with such a business having read such a review.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Before joining, they valued...</b></span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">More clicks through Google search</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">More contacts through their website</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">More calls through Google search and their website</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Far fewer inaccurate reviews</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Far fewer misleading reviews</span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>On joining...</b></span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">How much staff - and management - relaxed when asking for a review</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The pride staff took in the addition of independently verified reviews to their website</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How much the stars generated by their HelpHound reviews made them stand out </span><span style="font-family: arial;">in search</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How quickly - virtually overnight - reviews became an integral part of the sale - 'Look at our reviews'</span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For those who had previously been cherry-picking (or gating) - the relief that those days were now over and they were now fully <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA-compliant</a></span></li></ul><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>After a period of membership...</b></span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The value of <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The proportion of customers prepared to write a review</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The proportion of customers prepared to post both reviews - one to the business's own website and copied to Google</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Compliance with the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">SEO - local search</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Savings - in Google Ad spend and other marketing</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Support - for both sales and marketing</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>And in many instances...</b></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Staff staff training and ongoing support from HelpHound</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Help and support with drafting appeals against fake, malicious or fraudulent Google reviews </span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>A detailed analysis - point by point</b></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Before joining</b></span></p><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>More clicks through Google search and more contacts through their website</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">From here...</span></p></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXVHIwqLrKmogXdWIL2axHxHr3f1maJzmPl8EgwFk3tr0fL6jgw76ZiweOGi7Md2Un9hVNsKYUtumkRsDYCWZiWWeg-Rm7xfGRB-FDPNvbSMShkTI3irg4lqnzHkvOVsvMz45WPcnGxBV6DGvzs5WatXa_cpvtuO2WLs51TPk_4ySq37JSNvj5Ksp_DMi/s772/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2017.43.51.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="772" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcXVHIwqLrKmogXdWIL2axHxHr3f1maJzmPl8EgwFk3tr0fL6jgw76ZiweOGi7Md2Un9hVNsKYUtumkRsDYCWZiWWeg-Rm7xfGRB-FDPNvbSMShkTI3irg4lqnzHkvOVsvMz45WPcnGxBV6DGvzs5WatXa_cpvtuO2WLs51TPk_4ySq37JSNvj5Ksp_DMi/w496-h318/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2017.43.51.png" width="496" /></a></div><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">To here... </span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOe7Pfyel2M7qyhmTvJXaUJbiLCbG3UnHpRSW8Gba_qKkru0_j51Qpgg5MpBnXipOOXnIDbxAaOsZG72OX8e-iJU_eOmKzVmNnP5MRAZsSKDzqdNFAEs3RLbtVW_etEg7RlV77KC5HEY9IVJ8BJg6aBnxz_JqmIgVKo35xsyfiwMs9tcq0rqwRZG5hxOFo/s1288/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2010.41.44.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1226" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOe7Pfyel2M7qyhmTvJXaUJbiLCbG3UnHpRSW8Gba_qKkru0_j51Qpgg5MpBnXipOOXnIDbxAaOsZG72OX8e-iJU_eOmKzVmNnP5MRAZsSKDzqdNFAEs3RLbtVW_etEg7RlV77KC5HEY9IVJ8BJg6aBnxz_JqmIgVKo35xsyfiwMs9tcq0rqwRZG5hxOFo/w435-h456/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2010.41.44.png" width="435" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These two screenshots, the first taken on joining, the second today, illustrate the prime initial motivation for most clients: more - positive - reviews, <i>safely</i>, leading to a great competitive position in all Google searches and the consistent uptick in calls and clicks that flow from such a dominant position. The stars right underneath the business's organic search results are drawn directly from the reviews hosted <i>on the business's own website, not their Google reviews</i>. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5fc0bRXNQE_DRipgm7c7gpAbhtpzifBuHPxdDOR5mOaMAQSVTgEg94zpXjP8RslvXoI6zDjVy7c30dbEMW351zgRkCMvB5jucjc0rgekAJabadf1VIndYbUv6YwtF1yIsDGD3uaXVdWM-GJt-16cv6GN-ZyWHMl1MtarGrqEupuNvo1sjE3JRpTUP2Z7/s1412/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2017.52.21.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="1412" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin5fc0bRXNQE_DRipgm7c7gpAbhtpzifBuHPxdDOR5mOaMAQSVTgEg94zpXjP8RslvXoI6zDjVy7c30dbEMW351zgRkCMvB5jucjc0rgekAJabadf1VIndYbUv6YwtF1yIsDGD3uaXVdWM-GJt-16cv6GN-ZyWHMl1MtarGrqEupuNvo1sjE3JRpTUP2Z7/w387-h359/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2017.52.21.png" width="387" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a Google My Business monthly report illustrating the precise numbers of calls and the rise (in</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="color: #04ff00; font-family: arial;">green</span><span style="font-family: arial;">) for a business in the first full month after implementation</span></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These are easily measured by reference to Google Analytics and the business's own website stats. Suffice to say that our clients commonly experience uplifts in the region of 15 - 25 per cent, especially if they have not previously proactively engaged with Google reviews</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>More calls through Google search and their website</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As for 'clicks' and 'contacts' above. Great reviews are an acknowledged trigger for engagement and reinforce personal recommendation and other marketing efforts</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Far fewer inaccurate reviews</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> enables the reviewer and the business to resolve factual inaccuracies <i>before a review is published</i>, whether to the business's own website or to Google. Inaccurate reviews benefit no one, not the business, not the consumer relying on the review and certainly not the reviewer (they are invariably happy when errors of fact are brought to their attention)</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Far fewer misleading reviews</b></span></li></ul><p></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">English is a wonderfully complex language, and this can lead to misleading reviews; again, moderation will result in correction or modification so that the review accurately reflects the reviewer's experience of - and with - the business under review</span></p></div></blockquote><div><p><b style="font-family: arial;">On joining</b></p><p></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>How much staff - and management - relaxed when asking for a review</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Asking for a review can lead to raised blood pressure all around; is the reviewer as happy with the service provided as the business thinks they are? Does the reviewer understand and appreciate the hard work the business has put in? <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a> has been described to us as 'a safety valve', 'a safety net' and 'vital for giving staff the confidence to invite the review in the first place'.</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The pride staff took in the addition of independently verified reviews to their website</b></span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ9wYyj0oZlh0OAmgt3JzdoKojadOIWoHvyFCknS0zkCTSs8xjeEoPgViWTDx73N9Pv9Wpl2NqrMhLamI4G2dclqBFqzkZspGm-ovCVvBRhtlcUiyLhOF9J1_UUzyO9mjmMDRU9EMk1a6RtJiVVtCTWaxnNd6HhEzy2VRLubo1kDhAPQcIGi3FmXiZWuu_/s1584/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2017.56.22.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="868" data-original-width="1584" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ9wYyj0oZlh0OAmgt3JzdoKojadOIWoHvyFCknS0zkCTSs8xjeEoPgViWTDx73N9Pv9Wpl2NqrMhLamI4G2dclqBFqzkZspGm-ovCVvBRhtlcUiyLhOF9J1_UUzyO9mjmMDRU9EMk1a6RtJiVVtCTWaxnNd6HhEzy2VRLubo1kDhAPQcIGi3FmXiZWuu_/w600-h328/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2017.56.22.png" width="600" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Consumers actively seek out independently verified reviews on business websites these days. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the 2020s staff generally have the same attitude to testimonials as consumers do: they're 'a bit 20th century'. They want to be able to say 'Look at our own reviews and our Google reviews.' Management and staff take pride in independently verified reviews far more than they ever did with testimonials.</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>How much the stars in search generated by their HelpHound reviews made them stand out in search</b></span></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_GCaoxP6Bf9K1mlZk0Izl3N1e_PdzlbW9pVUtayBdxg31AErwWEAC4RVZr6YEQCvn_8Zp-xFw8bT2H0v8DfNEHNIwWvdmMbmoYR_sOibPapflOA28qUwRibS9wlgAjt54szDkeVrFNbJ4nUwDmNlMN7Frt0OnLluV5_lxj_ldg6m3S7y1YPX4mKXORWG/s1304/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2017.58.31.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1304" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_GCaoxP6Bf9K1mlZk0Izl3N1e_PdzlbW9pVUtayBdxg31AErwWEAC4RVZr6YEQCvn_8Zp-xFw8bT2H0v8DfNEHNIwWvdmMbmoYR_sOibPapflOA28qUwRibS9wlgAjt54szDkeVrFNbJ4nUwDmNlMN7Frt0OnLluV5_lxj_ldg6m3S7y1YPX4mKXORWG/w530-h401/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2017.58.31.png" width="530" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Those stars right under the business's organic listing search are hugely valued by members. We know because when a couple of years ago there was a software glitch which resulted in them going missing for a couple of hours we had over a dozen calls from clients asking for them to be reinstated!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's a fact of life that at least half of all consumers still think that these stars are awarded by Google. It's definitely a fact of life that they impress consumers when they see them up against similar businesses with either no stars at all or a lower rating.</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>How quickly - virtually overnight - reviews became an integral part of the sale - 'Look at our reviews'</b></span></li></ul></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmdo78z3VMuxj_so5Q1WyqHzOTt4Mq4oUvdy5S_WhMZrYmOgUZXRZzxP178pPl0yLdvm3JqGtLtb5vHOLdg-E_xbaEqImq4RUAwAcDky9E7Vso5gpvvAoeEw0XvJi0OcN0Wgi_ycEm5ldWoihwyD8OT_KZoQevtVyYJdRW9nT3BmU2QAxSxDvUrg73KM8/s1132/Screenshot%202023-11-13%20at%2013.14.34.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="878" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmdo78z3VMuxj_so5Q1WyqHzOTt4Mq4oUvdy5S_WhMZrYmOgUZXRZzxP178pPl0yLdvm3JqGtLtb5vHOLdg-E_xbaEqImq4RUAwAcDky9E7Vso5gpvvAoeEw0XvJi0OcN0Wgi_ycEm5ldWoihwyD8OT_KZoQevtVyYJdRW9nT3BmU2QAxSxDvUrg73KM8/w440-h568/Screenshot%202023-11-13%20at%2013.14.34.png" width="440" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This client's 600+ followers on Instagram can't help but be impressed by reviews like this</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Research shows that consumers under 45 now trust reviews even more than personal recommendations. What is absolutely not in doubt is that our clients are proud to display their reviews prominently - on their websites, in marketing and advertising, and in all their PR and social media engagement. They know that great scores and great reviews drive business</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>For those who had previously been cherry-picking (or gating) - the relief that those days were now over</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Almost every business we meet with over twenty Google reviews admits to one or other of these tactics: they hand pick 'happy' customers to write reviews and/or they use some mechanism or other to find out which of their customers is most likely to write a positive review (this is called 'gating'). Why? Not, surprising as it may seem, because they think they have a cohort of unhappy customers, but because they have know way of knowing just which of their customers are likely to write a factually inaccurate or potentially misleading review. By using a <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated system</a> that fear evaporates - compliance with the law (<a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">the CMA regulations</a>) can be a pretty powerful plus for a business that finds itself up against a non-complaint competitor</span></div></div></blockquote><div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>After a period of membership</b></span></p><p></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The value of moderation</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One a business has seen its first potentially damaging review resolved in <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> they heave a huge corporate sigh of relief and realise moderation's value. And then it's full steam ahead. Moderation gives them the confidence to be proactive - knowing that they are far less likely to get a factually inaccurate or misleading review</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The proportion of customers prepared to write a review*</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We first suggested our '50%' rule nearly ten years ago now: aim to get half your customers to leave a review on your website and then half of them to copy it to Google. Our most committed clients always achieve at least those numbers - if they have 200 customers in any given period they will get more than 100 reviews to their website and at least 50 of them copied to Google</span></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">*many years of anecdotal evidence have shown us that someone invited to write a review is far less likely to write a negative review of their experience of a business: they will simply communicate direct with the business instead </span></p></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Compliance with the CMA regulations</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Most businesses we meet deny any knowledge of the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a>. They are surprised when we tell them that they are not allowed - by law - to cherry-pick or gate. They are hugely relieved when we tell them that, as long as they allow customers to post reviews to their website (moderated, of course) they can invite exactly who they like to write a review. </span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>SEO - local search</b></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXS8ft3uv9BoBWBQymxX3nUmGXmZrCoBVnyLawdvkRgawQD8k-kXgVFozaKMcyileCAwitAUdFPSMK-8PNCTz1aG-Afp4MGo1Xe9lP6k13pZH0PdSYFaFC8i2aQ9jQlu85XcCrgFbg2glXhebF-t-djcB2q2b8Y3bjq448yMfc48ZqCDFfs7bLr2my2NKU/s1560/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2018.30.47.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1560" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXS8ft3uv9BoBWBQymxX3nUmGXmZrCoBVnyLawdvkRgawQD8k-kXgVFozaKMcyileCAwitAUdFPSMK-8PNCTz1aG-Afp4MGo1Xe9lP6k13pZH0PdSYFaFC8i2aQ9jQlu85XcCrgFbg2glXhebF-t-djcB2q2b8Y3bjq448yMfc48ZqCDFfs7bLr2my2NKU/w539-h324/Screenshot%202023-11-08%20at%2018.30.47.png" width="539" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are +- 25 businesses that would pay good money to top Google organic search. They're the same businesses that are paying £thousands a month for Google Ads</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"> </span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's universally acknowledged that hosting reviews on your own website makes up around 15% of a business's score as far as SEO is concerned. All we know is that our clients feature very highly, if not top, in all major searches</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Savings - in Google Ad spend and other marketing</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If your business comes top in natural/organic search why pay to appear top? Simple really</span></div></div></blockquote><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Support - for both sales and marketing</b></span></li></ul></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sales people need sales aids, they have done so since time began. We have no doubt that Barney Rubble got Fred Flintstone to write - chisel? - him a testimonial to support the sales of his stone wheels. And that applied right up until the days of the web - your prospective customers always want to know what your existing customers think of you. And ideally they want those opinions to be independently verified and displayed. The combination of HelpHound and Google gives them just what they crave, and what your salespeople need to reinforce the sale</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>And in many instances</b></span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Staff staff training and ongoing support from HelpHound</b></span></li></ul></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We are not just a great piece of software accompanied by moderators. We support our clients all the way along the journey. You need...</span></div></div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;">on-site training</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">training aids</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">advice about damaging Google reviews</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Help and support with drafting appeals against fake, malicious or fraudulent Google reviews </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">updates on changes in legislation</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">updates on Google's review processes</span></li></ul></ul></div><p></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;">...and we will provide them all. Just ask*.</span></div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">*and subscribe to this blog!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-69930787568504832722023-10-27T11:43:00.001+01:002024-01-19T09:20:43.656+00:00How to succeed with reviews - the secrets of our clients' success<p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's a question we find ourselves being asked all the time: 'How has ABC Plc done so well?' And we have generally answered it with a combination of the memo below and 'showing and telling'. This time we thought we would reach out to some of those successful businesses and actually ask them and then report back here. Some of their answers will be common sense, some will be pretty obvious, but many will not be either (otherwise, why would so many businesses either fail to look as good as they deserve or feel they need to flout the law to do so?).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So: what questions did we ask?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It would have been easy to ask 'What process(es) do you adopt?', but it soon became evident that this question bypassed a great deal of thinking and planning. We needed to go further back and ask 'What were your objectives?' and 'Why did you adopt HelpHound?'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So let's address these two first:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>'What were your objectives?'</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The simple answer was 'To look great on Google [scoring 4.8+ with three figures of reviews] and great on our own website' along with 'To drive more enquiries through search and though our website'.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Supplementing those were 'We want to be legally compliant' and 'We want to support our SEO/ranking in [local] search', as well as 'We want to save money on Google Ads and other marketing'</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>'Why did you adopt HelpHound?'</b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Because you told us that, <i>providing we followed your advice</i>, we would achieve all of the above! </span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, some of our readers will be thinking 'That's it then; join and all our wishes will be granted/all our problems will be solved.' but that's akin to someone walking into a car dealership and buying a new car. Without first learning how to drive! The next section is all-important. Here is the guide we give to new members...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bfmGacQC_8QZA4U1iTV2yM5l_8n4YgDaNVezptI5UfBJPNekvXmiAbXT3bZqShPWo5i31xa49fd_LyfKLpCb4CTE4tvsn3Ed2WlSkMjBIHM6lOt2rJXqs_Xrt_tkC9AGm6t6xFGrLfF5H2ij6RlfKNEiXU_JjoXCQ5RKZTm3zF-105rlAG9v9m3bt74D/s1350/Screenshot%202023-10-18%20at%2012.11.57.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1042" height="725" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bfmGacQC_8QZA4U1iTV2yM5l_8n4YgDaNVezptI5UfBJPNekvXmiAbXT3bZqShPWo5i31xa49fd_LyfKLpCb4CTE4tvsn3Ed2WlSkMjBIHM6lOt2rJXqs_Xrt_tkC9AGm6t6xFGrLfF5H2ij6RlfKNEiXU_JjoXCQ5RKZTm3zF-105rlAG9v9m3bt74D/w559-h725/Screenshot%202023-10-18%20at%2012.11.57.png" width="559" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MnQ4IF3WAr1uwIQhHEEqbPiXxMyGmNU7Sig5JmA1tXhNNhmN-c2eFyp6lQrsvZeiCjJH44reqVjeh3TvQ-yOWdoAjsbnh7JyBQQlchbw8ZI44ABWbNB4XSIcZa9RxYyUtraklJ6xOovN_O5V0_fdUHbagRuX8Ee_70V2gJhLh08DJPqPZdRLfOZ2Y55B/s1350/Screenshot%202023-10-18%20at%2012.12.16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1026" height="745" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MnQ4IF3WAr1uwIQhHEEqbPiXxMyGmNU7Sig5JmA1tXhNNhmN-c2eFyp6lQrsvZeiCjJH44reqVjeh3TvQ-yOWdoAjsbnh7JyBQQlchbw8ZI44ABWbNB4XSIcZa9RxYyUtraklJ6xOovN_O5V0_fdUHbagRuX8Ee_70V2gJhLh08DJPqPZdRLfOZ2Y55B/w566-h745/Screenshot%202023-10-18%20at%2012.12.16.png" width="566" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;">... and all of our most successful clients follow it to the letter: crucially they <b>prime </b>their customers by warning them that writing a review is an integral part of the relationship and they follow up every email with a <b>call</b>.<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But there's more, for those star performers: invariably they do one or more - or all - of the following...</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">they set <b>targets</b> for staff to achieve a certain volume of reviews - as a percentage of business transacted or on a periodic basis</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">they<b> reward* </b>staff for excelling at obtaining reviews</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">they <b>operate as a team</b>, with the back office supporting the front office in its efforts to obtain reviews</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">they have a dedicated member of management responsible for <b>coordinating and reporting</b> on review management</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">they <b>respond</b> - to all their reviews; there's some interesting psychology at work here - it has become obvious that businesses that always respond to reviews send a clear message to those tempted to play fast and/or loose when writing a review. That message? We're going to be reading your review and we're definitely going to be addressing any exaggerations or misapprehensions.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Additionally...</span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">they give their customers the option to post their reviews to either the business's own website or directly to Google - with direct links to both in the email. This has the practical effect of achieving more Google reviews from those who find writing more than one review a chore**</span></li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>** 'A chore'</b>: this is why the telephone call is so important. The call has an overall objective: to get review(s) written - to the business's own website <i>and to Google</i> if at all possible. But within that call there are steps that deal with potential objections...</span></div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><ol><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">'I don't have a Google account' - 'Don't worry, I'm sure you will be able to write a review, almost everybody can because they have used one or more of Google's services in the past; if you like I'll stay on the line while you follow the link I sent you.'</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">'I've only got time to write one review' - 'That's great, we will send you a copy of the review you write on our website and you will only have to copy & paste that to Google, you won't have to begin all over again.' or 'Great, just write the one review and copy it to both links.'</span></li></ol></ol></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We then asked them what aspect of HelpHound they valued most: invariably, to a man or woman, they answered: <b>moderation.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Here is the line that sums it all up, the clincher if you will...</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>"We joined HelpHound when we realised that we would then be legally compliant whilst still maintaining the ability to choose precisely whom we actively invite to write a review.'</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As regular readers know, we don't hold back when stressing the value of moderation but the crucial thing that kept being mentioned by businesses was the fact that <i>it was moderation that gave them the confidence to engage with reviews in the first place</i>. Without moderation, they would simply not be willing to run the risk of attracting inaccurate or potentially misleading reviews. They would either have to rely on customers posting reviews unprompted or do as many businesses still do: flout the law and select which customers to invite to write reviews.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oXCM6sQ-9SBQbI37v07iueCUH8VJ35xrG5CN81Amo-I3wqhvWLfAsC-qK1Ev6Ds5_vsm7VixZkQ7YG7V7p-WgrZ4UfqcRloVqaqWMTsgnNbX8vOUV36OLm4DlEKM2PcRQ8TZ5-JDBHlE21C-NlkoUnWNvKWrrSiF8lAN96fNsvXJH-55pPM2klVolVfV/s628/Screenshot%202023-10-20%20at%2016.10.12.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="628" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-oXCM6sQ-9SBQbI37v07iueCUH8VJ35xrG5CN81Amo-I3wqhvWLfAsC-qK1Ev6Ds5_vsm7VixZkQ7YG7V7p-WgrZ4UfqcRloVqaqWMTsgnNbX8vOUV36OLm4DlEKM2PcRQ8TZ5-JDBHlE21C-NlkoUnWNvKWrrSiF8lAN96fNsvXJH-55pPM2klVolVfV/w462-h202/Screenshot%202023-10-20%20at%2016.10.12.png" width="462" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The screenshot above is of the Google rating and number of reviews for a client that had only two Google reviews when they joined. The one below is of the reviews hosted on their website (as you can see it contains the crucial 'Write a review' link that keeps all our clients compliant with UK law and <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a>)...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzWvDOhUpgQUrcV471KrJ3zIt6DJCbfvzO5vpoii722iqUI9MjyG1zonkKW-3G9qs8ICT5YvgSaEcM3V5Tu7a6vLICn6Qi0HkrgAkHwKbkkiQ7A9DuIKIvXcd9KY1TI9bwOnPGLvYEiPjrvhbEuVqfOxXAD2Z21v23FJi_rT95of8tjmF-HtwGmuWOVWS/s612/Screenshot%202023-10-20%20at%2016.08.15.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="70" data-original-width="612" height="49" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbzWvDOhUpgQUrcV471KrJ3zIt6DJCbfvzO5vpoii722iqUI9MjyG1zonkKW-3G9qs8ICT5YvgSaEcM3V5Tu7a6vLICn6Qi0HkrgAkHwKbkkiQ7A9DuIKIvXcd9KY1TI9bwOnPGLvYEiPjrvhbEuVqfOxXAD2Z21v23FJi_rT95of8tjmF-HtwGmuWOVWS/w421-h49/Screenshot%202023-10-20%20at%2016.08.15.png" width="421" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">They are really, really good at what they do. We know, not only because we have met them (all of them, from the owners of the business to the managers to the salespeople to the back office staff) but because we have seen and read every single review ever written about them, on their website and on Google, and - crucially - the ones where our moderators intervened in order to ensure, as far as legally possible under the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a>, that the review accurately reflected the experience of the reviewer. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">That's why moderation*** (see 'Essential additional reading', below) <i>has</i> to be done by a human being - our moderator will come to know the business whose reviews they are moderating as well as their customers; this enables them to spot outliers, right down to individual members of staff mentioned by name in reviews. They will know that it is highly unlikely that staff member A of business B has left multiple emails unanswered and a metaphorical alarm bell will ring that initiates contact with business B. Suppose, in this instance, the customer of business B had their email address hacked and therefore blacklisted, leading to non-delivery of emails? Would it be fair to simply publish a 1* review saying that business B didn't care about their customers? Of course not. Moderation in action - benefitting both business and consumer.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>In Conclusion</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Success? It's a combination of adopting the correct mechanism in the first instance - any amount of good practice and procedure cannot make the wrong approach right - and then following the 'rules' as laid out above. Do that and we absolutely guarantee that your business will shine in search and produce results such as <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">these</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Essential additional reading</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">All of the above will be of no avail without...</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>***<a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a></b> - How often are we asked 'Why not simply ask our customers to post reviews direct to Google?' This article explains just how important it is for businesses in the professions and the service industries to have this crucial safety net.</span></li></ul></div><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-90445477148768982782023-10-27T11:41:00.002+01:002023-10-27T13:53:46.542+01:00The 'Multi' review invitation - and why it has so many hidden benefits<p><span style="font-family: arial;">The original purpose of the 'Multi' - inviting reviews to the business's website and to Google simultaneously with both links in the same email - was to enable established clients to simplify review gathering. A 'one email covers all' solution.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Why only 'established' clients? The rationale was simple: inviting both reviews simultaneously ran the risk that a customer might submit a review containing errors of fact or misleading statements directly to Google, thereby bypassing HelpHound's moderators. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Ten years of experience shows us that...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As you might expect, we spend quite a while analysing numbers and other data here at HelpHound. And we have a lot of numbers to crunch. Amongst the most important of all of those is the difference in outcome for businesses inviting their customers to write a review directly to Google as compared with those that use the two HelpHound routes...</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Route 1 </b>is as follows: send an email to the customer asking them to write a review to the business's own website (including the direct link supplied by HelpHound), call the customer to ensure a high conversion rate, then HelpHound sends an automated email to the customer once their review has been <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated</a> and posted to the business's website asking them to copy and paste their review to Google<b>*</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>*</b>Back in the day only about 50% of people could write a Google review, they needed a Gmail address or some other Google account. Over the years almost everyone has had reason to log into Google or one of its multitude of services. You will find that these days almost everyone can write a Google review. </span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CTQKcnMmjvFfWd9zpZEC1myOBhENdnSGKVzOCCJexwqaTi1W1r1SWrnJUbFis5Fe8sSfoBeQ0RE3RHO7HwjQPV_sjWJU6fnjBU2Wy6g4YI9_cYKl7HHY5WofhH9K8i2KUdnrX6mKS7BhJC5kTiX0_74lp4VPmQX3KcwtbWJRrgUJTE3SnXtEBxM_VOHB/s1374/Screenshot%202023-10-27%20at%2011.21.34.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1006" data-original-width="1374" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CTQKcnMmjvFfWd9zpZEC1myOBhENdnSGKVzOCCJexwqaTi1W1r1SWrnJUbFis5Fe8sSfoBeQ0RE3RHO7HwjQPV_sjWJU6fnjBU2Wy6g4YI9_cYKl7HHY5WofhH9K8i2KUdnrX6mKS7BhJC5kTiX0_74lp4VPmQX3KcwtbWJRrgUJTE3SnXtEBxM_VOHB/w566-h414/Screenshot%202023-10-27%20at%2011.21.34.png" width="566" /></span></a></div><p></p><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Route 2 </b>consists of: sending a single email with two links (see screenshot above) - one to the business's own website and one to their Google page. The follow-up call is made in exactly the same way except the caller's objective is to get the customer to write a review to either or both of those locations.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This latter email is known to us internally and to many HelpHound clients simply as the 'Multi', short for 'multiple invitation' (it can include other sites as well - we had a client who needed to boost their presence on Trustpilot recently, so we simply included a link to their listing for a few weeks). Now back to the numbers (which will explain why we don't advise new clients to use the Multi straight away). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">A business has three options...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0xLkvfTKceS95zmtHGd4nWbR8g-rIEHDQyV1tCa0gHCLl6BAlujOlyBeF3Ny5iD6-7cTZsuaLXeMQqzfSrmYSUxU_oziOHT5xtDsmY9YfF2j_MSvYCtFKGQlzF_Ca5jqo_av77FvifY75ATlIXDEpi7vABrFY0XE6k0JVfNaYpVzS53p9g8mTUfA8hPL/s544/Screenshot%202023-10-26%20at%2013.54.12.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="544" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0xLkvfTKceS95zmtHGd4nWbR8g-rIEHDQyV1tCa0gHCLl6BAlujOlyBeF3Ny5iD6-7cTZsuaLXeMQqzfSrmYSUxU_oziOHT5xtDsmY9YfF2j_MSvYCtFKGQlzF_Ca5jqo_av77FvifY75ATlIXDEpi7vABrFY0XE6k0JVfNaYpVzS53p9g8mTUfA8hPL/s320/Screenshot%202023-10-26%20at%2013.54.12.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We've all seen and read them. But you owe it to your business and to readers who will rely on the review in question to have chance to interact with the reviewer before a potentially factually inaccurate or misleading review is posted for all to see</span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Option 1</b>:The business invites its customers to write their reviews directly to Google. It will receive, on average, a one-star review every 15-20 reviews. Those one-star reviews may or may not be factually accurate or potentially misleading. What is sure is that the reviews will stand (the likelihood of a successful Google appeal against a factually inaccurate or potentially misleading review is vanishingly small). Those one-star reviews will be served in every Google search, and be especially damaging when the searcher uses Google's 'Lowest' default.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Option 2</b>: The business only invites its customers to write a review <i>to its own website</i>, using the HelpHound module. That way it will receive a one-star review every 30-40 reviews. Why the disparity in numbers? From our extensive experience of studying how our users - both business and consumer - behave the conclusion that we have come to is that reviewers are far more careful with the wording of their review when they know, for certain, that the business, and the person they have interact with at the business, will read what they have written. Put simply: people are far less likely to write ill-considered negative reviews when they know they will be read by someone with whom they have interacted. HelpHound then automatically invites the reviewer, once their review is published on the business's website, to copy their review over to Google. Most of our clients achive at least a 50% success rate when following this up with a phone call. </span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Option 3: The 'Multi'</b>. Inviting both reviews in the same email. This results in even fewer one-star reviews, sometimes as few as one or two per hundred reviews. Why? Because of a combination of the factors already alluded to above. Customers with negative issues to air are far more likely to choose the 'Write a review direct to the business' option. Mostly because there is an implication in the invitation that it will be read, and therefore acted upon. Happy customers, on the other hand, are far more likely to choose to write their review to Google, in the knowledge that it will be seen by prospective customers of the business and therefore help the business that has helped them.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Hence our invariable advice: to discount <b>Option 1</b>, the 'Direct to Google' option altogether: it is far too high risk for professional and service businesses - and we have seen too many businesses over the years harmed - and by 'harmed' we mean 'literally stopped the phones ringing' in extreme cases -by factually inaccurate or misleading reviews that would have been corrected in <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a>, to use <b>Option 2</b> until they have at least double figures of Google reviews scoring 4.8+, and then to use <b>Option 3</b>, the 'Multi', thereafter. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There are only three ways for a great business to look as great as it can be where reviews are concerned:</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Be perfect - and have perfect customers. There are such businesses, but they are few and far between. No matter how hard most businesses try to please all of their customers all of the time there will be those who misunderstand or simply get the wrong end of the stick </span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Adopt a <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated</a> review system - and use it all of the time. Invite every customer to write a review and have all their subsequent responses independently moderated (a business cannot legitimately moderate its own reviews - the conflict of interest inherent in this is obvious)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Adopt a moderated review system but allow customers to choose where to post their review - via the moderated system to the business's website or directly to Google</span></li></ol><span style="font-family: arial;">Bear in mind that everyone who writes a review to the business's own website and has it <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated</a> - they all are - and ultimately published there, will, in the case of HelpHound, receive an automatic request to copy their review to Google. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now you know exactly how all our - great - clients have their hard work and expertise reflected in their reviews. And why those reviews tend to be more helpful to prospective customers of those businesses than the average review on Google (or Trustpilot or any other site hosting reviews, for that matter). Our <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">results</a>, we feel, speak for themselves.</span></p><br />HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-89746474617057285732023-10-25T16:59:00.002+01:002023-10-25T16:59:39.422+01:00Review sites to address fake and fraudulent reviews? Forgive us for being sceptical<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qADCopXhs7vXzhJB2uQYRVM_CU98jpqkPfo9EwhyphenhyphenvbGRVDNhLuGWFKz9bDzA1723uGFWU9SLMI8HJWa2njdnMBsterZKJHFry1R7m_9dNW18L0YdFrv_g-FLls1kIk7QJ2B4wDhg29LpcnayjsdXRAL6Z-hXeCkkIgTwAkzVc_OwuZn0v0EARoicBwrD/s2056/Screenshot%202023-10-24%20at%2008.28.27.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="2056" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qADCopXhs7vXzhJB2uQYRVM_CU98jpqkPfo9EwhyphenhyphenvbGRVDNhLuGWFKz9bDzA1723uGFWU9SLMI8HJWa2njdnMBsterZKJHFry1R7m_9dNW18L0YdFrv_g-FLls1kIk7QJ2B4wDhg29LpcnayjsdXRAL6Z-hXeCkkIgTwAkzVc_OwuZn0v0EARoicBwrD/w634-h412/Screenshot%202023-10-24%20at%2008.28.27.png" width="634" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/major-websites-vow-to-weed-out-fake-reviews-as-new-consumer-law-looms-w32gc88bm" target="_blank">link</a> for those of you with access to the Times Online</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6PJGTMtRCVkERBVOqWvHlTJ_AfmN22GevVij0JE_hzCF1tloVe0Yx8iipcSwalSmF7nvtztnX4vXM5XmNXAua19bd3j3YWPDRDp9C5aVkxiEqiMtbMyrf-ewanvkmWpcrKyJRQoteiIJokfaU3Ng0N_HsPqwj1VE8w4qgjaGTTccajV82Wc5kZKzwo6i/s2114/Screenshot%202023-10-24%20at%2016.27.57.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="2114" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6PJGTMtRCVkERBVOqWvHlTJ_AfmN22GevVij0JE_hzCF1tloVe0Yx8iipcSwalSmF7nvtztnX4vXM5XmNXAua19bd3j3YWPDRDp9C5aVkxiEqiMtbMyrf-ewanvkmWpcrKyJRQoteiIJokfaU3Ng0N_HsPqwj1VE8w4qgjaGTTccajV82Wc5kZKzwo6i/w573-h308/Screenshot%202023-10-24%20at%2016.27.57.png" width="573" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipYsoaZAPlE_YVpeirSvOKw0zYzNGdWP2ggB6GEVyU8CpvTBNYb7pKcyqqOAzV5kMrvi7-oholJwMQu7TbVT5QGxj3uNppm8xkcsl5qEF0k8guypi_SpUpKqpisBG8Y-rWlbk0DcS9ZbLwhrLC0YcKkXNuov2z_A0mxLMFkNG07cFx75pLhHnp1GaF8BLY/s2080/Screenshot%202023-10-24%20at%2016.28.15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="2080" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipYsoaZAPlE_YVpeirSvOKw0zYzNGdWP2ggB6GEVyU8CpvTBNYb7pKcyqqOAzV5kMrvi7-oholJwMQu7TbVT5QGxj3uNppm8xkcsl5qEF0k8guypi_SpUpKqpisBG8Y-rWlbk0DcS9ZbLwhrLC0YcKkXNuov2z_A0mxLMFkNG07cFx75pLhHnp1GaF8BLY/w580-h290/Screenshot%202023-10-24%20at%2016.28.15.png" width="580" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Estimates vary, but there appears to be pretty universal acknowledgement that around 15% of all online reviews are fraudulent - 'fake' in short - bought and paid for by unscrupulous businesses. The UK's CMA estimates that consumers were defrauded to the extent of £312 million as a direct result of fake reviews in the last year under review. And that does not begin to address the losses - both financial and emotional - resulting from consumers being misled into using professional service businesses - financial, legal, medical and the like - that are in breach of the <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a>.</span></p>Here's a link to the <a href="https://press.aboutamazon.com/retail/2023/10/amazon-booking-com-expedia-group-glassdoor-tripadvisor-and-trustpilot-launch-first-global-coalition-for-trusted-reviews#:~:text=The%20Coalition%20for%20Trusted%20Reviews%20is%20a%20group%20of%20industry,on%20reducing%20fraudulent%20customer%20reviews." target="_blank">full announcement on Amazon's website</a> - Trustpilot's website, as of today's date, remains silent on the issue, so do the others. The 'Coalition for Trusted Reviews' does not, as yet, appear to have a website of its own (please don't hesitate to alert us if you find one). There are also some names absent: Google, the overwhelmingly dominant player in online reviews, Yelp (and, as you might expect, HelpHound).</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We have read everything there is about this move, as well as other announcements made in the past by these businesses designed to convince their stakeholders that their reviews are trustworthy and that they are doing their very best to ensure that trustworthiness. It is interesting that none of the statements released by the members of the Coalition for Trusted Reviews so far mention potential solutions or courses of action.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Our reaction so far? Hollow words. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The problem</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This broadly divides into two distinct issues...</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Sellers of</b> <b>products</b> paying for fake 5* reviews - Amazon alone estimates that there are at least 10,000 Facebook groups dedicated to generating fake reviews on behalf of businesses. Such reviews are for sale across social media. This is obviously not a 'good thing' but getting misled into buying a second-rate product by a business faking reviews is one thing. £Tens, maybe £hundreds, wasted.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Sellers of</b> <b>services</b> flouting the law - at least in the UK and EU - as well as Google T&Cs that specifically forbid cherry-picking or <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/major-websites-vow-to-weed-out-fake-reviews-as-new-consumer-law-looms-w32gc88bm" target="_blank">gating</a>: identifying and then inviting happy customers to write reviews as well as offering rewards for positive reviews. There's nothing wrong with their reviews - they are written by genuine customers - it's the method of invitation and collection that is being abused. Being misled into using a service business by fraudulent manipulation of the review process is of a whole different order of magnitude from point 1 above. Imagine you are looking for a reliable financial adviser, a lawyer, or an oncologist? Even a good estate agent (read on, see the screenshots and then carry out your own Google searches).</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And then we have the advent of AI. In the past fake reviews were often pretty easy to spot, often as a result of some pretty awful use of English. AI has changed all that. Here's an example, produced by ChatGPT in less than a second...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH8gDMQGTqw_OFoKnx3G-c8iPEPdDMgE4fgkd5-dM5Ix_rBj_yzUVAkgvIdHl32lkVlrxkBBY6h512_k9urQwAC-HPpmXlU8sHXJ_pzOgtFKKOZT-OiAzwLMLRBWMn8Mu7x_78Xpl5SkuMjOhgs7qbdUANI-_C47VE-0dzPRqFUS1wVb9-91ty19KMFmm/s1304/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2016.13.22.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="1304" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH8gDMQGTqw_OFoKnx3G-c8iPEPdDMgE4fgkd5-dM5Ix_rBj_yzUVAkgvIdHl32lkVlrxkBBY6h512_k9urQwAC-HPpmXlU8sHXJ_pzOgtFKKOZT-OiAzwLMLRBWMn8Mu7x_78Xpl5SkuMjOhgs7qbdUANI-_C47VE-0dzPRqFUS1wVb9-91ty19KMFmm/s320/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2016.13.22.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRqfTLOxhHubH28wpi3-8bRuWky_jMwGHSITnv8C880XvPyLqoj1sSSM338qRs-pQaK07Uj31_Re51Q8bdssqLRhCrfo8zR1FDMA9ZrJq2l2MpCqOYbUOXmRAdpNUexuoJ5bljzwnRgxXAkREZW0i3TLlNQRaL_lZES1L8UKOGT-DxhuEHo8SAxY4bCBR/s1328/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2016.13.33.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="1328" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDRqfTLOxhHubH28wpi3-8bRuWky_jMwGHSITnv8C880XvPyLqoj1sSSM338qRs-pQaK07Uj31_Re51Q8bdssqLRhCrfo8zR1FDMA9ZrJq2l2MpCqOYbUOXmRAdpNUexuoJ5bljzwnRgxXAkREZW0i3TLlNQRaL_lZES1L8UKOGT-DxhuEHo8SAxY4bCBR/s320/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2016.13.33.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The only solution</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There is only one solution to this issue. How do we know? Because we went through the very same thought process over ten years ago. We invested heavily in software designed to weed out fraudulent and suspect reviews - we even named the software 'Buster' because it was designed to 'Bust' fake and fraudulent reviews. But it didn't work. By comparison with human oversight and intervention, it was ineffective. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Only a trained human being can spot, with any degree of reliability, a fake or fraudulent review, or, for that matter, a review containing factual inaccuracies or misleading statements that a consumer might then go on to rely on when making purchasing decisions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Every single review written through HelpHound is moderated by such a human being. We estimate our moderators' accuracy in identifying the contentious areas outlined above is over 97% accurate. Combine that with the fact that the business under review and anyone reading the published review also has the right to challenge its content and the figure climbs further towards the unattainable 100%.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>One last question for businesses</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqmKCu9PAlL7uRu4hR0_vXb6c34dFHAQlvzPgnVQcYH8UHFy1ahbouYZhH8kZLCVVQ3Ut3w9rH9pNatFbLoNStU_3z650cDsXa2KlwrDuKLeIknQC-JPtXiO7zLWKRSMLJeKilzCnt25XFzm985mx02equ2mmatW8Kuy8rM1lVKXM4qjand3X-NZf5dO_/s1264/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2012.18.59.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="1264" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqmKCu9PAlL7uRu4hR0_vXb6c34dFHAQlvzPgnVQcYH8UHFy1ahbouYZhH8kZLCVVQ3Ut3w9rH9pNatFbLoNStU_3z650cDsXa2KlwrDuKLeIknQC-JPtXiO7zLWKRSMLJeKilzCnt25XFzm985mx02equ2mmatW8Kuy8rM1lVKXM4qjand3X-NZf5dO_/s320/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2012.18.59.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Which do you think is more visible, viewed as more credible and more trusted by consumers? For an in-depth answer <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/reviews-in-2023-key-indicators.html" target="_blank">read this</a>. For those of you in a hurry - the answer is 'Google', by a country mile, especially where service businesses and professions are concerned</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are paying Trustpilot or any other review site - why? When you can have eminently more visible, credible and influential Google reviews. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">You can then use the money saved to host moderated reviews on your own site - reviews that <i>you</i> own - and get a significant proportion of these across to Google.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Look like this...</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmh5w3tUrH-dhJXSWv6MlyB4aLYrkxxMWO1WjLy7T_wJ874NMKUQzQtvdn8_NnMOzQlW_k44vjbv-EfBGKzICNfZKfU9LVn-f3WP9O5J7HmlhGGxIfMVwFP-Y3enVRjQ7W1YEvjXo7gcF0-XEtxjaCBOLwfqhGKAx8nFS1Z3XLdFpMH4CTatxejKpwrAa/s1828/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2009.59.24.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1828" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmh5w3tUrH-dhJXSWv6MlyB4aLYrkxxMWO1WjLy7T_wJ874NMKUQzQtvdn8_NnMOzQlW_k44vjbv-EfBGKzICNfZKfU9LVn-f3WP9O5J7HmlhGGxIfMVwFP-Y3enVRjQ7W1YEvjXo7gcF0-XEtxjaCBOLwfqhGKAx8nFS1Z3XLdFpMH4CTatxejKpwrAa/w667-h242/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2009.59.24.png" width="667" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">See those 567 'votes' next to the <span style="color: #ffa400;">*****</span> 4.9 rating? They're the business's <i>own reviews</i> gathered using HelpHound</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And this...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjbNij4MWp_UlCwR7aLrsQULMpv9VfUAmAjG7ngmKQ4O9sCU2FI5gI8641GmlIOT5xkBWnMHma0UnEIKrhyphenhyphenjbKqm-UZ1I_eZcT4nciREPZOnYAdUuoFchsZdGCYNaxNKEsw_JTzJ3mLsc5FYqsl3y57ZNbJ-CDvbJ59zSWM9YMsTkVY3cSHJXiMghujDY/s1582/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2009.58.05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1582" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjbNij4MWp_UlCwR7aLrsQULMpv9VfUAmAjG7ngmKQ4O9sCU2FI5gI8641GmlIOT5xkBWnMHma0UnEIKrhyphenhyphenjbKqm-UZ1I_eZcT4nciREPZOnYAdUuoFchsZdGCYNaxNKEsw_JTzJ3mLsc5FYqsl3y57ZNbJ-CDvbJ59zSWM9YMsTkVY3cSHJXiMghujDY/w555-h286/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2009.58.05.png" width="555" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When anyone clicks on that 'Write a review' button (top left) their review goes straight to HelpHound moderation - it is that <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> that gives businesses like this the confidence to be proactive in inviting reviews, to their own website and then to Google</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And ultimately lead in search like this...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGaaezZbZich6tFbwSt8wM-4hXnbmBMMD3ZKKtKS2hwWsFaSHWHz6DvcoWxtNtQRRnBovXajy7fDQ0HRbE21ZO3Mq16457FEKmwX485c4DkRqHe_hJQkdrI_vuuScpAgXR55SL5P9KXA9xbVNKViJznITDuF68ACpdrrPfEzMxGE2Tua0P5P3OKLwKkPW/s1152/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2009.57.42.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="1152" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGaaezZbZich6tFbwSt8wM-4hXnbmBMMD3ZKKtKS2hwWsFaSHWHz6DvcoWxtNtQRRnBovXajy7fDQ0HRbE21ZO3Mq16457FEKmwX485c4DkRqHe_hJQkdrI_vuuScpAgXR55SL5P9KXA9xbVNKViJznITDuF68ACpdrrPfEzMxGE2Tua0P5P3OKLwKkPW/w612-h170/Screenshot%202023-10-25%20at%2009.57.42.png" width="612" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a> - a handbook</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Don't make the mistake of going straight down the Google route - it invariably leads to a game of '<a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/10/avoid-being-forced-to-play-splat-rat.html" target="_blank">Splat the Rat</a>'</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">Results</a> - hard proof that effective review management drives business - both quantity <i>and</i> quality</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a> - an explanation for businesses</span></li></ul></div><br /><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-454373634738448372023-10-24T15:43:00.004+01:002023-10-24T15:43:35.380+01:00Avoid being forced to play 'Splat the Rat'<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Look at so many successful businesses, and what do you see? A great Google score backed by lots of reviews. Are we right?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course we are. But underlying so many of those scores, especially with businesses that have hundreds - even thousands - of Google reviews, are far more negative - 1* - reviews than necessary.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Look at these two real-life examples (we're not going to name names for obvious reasons, but we can tell you they are both legal firms)...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxLoJi4IYdV0_yZP2y2c9BCaV9gDu_Bnx49mpHaQlECobmlehCGLfJE8RJv4dTQosTSPSn71-hxOTm0D5iwFvsEB-m3RUOyAIgeHSrOiyIVAd8RItrxi-wjzXPF-0flnbNEEuZh-MTESWCtya6_Su1y__NjAlHoZyVDMB3l7ZeVFBXiPadavEBc5I0Qfy/s686/Screenshot%202023-10-23%20at%2016.01.35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="686" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxLoJi4IYdV0_yZP2y2c9BCaV9gDu_Bnx49mpHaQlECobmlehCGLfJE8RJv4dTQosTSPSn71-hxOTm0D5iwFvsEB-m3RUOyAIgeHSrOiyIVAd8RItrxi-wjzXPF-0flnbNEEuZh-MTESWCtya6_Su1y__NjAlHoZyVDMB3l7ZeVFBXiPadavEBc5I0Qfy/w446-h184/Screenshot%202023-10-23%20at%2016.01.35.png" width="446" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYvCgBLDOSBDL0VL05mXsRvaMBukV8-6E-cHf18KAsHbDh2MTmZWFIvzyDz91HTa6cFWw5ZOLe2z8_bqCUK8ilWh0sOiY4x_G0d7guNvnMalD4ZDCiMXNzZbnlAd17cYZ-AiooEwfb3aLJ4zwWEac-xr2xVvESOlytkKGCjwKrY2dGgie22kc-S0h_-M5/s652/Screenshot%202023-10-23%20at%2016.02.19.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="652" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYvCgBLDOSBDL0VL05mXsRvaMBukV8-6E-cHf18KAsHbDh2MTmZWFIvzyDz91HTa6cFWw5ZOLe2z8_bqCUK8ilWh0sOiY4x_G0d7guNvnMalD4ZDCiMXNzZbnlAd17cYZ-AiooEwfb3aLJ4zwWEac-xr2xVvESOlytkKGCjwKrY2dGgie22kc-S0h_-M5/w441-h200/Screenshot%202023-10-23%20at%2016.02.19.png" width="441" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, they both have what most untrained observers would consider to be respectable scores, one eminently so. But here the good news ends, for them both. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-LMCHdIpWdDB1SdjHQeAif86QSsIovhJjjvmEjT-5Cng9PhxjVOBsfoq6pzzN67Sc1KVQMfijfQ0t2DTrPvuYm0INmXeWJNk6EWg6d6bUiEqfqSK15kupbuywSq50QMHQrT1QW_1PFhx0cjbrd3ZJkrR3AZjujAv4o8gy2j7HPOwW5GPplMxMdrff3l6/s696/Screenshot%202023-10-23%20at%2016.22.56.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="122" data-original-width="696" height="63" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-LMCHdIpWdDB1SdjHQeAif86QSsIovhJjjvmEjT-5Cng9PhxjVOBsfoq6pzzN67Sc1KVQMfijfQ0t2DTrPvuYm0INmXeWJNk6EWg6d6bUiEqfqSK15kupbuywSq50QMHQrT1QW_1PFhx0cjbrd3ZJkrR3AZjujAv4o8gy2j7HPOwW5GPplMxMdrff3l6/w363-h63/Screenshot%202023-10-23%20at%2016.22.56.png" width="363" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When a consumer conducts the most popular second search move - clicking on 'Lowest' - what do they find? <b>16 one-star reviews</b> of the business rated 4.9 and <b>61 one-star reviews</b> for the business rated 4.3. In both instances, that's a lot of people saying, effectively, 'Don't use this business'.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And even if they just read the feed Google supplies they will almost certainly come across one or more damaging 1* reviews.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The impact of those one-star reviews? They get read, and the ones that are carefully written and credible <i>are</i> believed and acted upon. Consumers trust reviews (why else would businesses put so much effort into getting them?) both positive<i> and negative. </i>If a negative review doesn't drive business (and we've never met anyone who thinks it does) then, it stands to reason, that it has to have the opposite effect. Not always and not all the time, but enough to make a significant impact on contacts, inbounds and lead flows as time goes by.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So both these businesses have adopted the only course of action they believed to be open to them (given that the likelihood of an appeal to Google<b>**</b> to have any of the reviews removed succeeding is vanishingly slim): they have played 'Splat the Rat'. In other words, every time they have received a 1* review they have made every effort to invite reviews from happy customers in order to drive the 1* review down and, hopefully, out of sight. Apart from the questionable legality of such a strategy - <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">the CMA expressly forbids such activity</a> by businesses unless they provide consumers with an open conduit whereby they can submit reviews at a time of their choosing - it leaves the 1* reviews to be found by anyone considering using the business, forever.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>**</b>If you have a review that you consider infringes Google's Terms and Conditions please speak to us, we have over ten years' experience of conducting Google appeals.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But surely, we hear some of you say, the law also states that consumers' opinions are sacrosanct? Indeed they are. But the law also allows for moderation should the review contain an error of fact or a statement likely to mislead readers (future customers to a man or woman - who else is going to be reading reviews of a law firm?). Here's a great example from amongst the 1* reviews of one of the two firms...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-NjqrjqHku4DA-tbw9oxHf3tI2hRtO7CUq7BSq4DpolDnOAYpppvW0n5nSzBMT3A635ouS4ha2cgnlWqbLl2rapoVNjiiwZeTfTa5ht-n1V5BGyQx1YHcfs2Fp-XFo1NzkZ03cwxxmx0vdc-D5ivoQhZ8LzqUICctkRsYS2egJvMXSWAnkKn1Yu-psD0/s1344/Screenshot%202023-10-23%20at%2016.38.37.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="1344" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-NjqrjqHku4DA-tbw9oxHf3tI2hRtO7CUq7BSq4DpolDnOAYpppvW0n5nSzBMT3A635ouS4ha2cgnlWqbLl2rapoVNjiiwZeTfTa5ht-n1V5BGyQx1YHcfs2Fp-XFo1NzkZ03cwxxmx0vdc-D5ivoQhZ8LzqUICctkRsYS2egJvMXSWAnkKn1Yu-psD0/w540-h454/Screenshot%202023-10-23%20at%2016.38.37.png" width="540" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This review - and its annotation/correction by the reviewer - illustrate exactly why HelpHound exists: with our <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> the interaction that has taken place would have happened in private, before the review was ever posted to Google. And almost certainly - 97.3% certainly - before the review was even posted to the business's own website. The business will also have to contact the reviewer - assuming they have posted under their real name (in the case above they will struggle to identify the reviewer!) - in order to ask them to correct their star rating, which will have impacted their overall Google score, again unnecessary with moderation.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The bottom line</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation process</a> applies to every single review written to a client business's website, whether rating the business 5* or 1* or somewhere in between, and addresses everything from incorrect use of English through factually inaccurate or potentially misleading wording to reviews written by people who have not used the business under review - fake reviews or reviews by competitors, for two examples. With a moderated review management system your business can relax in the knowledge that it will no longer need to watch your reviews every second of the day in case an unfair negative appears. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-9V0fhRZQian6avU2CHXv_bmWVk3-q94DuFJ15JYjy05sHE0yaj8VhlrsQde4KlbOcN4ROnx1YMzz-YzGVUZvRZZ341-kCriCdCMLW48kWUH8kxmAuobacDw86rXuHiOhv018bZYca3gNye6GUxnXO_ENiSp31Pd4HmR25YTYjz9dvK6lsNHIE8KMYTM/s758/Screenshot%202023-10-24%20at%2015.28.34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="420" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-9V0fhRZQian6avU2CHXv_bmWVk3-q94DuFJ15JYjy05sHE0yaj8VhlrsQde4KlbOcN4ROnx1YMzz-YzGVUZvRZZ341-kCriCdCMLW48kWUH8kxmAuobacDw86rXuHiOhv018bZYca3gNye6GUxnXO_ENiSp31Pd4HmR25YTYjz9dvK6lsNHIE8KMYTM/w246-h444/Screenshot%202023-10-24%20at%2015.28.34.png" width="246" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: center;">This link: 'Write a review' performs two functions, it allows anyone to write a review whenever they wish which ensures the review goes through HelpHound moderation (with all the attendant benefits for both business and reviewer) and it means the business is fully complaint with the CMA's regulations (the law)</div><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The business can also be confident in being proactive in inviting reviews from customers through whatever channel may seem most appropriate, the obvious ones being inviting reviews by emailing customers direct with the appropriate links and the passive invitation that will be embedded into your website (see screenshot above).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And some real-world results? See <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html">here</a>.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><br /></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-12017922489284148192023-10-02T13:43:00.003+01:002023-10-02T13:43:41.089+01:00Responding to reviews - again!<p><span style="font-family: arial;">How many times do we need to say this: a response to a review should be seen as a CRM opportunity. But what do we see, so much of the time?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCimxCVhjADz5C2DmFSNBtWFwWMG8t45plzDZjdz-Jl02cE8DvozMiA3BbZ30b1VdJaFZSNMupLv2LcJw7D-e1efIPz6CI08GtKry99QTYEVQ1CoUb17x-q1RisaFgIRUKqe10zXetADDMwyXfggP1ZDqJIbUa96ZodIy_O5bWulhseNwCaL7hnjjX5ljS/s1160/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2016.30.34.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="1160" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCimxCVhjADz5C2DmFSNBtWFwWMG8t45plzDZjdz-Jl02cE8DvozMiA3BbZ30b1VdJaFZSNMupLv2LcJw7D-e1efIPz6CI08GtKry99QTYEVQ1CoUb17x-q1RisaFgIRUKqe10zXetADDMwyXfggP1ZDqJIbUa96ZodIy_O5bWulhseNwCaL7hnjjX5ljS/w588-h234/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2016.30.34.png" width="588" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And this...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyCJBEa0Ld4SEEkhwH9sDBRkcWFYDeyciFfnEcdXYxObvHO60NcSHO2Lc_AewqgfMyJgvtzVUJO_EGtV0TiyitYAdQpOhMVF7kIY5995_ZxgN4u62DZ5mlh6ggN7MWVSKdlfbeQqwWY5utVHs1URMjP2-wtkqwXJVrUgAtMDoDraPu6DAdS7IC3pxVV_d/s1162/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2016.30.56.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="1162" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyCJBEa0Ld4SEEkhwH9sDBRkcWFYDeyciFfnEcdXYxObvHO60NcSHO2Lc_AewqgfMyJgvtzVUJO_EGtV0TiyitYAdQpOhMVF7kIY5995_ZxgN4u62DZ5mlh6ggN7MWVSKdlfbeQqwWY5utVHs1URMjP2-wtkqwXJVrUgAtMDoDraPu6DAdS7IC3pxVV_d/w604-h242/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2016.30.56.png" width="604" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And this...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqA6mWZtgQBlWn_3IJjmBk770hIA-P2UxcfzhX67oLZbUw-ztPIiqBdJCv3-GlT9CEJrr1C8bw0hdOva0e1Eno4o7Z1sXSPWn78kJwilrmmMTWFWchOxzBEPtqIhWTX55eivnPwAXQla6TiLYzUwhlLAipedkp6JUFHrJ5YZsXQQ8owJ0K63Pbkc2ceq1K/s1152/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2016.31.14.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="1152" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqA6mWZtgQBlWn_3IJjmBk770hIA-P2UxcfzhX67oLZbUw-ztPIiqBdJCv3-GlT9CEJrr1C8bw0hdOva0e1Eno4o7Z1sXSPWn78kJwilrmmMTWFWchOxzBEPtqIhWTX55eivnPwAXQla6TiLYzUwhlLAipedkp6JUFHrJ5YZsXQQ8owJ0K63Pbkc2ceq1K/w592-h233/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2016.31.14.png" width="592" /></span></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, the company in this example - Cadent Plc - made an operating profit of £935 million in 2022/3, so we can safely say that shortage of cash was not the issue. So what would our advice be to it, and any other business finding itself in the same position?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1. Stop treating reviews as a subsidiary branch of CRM</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Reviews - Google or any other - should not be a substitute for customer service. Customers should be able to express their opinions in private, but if you read Cadent's reviews they mention, again and again, an inability to make contact with the business...</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"<span style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.176px;">We have been told there is a claim form to fill and to ring or e-mail certain numbers, all the phone numbers deny it's their responsibility, even given some numbers that don't exist."</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.176px;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.176px;">I have spent hours on the phone each time having to explain the problem"</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.176px;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: var(--CDS-type-styles-large-body-l-letter-spacing);">They think it's acceptable to leave a family of an 8-month-old baby and 4-year-old child without adequate heating overnight. It's disgraceful. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: var(--CDS-type-styles-large-body-l-letter-spacing);">I have contacted via contact form and email but no response."</span></i></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">All of which have received the response above, whatever their complaint. And we stress our use of the word 'complaint' here: these are not reviews, they are complaints. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Which, we suppose, is better than no response at all, which is the case with their Google reviews...</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rHlP08WF28s6Ql4iz66KgN6vJuZN0mVlBCRBDmF4vQU1afyx1kFZd53J1ZR-TGaMZMuRvg4CNrQiIOYo8gBCC4bDJyFnuQlqEJYF4bMnM6y0x9YXurLA2FhQlzzq37wb90ju4J72s_8yf5THYPy7F9Le71UfFYg3l4IK19FCXO1n-tY_Izwlp-7eLTyz/s1186/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2017.07.21.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1166" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rHlP08WF28s6Ql4iz66KgN6vJuZN0mVlBCRBDmF4vQU1afyx1kFZd53J1ZR-TGaMZMuRvg4CNrQiIOYo8gBCC4bDJyFnuQlqEJYF4bMnM6y0x9YXurLA2FhQlzzq37wb90ju4J72s_8yf5THYPy7F9Le71UfFYg3l4IK19FCXO1n-tY_Izwlp-7eLTyz/w461-h468/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2017.07.21.png" width="461" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Invest in CRM/complaints management</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Good - by which we mean <i>effective </i>- customer relationship management will deal with complaints offline, well before the customer feels that the only route left to them is to post a review. How? By inviting independent feedback at every opportunity - via the company's website. Social media can be effective...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxfL2Vf83XuucjyHzgqwASNFWxPFrBKKuw8SXM_v60xbcpi_uw4qQaSMg6ozarW-zdzo81cnUJ6e4vTah-F7K2_dqLUB1gVwj6pCasTIrpg7XiQkwVrwTrAPhBMCZ5EIchVWqPv-cE4YgqV6BNGOZqnqAL1x_dBOFIfRPOvqYbXMHsjPXl76UvKXGNz2H/s762/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2017.19.53.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="762" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxfL2Vf83XuucjyHzgqwASNFWxPFrBKKuw8SXM_v60xbcpi_uw4qQaSMg6ozarW-zdzo81cnUJ6e4vTah-F7K2_dqLUB1gVwj6pCasTIrpg7XiQkwVrwTrAPhBMCZ5EIchVWqPv-cE4YgqV6BNGOZqnqAL1x_dBOFIfRPOvqYbXMHsjPXl76UvKXGNz2H/s320/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2017.19.53.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;">...if, and only if, someone is monitoring it and responding...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bfq18KXR9xXHaH6EqlbhFJSUp-mrVulmmE_aQYF_YSasSGI1fcdwrGIbdBBFsN6XdLsRDfVImP8GPWNV_74yBZto6U1sY4UFi-YEWB4Ojyw17AjcWZ_rXlbWzO04KdsfC3y5ArmVN0wJBsPpDjyPSXfGHYZRxAc4fAv6lMjuyDE1QfELtFSs3Ze5ZPOV/s1208/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2017.18.47.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1208" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2bfq18KXR9xXHaH6EqlbhFJSUp-mrVulmmE_aQYF_YSasSGI1fcdwrGIbdBBFsN6XdLsRDfVImP8GPWNV_74yBZto6U1sY4UFi-YEWB4Ojyw17AjcWZ_rXlbWzO04KdsfC3y5ArmVN0wJBsPpDjyPSXfGHYZRxAc4fAv6lMjuyDE1QfELtFSs3Ze5ZPOV/w515-h290/Screenshot%202023-09-15%20at%2017.18.47.png" width="515" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;">...but it is no substitute for effective review management.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>3. Why 'independent'?</b></span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Consumers constantly tell us how grateful they are for our <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation of their reviews</a> and their subsequent interaction with the business under review. When we launched our moderation process, nearly ten years ago now, we were concerned that consumers would somehow see HelpHound as agents of the business, but they seldom do. On the contrary, both we and the businesses under review are often told how reassuring consumers find our involvement. Moderation works. It takes the heat out of the exchange, and ensures that factually inaccurate, misleading and plain unfair reviews are very unlikely to be posted - anywhere. You only have to look at any HelpHound client online and you'll see just how effective the process is.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>So: where does HelpHound fit in?</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Our service rests within and above the business's existing CRM. It is the first and last port of call for any customer wishing to voice their opinion on the quality of service that they have received. It sits reactively on the client business's website and their email signatures and is used proactively to invite customers to write a review.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Most important of all, all reviews sent to the business are <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated by HelpHound</a>, so factually inaccurate, potentially misleading and just plain unfair reviews are so much less likely to see the light of day.</span></div>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-15191052230044391012023-09-13T12:26:00.002+01:002023-09-13T14:16:07.168+01:00Moderated review management v. going it alone to Google - the crucial difference<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Below are two businesses as currently shown in Google local search. Both were first visited by HelpHound some years ago when they had very few Google reviews - the first had 2 the second 7 - one took the plunge and joined, and one did not. What both did do was understand our core message: that Google reviews were paramount. Not Trustpilot. Not Feefo. Not any other review site.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOqyLisleXiedvZX7WGHWrzjYyjvqgBiO4tJUk1aSzEbpwxxEu4vyUR9Tw1YmhCmsgQBXtSeizHG2xE1jbUaXxKn_6dAkJWRJSsDEuI9EdLD3h0GlWRflvcKb-uq3Qggsce_L2nzU1_Eg9xokKewRjcHhLOk-WzfUeDEnGbYcBVmmwduZtn9rNDh5GH2n/s832/Screenshot%202023-09-10%20at%2017.39.07.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="828" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOqyLisleXiedvZX7WGHWrzjYyjvqgBiO4tJUk1aSzEbpwxxEu4vyUR9Tw1YmhCmsgQBXtSeizHG2xE1jbUaXxKn_6dAkJWRJSsDEuI9EdLD3h0GlWRflvcKb-uq3Qggsce_L2nzU1_Eg9xokKewRjcHhLOk-WzfUeDEnGbYcBVmmwduZtn9rNDh5GH2n/w431-h434/Screenshot%202023-09-10%20at%2017.39.07.png" width="431" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM18fbBTFgZmPMB6F0LaFBEshi_pdCk9nbInPnc0_UkgMliViId9BOyUAjMzmi0P7IZcfUcDy_Az1HxIinSHSxMwjFMNENSwjMSZ-dopbV9PFC-xAJnWyi1U9BB-ajQRg67JZbOBaWV7gmyzVwny5sl6hKXje8kwUCb-hlyoccov5xUKtT47q9MIKWdbIn/s826/Screenshot%202023-09-10%20at%2017.39.48.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="826" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM18fbBTFgZmPMB6F0LaFBEshi_pdCk9nbInPnc0_UkgMliViId9BOyUAjMzmi0P7IZcfUcDy_Az1HxIinSHSxMwjFMNENSwjMSZ-dopbV9PFC-xAJnWyi1U9BB-ajQRg67JZbOBaWV7gmyzVwny5sl6hKXje8kwUCb-hlyoccov5xUKtT47q9MIKWdbIn/w432-h209/Screenshot%202023-09-10%20at%2017.39.48.png" width="432" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>No prizes for guessing which is the HelpHound member, but that's not what we are going to discuss here. What we want to know is what has <i>caused the difference</i> in outturn? </span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Because we have met both businesses we know we can answer that question pretty accurately, certainly accurately enough to pass those answers on to you in this article. Here we go...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;">1. The HelpHound member quickly gained confidence thanks to our <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a>, they knew that they could invite reviews, in person, on their website and by email without that lingering fear that inaccurate or misleading - or just plain unfair - reviews would be written unchallenged. Looking back over the years when our moderators have intervened it has almost invariably been to the delight of the reviewer <i>and</i> our member business. If you are looking for the answer to the question 'Why has the first business got more reviews?' this is a big part of it</span></div><div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">2. The HelpHound member has no compliance issues or worries: they know they are compliant, and they know that they can ask exactly whom they want to write a review in the secure knowledge that having a 'Write a review' button on their website makes them instantly conform to the CMA regulations (the law). Many - most? - businesses with 100+ Google reviews are - wittingly or not - flouting one of the CMA's core rules: more often than not they are selecting which customers/clients/patients to ask to write a review. Many businesses react with disbelief when we come to this subject; all we would ask is that you read <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">this article</a> and read the relevant CMA rules referred to there</span></p></div><div><p><span style="font-family: arial;">3. They know that Google is seeing their own reviews on their own website and scoring them for local search (SEO) as a result - may be as much a 15% of the overall. What we do know is that at least eighty-five per cent of our clients feature in the top three of their most popular relevant local searches, even when there are as many as twenty or thirty competitors in their area...</span></p></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEZyLvqxiYDgFrekEkI-fTKJyqEVMvFpk9Ukai43b-EZhL3GckzQXkFMqcwa1009HugJZTMfnJ29gbE8DYBv_2y-QRTSt2HI6fK4luOoX4F11gdXIQ1Mm5gsnPHNLXxrB3IZPA57QB9Dm-wu_1amodPvhggnewOz83x79iFcTrzi9-bdSdWBOTjgpCPXG/s748/Screenshot%202023-09-11%20at%2015.38.54.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="748" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEZyLvqxiYDgFrekEkI-fTKJyqEVMvFpk9Ukai43b-EZhL3GckzQXkFMqcwa1009HugJZTMfnJ29gbE8DYBv_2y-QRTSt2HI6fK4luOoX4F11gdXIQ1Mm5gsnPHNLXxrB3IZPA57QB9Dm-wu_1amodPvhggnewOz83x79iFcTrzi9-bdSdWBOTjgpCPXG/w363-h343/Screenshot%202023-09-11%20at%2015.38.54.png" width="363" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How many similar businesses? We counted 15 in this very condensed area - more than 30 if we pan out</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4OonfJVni79wbCtsiwol9VdXRGMNhoCPleZEW7XOT4uaPSZFcb6Qh3YVrAez8eOIhwVjGbR8yEeYhBFlxaJCP3XsV0DK4lmIYSIJsEFjrvlyVLN4_SUuqgxVXz7Q9_rC8_R41-HBZ_IE6FnTqxbBaobdPm4K1oPfDE0xgIjTLrypfvEWtjKUVlCuLVB8/s1412/Screenshot%202023-09-11%20at%2015.39.16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="1358" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4OonfJVni79wbCtsiwol9VdXRGMNhoCPleZEW7XOT4uaPSZFcb6Qh3YVrAez8eOIhwVjGbR8yEeYhBFlxaJCP3XsV0DK4lmIYSIJsEFjrvlyVLN4_SUuqgxVXz7Q9_rC8_R41-HBZ_IE6FnTqxbBaobdPm4K1oPfDE0xgIjTLrypfvEWtjKUVlCuLVB8/w545-h566/Screenshot%202023-09-11%20at%2015.39.16.png" width="545" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And top - of both map and organic (natural) search? We can't take 100% of the credit for that - the business has an award-winning website, but their rating of 4.9 with 266 votes alongside that search result, against their nearest competitor with 4.7 and 121, is surely winning clicks and calls</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Conclusion</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The conclusion we hope you have come to is first, the one mentioned in the first paragraph: that engaging with Google reviews is a must and second, that engaging by employing a moderated and compliant system is worth every penny (and more). The difference between adopting HelpHound and just going for Google reviews directly is amplified over time; all things being equal (quality of service/CRM, in the main) the HelpHound business will gradually pull away as it has done in the example above, thanks entirely to our moderated system. Less factually incorrect, misleading and downright unfair reviews will find their way to Google. Full Stop. The fact that there are other benefits - SEO, owning your own reviews, displaying those reviews on your own website to drive calls and clicks - pale besides moderation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">While we are on the subject of costs, we can be pretty confident that none of our clients see their HelpHound membership as an 'added cost'; it is expressly designed to drive an increase in calls and clicks and raise the quality of each piece of business transacted. For more specific examples of both those please read <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">this article</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-89295059221408208022023-09-08T18:25:00.003+01:002023-09-27T17:57:16.119+01:00HelpHound - the gateway to successful review management for your clients<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.helphound.info/2023/09/review-management-guide-for-pr.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> and you will be taken to the Full Monty: '</span><a href="http://www.helphound.info/2023/09/review-management-guide-for-pr.html" style="color: #33aaff; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Review Management - a Guide for PR, Advertising and Marketing agencies</span></a>' <span style="font-family: arial;">- all of the detailed knowledge and experience of the last fourteen years of managing reviews for all kinds of businesses condensed into one article. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What does it cover - in a nutshell? The key elements comprise the following three vital headings...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1. What is HelpHound?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We are professional review managers. In the same way that you have built up experience and expertise in your own field, there is virtually nothing that we don't know about reviews - Google reviews, review sites like Trustpilot and Yelp and Feefo, the way consumers - and patients and clients - react when invited to write a review, the chances of a review harming your business, the likelihood of your business, or your clients' businesses, benefitting from review management in hard cash terms, we know just about all of it (and if we don't we surely know someone who does).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>2. Results</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQY4v6X7EKs8ncabrmxsFMGiwjnkwVgQoKZll2NCDjUbVlez7AVNmCr8mBXf02UkYwCXVSz4euDrZdFHaFnoEyF33ih5MeMrW9rfBUvTRxCXS_syOqGV21lM--XKZ7oAm3pK2XzjC3AoSZQIVzwXJaNjVCULI8A74ZxsbKwFkgY4z2T-SJpm9tPpa9uE8p/s1106/Screenshot%202023-09-08%20at%2017.18.55.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="1106" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQY4v6X7EKs8ncabrmxsFMGiwjnkwVgQoKZll2NCDjUbVlez7AVNmCr8mBXf02UkYwCXVSz4euDrZdFHaFnoEyF33ih5MeMrW9rfBUvTRxCXS_syOqGV21lM--XKZ7oAm3pK2XzjC3AoSZQIVzwXJaNjVCULI8A74ZxsbKwFkgY4z2T-SJpm9tPpa9uE8p/w542-h80/Screenshot%202023-09-08%20at%2017.18.55.png" width="542" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This client had two - 2 - Google reviews when they joined...</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0tpa_IdjE3_iGzMv-6GgmwnMthzx3tcLdH5fPJKD_BCG43U_QkHdGJ5fY9qG58-J8l8YIy8RTMg9P_c9-XJPBFQDXTUArYKVAHhRDkmV5ViQ962_1NnqOPlGm7QgUvH6xnmxVCOuXXBHL7VpDfmt5y-X6wsqBVdKCrXxVm7KiL6YwFfDuNpW6M3jK6ls/s1554/Screenshot%202023-09-08%20at%2018.15.48.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1554" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin0tpa_IdjE3_iGzMv-6GgmwnMthzx3tcLdH5fPJKD_BCG43U_QkHdGJ5fY9qG58-J8l8YIy8RTMg9P_c9-XJPBFQDXTUArYKVAHhRDkmV5ViQ962_1NnqOPlGm7QgUvH6xnmxVCOuXXBHL7VpDfmt5y-X6wsqBVdKCrXxVm7KiL6YwFfDuNpW6M3jK6ls/w577-h312/Screenshot%202023-09-08%20at%2018.15.48.png" width="577" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">...and none at all of their own on their website</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is a yawning chasm between 'It's nice to have a great Google score backed up by hundreds of 5* reviews' and the hard numbers. We focus on those numbers: the <i>uplift in calls and clicks through search </i>combined with the <i>reduction in factually inaccurate, potentially misleading and just plain unfair reviews</i> posted - anywhere. And the increase in value per customer - all are covered in the main article. </span></div></blockquote><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SgH8jOksoaXxz3YmN7jJLku32zk2vjoH3P0aaOKZ_dQw1x_MT99jZNGYsRl-HP66jRTwH8LN6cVuKbtPrKFaGGHEQ4-ZCLUKq5nTsWBCcKDKFNdmxB9CkS848f0OFlcNEP-y_zPnh1AHpzs2qKj9IrgTgqMKto71IxAPGXqz-2v1-EidVjcwOQ4jjFO7/s386/Screenshot%202023-09-08%20at%2018.19.29.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="360" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SgH8jOksoaXxz3YmN7jJLku32zk2vjoH3P0aaOKZ_dQw1x_MT99jZNGYsRl-HP66jRTwH8LN6cVuKbtPrKFaGGHEQ4-ZCLUKq5nTsWBCcKDKFNdmxB9CkS848f0OFlcNEP-y_zPnh1AHpzs2qKj9IrgTgqMKto71IxAPGXqz-2v1-EidVjcwOQ4jjFO7/w241-h259/Screenshot%202023-09-08%20at%2018.19.29.png" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These are not our numbers - they are taken directly from Google's monthly report to our client</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To give you a taster: most clients new to proper professional review management see upifts in clicks and calls through search in the region of 15 to 30 percent, depending on the business's starting point.</span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>3. Compliance and moderation</b></span></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Review compliance is currently where parking compliance was thirty years ago: there are rules but they're not being enforced. This has lead to businesses flouting the <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA's two core regulations</a>: no cherry-picking and no gating (simply put: a business is not allowed - by law - to choose which of its customers to invite to write reviews or to pre-qualify those customers before inviting them to write reviews). The only way most businesses are confident in inviting reviews <i>and</i> complying with those regulations is if they find a <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated review management system</a> - a way of ensuring that inaccurate, misleading or plain unfair reviews are highly unlikely to ever see the light of day.</span></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;">That third point - finding a moderated system - is a tricky one unless you happen to find HelpHound. We invented review moderation back in the noughties and we remain the only review manager to incorporate it into our system. It is absolutely integral to the success of our clients' engagement with reviews.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So back to the first line - either <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2023/09/review-management-guide-for-pr.html" target="_blank">click here</a> to read the main article or call us on 020 7100-2233 to arrange to meet.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-48067840699847501682023-09-07T16:26:00.005+01:002024-01-19T09:32:29.719+00:00Results, results, results!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lAdpZoAamxvPvzyzfyWFjcJQcQd6k3wsSSIWwGByVNtD_9HCcqBS6DEgmPFxPuSOneEBDdIz8hczDIaEPbGBXsMGkeVu6Mkwejyg_LI_Q5tMFNbcnzth3mzLOVFDSJ-cmxXPUFjteFX8ifBRPR1i7AmQqRwMonqiKD3QEhEsQfJJgX67saL40hblXgMz/s1784/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.34.00.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="1784" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lAdpZoAamxvPvzyzfyWFjcJQcQd6k3wsSSIWwGByVNtD_9HCcqBS6DEgmPFxPuSOneEBDdIz8hczDIaEPbGBXsMGkeVu6Mkwejyg_LI_Q5tMFNbcnzth3mzLOVFDSJ-cmxXPUFjteFX8ifBRPR1i7AmQqRwMonqiKD3QEhEsQfJJgX67saL40hblXgMz/w431-h358/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.34.00.png" width="431" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In reporting Winkworth Plc's first half results, Dominic Agace, CEO said...</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #404040; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Our business remains robust and our focus continues to be on providing a platform that can allow an independent business to compete as a <b>top three contender</b> in its local marketplace and, by doing so, ensuring a franchisee can generate a healthy return under differing market conditions.”</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Now, far be it for HelpHound to take undue credit for its impact on the above, but perhaps a quick look at some of our members' positions in local search may show even the most cynical the impact professional review management can have on a business's online reputation (bear in mind there are commonly between 20-30 similar businesses in any given area covered by Google search in London)...</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwnE22fDPr9P5okT2XqTg4fcyaP9Iw_yWguQqKe8dt9s8ArxLwnVpGrJRLShYo2LKVCXFXAQfHhfT4xyDxgKpkKbaG6SRCSsy4aRXXgz-uNFWUM0I7R0_mtxIT6XXfe8Izv60tlihms3IlppaVaWgmoQiDH5hTq3gfq32POC26XlbN9hc18t9O_9bFFC3/s1350/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.43.19.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1350" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwnE22fDPr9P5okT2XqTg4fcyaP9Iw_yWguQqKe8dt9s8ArxLwnVpGrJRLShYo2LKVCXFXAQfHhfT4xyDxgKpkKbaG6SRCSsy4aRXXgz-uNFWUM0I7R0_mtxIT6XXfe8Izv60tlihms3IlppaVaWgmoQiDH5hTq3gfq32POC26XlbN9hc18t9O_9bFFC3/w546-h327/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.43.19.png" width="546" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwnE22fDPr9P5okT2XqTg4fcyaP9Iw_yWguQqKe8dt9s8ArxLwnVpGrJRLShYo2LKVCXFXAQfHhfT4xyDxgKpkKbaG6SRCSsy4aRXXgz-uNFWUM0I7R0_mtxIT6XXfe8Izv60tlihms3IlppaVaWgmoQiDH5hTq3gfq32POC26XlbN9hc18t9O_9bFFC3/s1350/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.43.19.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWIzDhCoogOyoZyQ4mm9Z_9FLTH34amNB34Ck9jKo5c2JurgLCB8MZrwZRL_XLxv5KxGMN6OiiEsC1PMwq5_mvqnOGJDN4vXOrXXRpMujazOEIqFrWnxbm8hx1A5n7WvYFSNy19uRw4U5VXAk7-yFfGaEWC7oQ_g-cB4DmGjnFFauuMfwSkx50v1LfK3M/s1366/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.42.56.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="1366" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWIzDhCoogOyoZyQ4mm9Z_9FLTH34amNB34Ck9jKo5c2JurgLCB8MZrwZRL_XLxv5KxGMN6OiiEsC1PMwq5_mvqnOGJDN4vXOrXXRpMujazOEIqFrWnxbm8hx1A5n7WvYFSNy19uRw4U5VXAk7-yFfGaEWC7oQ_g-cB4DmGjnFFauuMfwSkx50v1LfK3M/w542-h279/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.42.56.png" width="542" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHCWpKpFuZO-cyW9T0YqjEn0EqiC591nSLdgUtVClfhg2PI5oV80iaTahpRIXffLv2oTr1rAYtFDovXh8bobEgBU7Neb7ZtGIWv1n-KUkMFzroormbjImWFVHgrw0UFF-qYSfInwfVfFBoGZkxUfGqHcz7IjRM-dwRUCYLu8ErKFPsPX1l3AiefI6p7lq/s1348/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.44.04.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1348" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHCWpKpFuZO-cyW9T0YqjEn0EqiC591nSLdgUtVClfhg2PI5oV80iaTahpRIXffLv2oTr1rAYtFDovXh8bobEgBU7Neb7ZtGIWv1n-KUkMFzroormbjImWFVHgrw0UFF-qYSfInwfVfFBoGZkxUfGqHcz7IjRM-dwRUCYLu8ErKFPsPX1l3AiefI6p7lq/w512-h310/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.44.04.png" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEbhpC9v9nrIbmKc9Vn8Z81PNTC0-6oCrps1x4UarM8x7Tkjzzlu_ict0s0ND-VLW5bCd6ivBUoiBhMjJ42N3T5TCPGUIgZ8sYNSXuFqzUWR58lLGmlSKn1Hn_9-uEYuU5UBn2-8mrNyVg6i7XlMeftnSzz3zhHmkakJxeoEIT27NQ3NSNs4UziGM7weHo/s1356/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.44.37.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="1356" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEbhpC9v9nrIbmKc9Vn8Z81PNTC0-6oCrps1x4UarM8x7Tkjzzlu_ict0s0ND-VLW5bCd6ivBUoiBhMjJ42N3T5TCPGUIgZ8sYNSXuFqzUWR58lLGmlSKn1Hn_9-uEYuU5UBn2-8mrNyVg6i7XlMeftnSzz3zhHmkakJxeoEIT27NQ3NSNs4UziGM7weHo/w536-h440/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.44.37.png" width="536" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFIkFwwQKl1eDuMMsm8w5xi0lDhscy7SOZlHlG6kzQCjhcF7UxD39_0bA_ReXUpveqOQUwZDwqUvRhXanj7Z9yrMkyO7lSFWvUL4ByGkLU5Ph6Wv7jgoHGtGfRoehwou9kxbVtBaoXeVkQoywiE3jxgOhQeercj8d8whaXxxKQZugb7FCujsy-7NLVCTt/s1356/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.45.26.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="1356" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFIkFwwQKl1eDuMMsm8w5xi0lDhscy7SOZlHlG6kzQCjhcF7UxD39_0bA_ReXUpveqOQUwZDwqUvRhXanj7Z9yrMkyO7lSFWvUL4ByGkLU5Ph6Wv7jgoHGtGfRoehwou9kxbVtBaoXeVkQoywiE3jxgOhQeercj8d8whaXxxKQZugb7FCujsy-7NLVCTt/w540-h436/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.45.26.png" width="540" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8V5rJLR-bzaoS6X8z5L6mHh8fUyaFNGKQBaQ2YbW6ZepEesP5D5V78S0i7vnrnLRMwgZMLUB5YC6fua9OtiPBBzfbYnYvjKyJm-jDXtMSZapjlo3zBc5uJdKHn87QBNI4Nxs2iu9YSEPKRWxcAADffHMoq3X3cNNnfap-6m5qH99bEyXYe9refThPCTS/s1348/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.45.57.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="1348" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8V5rJLR-bzaoS6X8z5L6mHh8fUyaFNGKQBaQ2YbW6ZepEesP5D5V78S0i7vnrnLRMwgZMLUB5YC6fua9OtiPBBzfbYnYvjKyJm-jDXtMSZapjlo3zBc5uJdKHn87QBNI4Nxs2iu9YSEPKRWxcAADffHMoq3X3cNNnfap-6m5qH99bEyXYe9refThPCTS/w544-h530/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.45.57.png" width="544" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4djqVbDInanSLwaRPflmEzno6o8Atd3mz8MorzvXrCMRWRdKUJ8q03HFofmBi2n7MOrxHrBRGG0wlSJXYcnXGBgeqWms9Jn3jiPNI0n_IMLTTV0eRRzcNhgim8s4t3CFYfHNC-JVjoUng3n6ptKlLGYSUobO_4RFGiCAVodwXuTzCyHbL4E1PU2xrsqua/s1404/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.49.22.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1404" data-original-width="1362" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4djqVbDInanSLwaRPflmEzno6o8Atd3mz8MorzvXrCMRWRdKUJ8q03HFofmBi2n7MOrxHrBRGG0wlSJXYcnXGBgeqWms9Jn3jiPNI0n_IMLTTV0eRRzcNhgim8s4t3CFYfHNC-JVjoUng3n6ptKlLGYSUobO_4RFGiCAVodwXuTzCyHbL4E1PU2xrsqua/w552-h568/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.49.22.png" width="552" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWTEUnmv4EVKOo1uB3JKWpxnbSFk1xUllTfMxPD01l5FUazN6JoYs8u4wRyVlSB05KjI8XyEDdwXPg2LGqrtl6R15ybvDKejIDYLI-9TezOqtM-q0Fl373ub98FiJVyZB7keV54VJMScXMMIlUNtFupY-6fwp-yDdV80M1LkIc11kpagr7tuXvNLdAvpp/s1356/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.50.01.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="1356" height="523" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWTEUnmv4EVKOo1uB3JKWpxnbSFk1xUllTfMxPD01l5FUazN6JoYs8u4wRyVlSB05KjI8XyEDdwXPg2LGqrtl6R15ybvDKejIDYLI-9TezOqtM-q0Fl373ub98FiJVyZB7keV54VJMScXMMIlUNtFupY-6fwp-yDdV80M1LkIc11kpagr7tuXvNLdAvpp/w526-h523/Screenshot%202023-09-07%20at%2012.50.01.png" width="526" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The key here? <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a>. Every single review posted to our members' websites is moderated - read by a professional moderator - before being published there with the reviewer then being automatically invited to copy the review to Google. This gives our members the confidence to invite reviews - compliantly - from all their stakeholders: current clients, past clients, potential clients and <i>allow </i>reviews from all those others who might otherwise be tempted to post direct to Google: property seekers, unsuccessful applicants and the like. In the secure knowledge that any reviews containing errors of fact or potentially misleading statements will be subject to moderation. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrkglTzyMlnzAVQkhXbhPwHsMCx3a_X4N3_N-XpAqJU1Tz--zOmxi7zmb6C8E-D8Isy6XQNiy7QLj8sGQbG39flu2ExzPzAxvVowIlwsYpPvGLdcWcmoJyMCJ3y46r4MlNxOmiMiBV4wpT3TPR1uFxIIpRXpC1XkcsaElUR-TXefkvpZ2e4sc1oMGsxUt/s916/Screenshot%202023-08-31%20at%2015.34.38.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="712" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrkglTzyMlnzAVQkhXbhPwHsMCx3a_X4N3_N-XpAqJU1Tz--zOmxi7zmb6C8E-D8Isy6XQNiy7QLj8sGQbG39flu2ExzPzAxvVowIlwsYpPvGLdcWcmoJyMCJ3y46r4MlNxOmiMiBV4wpT3TPR1uFxIIpRXpC1XkcsaElUR-TXefkvpZ2e4sc1oMGsxUt/w357-h459/Screenshot%202023-08-31%20at%2015.34.38.png" width="357" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">From this small link all good things flow - a great score (on the business's own website and on Google - see above), backed up by great individual reviews <i>and</i> all in compliance with the CMA regulations (unlike so many of their competitors)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Every HelpHound member business is fully compliant with the law - <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">the CMA regulations</a> - which specifically state that a business must not hand-pick customers to invite to write reviews or control their timing. It must go a long way to explaining the longevity of our client relationships - read what some of them <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/03/no-better-proof.html" target="_blank">had to say back in 2017</a>, words that hold good just as well today.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-73715290893799096582023-09-07T12:31:00.002+01:002023-09-07T12:31:25.976+01:00Review Management - a Guide for PR, Advertising and Marketing agencies<p><span style="font-family: arial;">You know that an outstanding presence in Google reviews is a must-have for all of your clients; you also know that achieving that - a score of 4.8+ and 200+ reviews - is easier said than done, especially while maintaining compliance with the <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a>. What follows is a step-by-step guide to achieving this for them without running any risks - of attracting adverse reviews or of breaking the law.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This article is intended as a reference point for agencies to decide how best to advise </span><i style="font-family: arial;">all</i><span style="font-family: arial;"> of their clients, whatever their current situation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EG86PVUqkOQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="EG86PVUqkOQ"></iframe></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And if you haven't time to read the whole article, just scroll down to the final paragraph: '</span><b style="font-family: arial;">So - after all of the above - are there any other benefits for our agency?' </b><span style="font-family: arial;">a</span><span style="font-family: arial;">nd you</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> will see a precis. But we strongly recommend you follow the 'Bezos principle' (see video above) and read what follows - we promise it will reward the effort.</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Note for readers</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It is so easy to promote a 'one size fits all solution' to reviews, after all, that's what the review sites do. But businesses differ, not only in the way they market their products and services - see what we did? There are two distinct categories of business already! - but in the way they have historically approached (or avoided approaching) reviews.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In this article we are going to address review management from two distinct perspectives: the <i>type of business</i> and the <i>current situation</i> each business finds itself in. All of your clients - and, indeed, your own business - will be in one of the following 4 categories. For the purposes of this exercise we are going to ignore those in 1, 2b, 3 and 4 (you will understand why as you read on). For those in category 2a we will further break them down by their current status with regard to reviews and follow that with specific relevant advice.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then it is over to you. Speak to us and we'll arrange a mutually beneficial approach to those of your clients you feel we can help. That will usually mean starting out with an individual <b>review audit*</b> and then progress to providing definitive tailored advice. And it will end with your client scoring 4.8+ with three figures of reviews, a great SEO kicker and in full compliance with UK law.</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As you read this article you will see continuous references to both <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">compliance</a> and <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a>, each one hyperlinked to a full explanation. They are the two underlying planks of effective review management, so we make no apolgy for repetition.You can read them now or as you read on, the choice is yours. </span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">* A <b>review audit</b> - as the name implies, begins with examining every aspect of a business's experience with reviews to date and ending with a summary of advice and recommendations. Covering the likes of existing presence on review sites - Google/Trustpilot/Feefo/Yelp/Reviews.io and so on - and compliance with the UK government (CMA) regulations, as well as providing a roadmap to effective and compliant review management for the future.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>First: the 'type of business'...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Almost every one of the <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06152/SN06152.pdf" target="_blank">UK's 5.5 million businesses</a> falls into one of four categories...</span></p><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1. Product-based </b>- retail in the main. Broad-brush we know, but most people will buy a pair of shoes or a dishwasher <i>irrespective of the service element</i> involved in their purchase. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Otherwise, such businesses are served by the commercial review sites (oddly, rarely by Google reviews) - just see any online retailer's website or advertising.</span><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>2a. Service-based</b> - the professions and high-value transactional businesses: medical, legal, financial, educational and the like (estate agency is a good example - a service business that is infrequently used but where the consumer is aware that the wrong choice may potentially cost them many thousands of pounds) as well as <b>2b</b>. <b>Trades - </b>plumbers, electricians, and so on.</span></div></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>3. A hybrid of the above two categories -</b> car dealerships for example - they 'sell' cars <i>and</i> 'service' them (We know, but we want to make quite sure there are no misunderstandings given what is to come later). </span></div></div></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>4. 'Impervious' businesses</b> - utilities and transport companies are two obvious examples: where the consumer either has no choice at all (South West Water or a train from Paddington to Bristol anyone?) or the business is so massive that, often despite protestations to the contrary, it really doesn't care what people are saying online (it's easy to tell: they don't repond to customers' Google reviews, when it's free and easy to do so). </span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Now something about HelpHound. In an ideal world, we would welcome clients from any of these four categories, but years of experience have taught us to concentrate all our efforts on <b>Category 2a</b>: the professions and service-based businesses. And there is absolutely no doubt that it is in that sector that HelpHound can add the most value - in <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">pure £££s</a> as well as in many other ways.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Why would HelpHound effectively ignore the other three categories?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We can add value for <i>any</i> business, whatever its nature, but...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Category 1</b>: After all they love reviews, don't they? Yes, they do, and the review sites - Yelp, Trustpilot, Feefo, Reviews.io, etc. - have targeted them very effectively. They would do better with professional review management, but we can add <i>more</i> value for other kinds of business.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZ5XsV6PpAQ83NQlATqkPM7X85e0JCCSPGB-8RyQeXweKPVqqSgINBZufSxnxeDKXq755dJDUyRMFG6vp2FU_VNBC5TxPSBbqt4YveFBcSDAaZFdqTRhbAlhAiM_kn27f6E0jJqhdDjFsp9oc3kcAu3bhYbanDgZyWnG7Hhh7JWGJwOIot5nssjnUKQ_-/s2056/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.01.55.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="2056" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZ5XsV6PpAQ83NQlATqkPM7X85e0JCCSPGB-8RyQeXweKPVqqSgINBZufSxnxeDKXq755dJDUyRMFG6vp2FU_VNBC5TxPSBbqt4YveFBcSDAaZFdqTRhbAlhAiM_kn27f6E0jJqhdDjFsp9oc3kcAu3bhYbanDgZyWnG7Hhh7JWGJwOIot5nssjnUKQ_-/w591-h166/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.01.55.png" width="591" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>As long as they score 4.0 they're generally pretty happy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwK_v7cHJa1ZHONzymEANXMPo6Jmeg9PzDbf_EWM6VrSxCwhWm4d2udW1FakW2G0s9SYHg2SUdyYeNnSS4iKvYQEmA5hHwsUeHHqRpOOjMhqAqOSZ_haXrne3tjq5JSoarOQH_fwUAmLBrwnnVeDk34izpo3Jyqm4JzbN_UsiTr3sj8jMCwS8TK8PLEHNL/s524/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.05.48.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="524" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwK_v7cHJa1ZHONzymEANXMPo6Jmeg9PzDbf_EWM6VrSxCwhWm4d2udW1FakW2G0s9SYHg2SUdyYeNnSS4iKvYQEmA5hHwsUeHHqRpOOjMhqAqOSZ_haXrne3tjq5JSoarOQH_fwUAmLBrwnnVeDk34izpo3Jyqm4JzbN_UsiTr3sj8jMCwS8TK8PLEHNL/w266-h212/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.05.48.png" width="266" /></a></div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Category 2b:</b> Trades and 'man+van' businesses, which often don't have dedicated business premises - needed for a Google profile - are covered by the likes of Which? and lead-generator businesses such as Checkatrade and TrustedPeople.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNaQ47eBX6N7HWAoFAOG81ayeuhce3wfyAQaza1LYn4v0aZgBgFw0s2bAzuK8v3_08t3_vBRMLpwziIaiGGCiL6zUMQfk6nuMgVY9IFvJeXknigLL12o8CsSHZwAcprhh05JjVDC-y5s1fZnvOSc7it9nt3nlb4Fi_rex-RX_23j7GaGUzAcIDmoRIzyE/s974/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.13.54.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="806" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNaQ47eBX6N7HWAoFAOG81ayeuhce3wfyAQaza1LYn4v0aZgBgFw0s2bAzuK8v3_08t3_vBRMLpwziIaiGGCiL6zUMQfk6nuMgVY9IFvJeXknigLL12o8CsSHZwAcprhh05JjVDC-y5s1fZnvOSc7it9nt3nlb4Fi_rex-RX_23j7GaGUzAcIDmoRIzyE/w429-h518/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.13.54.png" width="429" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Category 3:</b> Businesses, where the major earner is sales, and service is sometimes even a loss-leader, tend to focus on in-house reporting rather than reviews. They shouldn't, but they do. We'll be here for them when they come around.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvUHC4RQKR0R1zk8P6SN2db4RpCNdq7fQqdCEx8ddaQQuS0PqblAkkP9UpaVE9Gr-F1blH6cxy6KU2Yn9C052lX3qO6mhKOlWpdBH0bQEmNzXR-2mgrmrEUrPfG8eRvF1QFv9riTw_hAq3DkTu-g3eH7Jd_-OthasEAFeN2n30-yFN1RfT66vUz5AxQyQ/s766/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.43.32.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="766" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvUHC4RQKR0R1zk8P6SN2db4RpCNdq7fQqdCEx8ddaQQuS0PqblAkkP9UpaVE9Gr-F1blH6cxy6KU2Yn9C052lX3qO6mhKOlWpdBH0bQEmNzXR-2mgrmrEUrPfG8eRvF1QFv9riTw_hAq3DkTu-g3eH7Jd_-OthasEAFeN2n30-yFN1RfT66vUz5AxQyQ/w451-h335/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.43.32.png" width="451" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Category 4:</b> 'Impervious'. Well, they must be - why otherwise do they make next to no attempt to address - or even respond to </span><span style="font-family: arial;">- reviews from their customers </span><span style="font-family: arial;">(we'll repeat it - it's free!)?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So, we are left, happily, with <b>2a</b>. The professions - medical, legal, educational, and financial as well as the likes of recruitment, estate agency, and so on. Most of these businesses really care about their images online...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbbGlxlzNNkkWOkOTyZ7_ZoOm-zoburTEqx9u9sSAvW-X2r00Gi_RjVIPkzYe9esOHC6jSQjiCLLA-MHS1l-Pc56iNZgXebX8YhMfMqZLLR6vUvjeB3LfMAEzaWDKXQwRuLICLbImSMPIDWgirKp_sxEs0Y4RXTab3tkJhvBtlNAHluFsnm2UN5-N8Hfp/s1310/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.18.53.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1310" data-original-width="840" height="627" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbbGlxlzNNkkWOkOTyZ7_ZoOm-zoburTEqx9u9sSAvW-X2r00Gi_RjVIPkzYe9esOHC6jSQjiCLLA-MHS1l-Pc56iNZgXebX8YhMfMqZLLR6vUvjeB3LfMAEzaWDKXQwRuLICLbImSMPIDWgirKp_sxEs0Y4RXTab3tkJhvBtlNAHluFsnm2UN5-N8Hfp/w402-h627/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.18.53.png" width="402" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">\</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We make no apology for using a HelpHound client to illustrate this category. When this business adopted HelpHound they had just 2 Google reviews!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">it knew that scoring 4.9 on Google would drive business through its doors</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">it knew that a Google score of less than 4.5 would hinder their new business efforts</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">it knew that everything else being equal, numbers of reviews matter</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">it knew that its work is complex and often misunderstood</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">it knew exactly how harmful a well-written but factually inaccurate review can be</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">it knew that hosting their own client/patient/customer reviews gives them valuable feedback and data</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And - once they understand the <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a>...</span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">it is very pleased that it is in full compliance with UK law</span></li></ul></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Now to the sub-categories of 2a</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">You may be surprised to read that there are very few businesses in <b>2a</b> that have adopted the <i>correct</i> solution. Here we go (you should be able to allocate one of the following descriptions - A to G - to each of your clients)...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>A - No reviews</b></span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Still regularly encountered. Reason: almost always fear, with a capital 'F'. And that fear is fully justified: if a business provides complex and difficult to comprehend services</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> there <i>will</i> be a proportion of people who <i>will</i> grab the wrong end of the stick with both hands and then be tempted to beat the business with it. And these days that stick - which used to be a relatively harmless 'green ink' letter or an angry phone call - is invariably a 1* Google review.</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The fatal flaw in the 'Don't engage with reviews' strategy is that it put's the business's image way beyond the its control. We used to encounter </span><span style="font-family: arial;">hotels that had 'no review' contracts for airline staff staying - that didn't last when the same staff realised that all they had to do was create a new Google account and fire away!</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> One day one such unhappy customer </span><i style="font-family: arial;">will </i><span style="font-family: arial;">find their way to writing a Google review. Best have 100 5* reviews there when they do. Even better still, have their review directed to your business where it will benefit from HelpHound's <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a>.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's the very reason we invented moderation. <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">Moderation</a> gives businesses of all kinds the confidence they need to compliantly invite reviews from <i>all</i> their customers. The alternative - crossing fingers and toes in the hope that unhappy consumers don't write reviews - may have worked ten years ago, but it's far too high risk a strategy in 2023.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>B - Few reviews</b> - less than 50 - and a high score (<b>4.6 and up</b>)</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Often the result of at first engaging and then stalling: the engagement is often prompted by receiving a one-star review - 'let's squash that one!' - or a member of staff driving engagement short-term (we know of one keen young person who stayed late at work once a week for a month and got their business 40 Google reviews, then he left and the business got three reviews for the rest of the year). </span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The key here is to embed professional review management into the business in the same way as every other essential discipline. Many businesses do this and then fall at the compliance hurdle: they cherry-pick (invite selected customers to write reviews) or gate (use mechanisms like surveys to pre-qualify 5* reviewers), all understandable until you realise they are both against the law. Our question to prospective clients is 'Why break the law when a) it so quickly becomes obvious to your competitors and b) it is so easy not to?' Needless to say, no agency professional wants to find themselves in a position of advising a client to adopt a non-compliant solution.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>C - Few reviews</b> - and an average score (<b>4.0 - 4.5</b>)</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Believe it: a score of under 4.6 will result in two things: the business comparing less favourably with its competitors as well as a handful of damaging 1* reviews underlying the score (a score of 4.0 from twenty reviews means at least four harmful 1* reviews). Neither need happen if the business adopts a <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated</a> solution.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>D - Few reviews</b> - and a low score (lower than <b>4.0</b>)</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a tricky one: we need to establish why the business has attracted negative reviews: it's either a flaw in their CRM - put bluntly: they're not that great at what they do. Our advice in these circumstances is simple: sort your CRM and we'll speak when you have done so.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Or they have left the field clear for a tiny minority of unhappy customers. More common than one might think: once a business has experienced the power of a negative review to harm enquiry rates - clicks and calls - it is not uncommon for business owners and managers to retreat into 'denial mode'. We hear comments such as 'reviews don't matter' (they do), 'our score doesn't influence the flow of enquiries' (it does) or 'people pay no attention to negative reviews' (they do, in spades).</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Once such businesses have been introduced to our moderation process they quickly shed such denial, which is exposed for what it is - an understandable but mistaken reaction to the fear of attracting more negative reviews.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>E - Many reviews</b> - over 50 in most cases - and a high score (<b>4.6+</b>)</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now we must tread carefully. There are many businesses that have high Google scores by simply being great businesses, but once a business has more than 50 Google reviews and a high score the very numbers generally - not always, but generally - indicate a proactive stance towards reviews. Put plainly: the business <i>is inviting reviews</i>.</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fine, as long as the business has some mechanism that allows <i>all</i> of its customers to write a review <i>at a time of their own choosing</i>. The <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA's definition</a> of 'all' and 'at a time of their own choosing' is, as one might expect from a government agency, very precise. We have businesses constantly trying to convince us that they comply by various means - 'we include a link in the signature block of every email' or 'we email customers inviting reviews on a regular basis' but the <i>only</i> sure-fire solution is to include the link you will see on every HelpHound client's website. Before you say 'But that is asking for trouble' (we would agree, if it weren't for what follows) bear in mind that the link will invite a review to <i>your own</i> website that <i>will then be <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated</a></i>. So a 'win/win': compliance and moderation (and credibility) all in one.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>F - Many reviews</b> - and an average score (4.0 - 4.5)</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are some businesses that continue to believe that scoring 4.4, or even 4.0, is fine. Good even. But if you are to win business against competitors that have adopted professional review management your business needs to be scoring 4.6+ (in some cases even that score will leave a business languishing by comparison with its competitors). If your business is scoring between 4.0 and 4.5 and is leading the field in search then our advice has to be: take that lead and extend it before one or more of your competitors does. Nothing gives us more satisfaction here at HelpHound than seeing a client's Google score overtake its competitors.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>G - Many reviews</b> - and a low score - (less than 4.0)</span></div></blockquote><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsChWYgr9ouV3otpjXX5rcWws9oP8PX2I7ZfubN7RSmpKdeY7oLvy_R-_UnKMlpW13ECftYlQu5_O5beOh-4Gz69EAHEtAQ6cUUdfVn4cnscXpLNVnlNCbxLn5Etk1apfDFA4dzmyVC1z5v9d0q7ZpceHnzvZ8o-1pSGrLEPmdLUJ2Z-71nGEY16v1Vcs0/s1042/Screenshot%202023-08-19%20at%2017.14.08.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="824" height="523" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsChWYgr9ouV3otpjXX5rcWws9oP8PX2I7ZfubN7RSmpKdeY7oLvy_R-_UnKMlpW13ECftYlQu5_O5beOh-4Gz69EAHEtAQ6cUUdfVn4cnscXpLNVnlNCbxLn5Etk1apfDFA4dzmyVC1z5v9d0q7ZpceHnzvZ8o-1pSGrLEPmdLUJ2Z-71nGEY16v1Vcs0/w413-h523/Screenshot%202023-08-19%20at%2017.14.08.png" width="413" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Very few businesses find themselves in the arguably luxurious position of being able to ignore reviews</span></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Now we are in the territory of 'don't care', which is at the extreme end of the denial syndrome we discussed earlier, or what we term 'review immunity'. Some businesses, often those that have a very high public profile such as fast food multiples: when did you last see a McDonald's franchisee bother to respond to a review? an airline? or a utility (South West Water - see above)? But these businesses are in the minority; most businesses </span><i style="font-family: arial;">are</i><span style="font-family: arial;"> vulnerable to Google reviews, be that their headline score or the negative reviews underlying it. </span><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div> </div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Note on scores and numbers of reviews:</b> these are, of necessity, subjective but they are based on over ten years of experience and are backed up by hard statistics. In some marketplaces - financial services is an obvious example - it is currently unusual<i> </i>to find a business with double figures of Google reviews, whereas in estate agency any business worth the name probably has north of a hundred Google reviews. Why? HelpHound has to take part of the blame here; when we took on our first high-profile Plc client in estate agency enough of their branch network - of over 100 - took the bull by the horns and trusted us that they wouldn't be swamped with unfair reviews (thanks to our moderation process) and went on to prove us right. That set a fire under the whole sector: if your competitor scores 4.9 with 200 reviews you had better do something to compare with them or you will be losing significant business.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYl7x-OHNOSA_l4D0FgYa1R6qeIYOCQ1rQd0iG-Z4wgIhAS42szxB_SWfFU6Hwz36XD183461fNJA2eE-s0rRS_F0bN9ClbEtmgDrazl6eMd2tFcteywrtgIC2NbmVOd3nLVj484rU4hIt8e6IgJt2bJ2A5BG2T1pr2BVQ1-UBQeohzdM6g7qoB6mO0wD/s2054/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.31.42.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1492" data-original-width="2054" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYl7x-OHNOSA_l4D0FgYa1R6qeIYOCQ1rQd0iG-Z4wgIhAS42szxB_SWfFU6Hwz36XD183461fNJA2eE-s0rRS_F0bN9ClbEtmgDrazl6eMd2tFcteywrtgIC2NbmVOd3nLVj484rU4hIt8e6IgJt2bJ2A5BG2T1pr2BVQ1-UBQeohzdM6g7qoB6mO0wD/w573-h415/Screenshot%202023-08-21%20at%2017.31.42.png" width="573" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This Harley Street medical clinic client also answers the question we are sometimes asked about confidentiality: 'Do we see resistance from those using sensitive services?' The Harper Clinic specialises in treating menopause symptoms, how much more sensitive could a business be?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUGuHNUfFbvOQ4rF2Mj7Nq0X6XRy9XUrIiOtp75tq7lpYtedfreC7Tcm0jrRXQ8kBJeFm0blMTZm-rtEZg7OScsNSzda0SZkZNB7-bgrS1Tgby7egIXnpOYzGT1ZKCK9lkFcAS8WcOOJwnJz7jiaZV85vQJ5ENmDKTmgvdUpLepWYMdy7sfoNMSejGOK3/s916/Screenshot%202023-08-31%20at%2015.34.38.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="712" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUGuHNUfFbvOQ4rF2Mj7Nq0X6XRy9XUrIiOtp75tq7lpYtedfreC7Tcm0jrRXQ8kBJeFm0blMTZm-rtEZg7OScsNSzda0SZkZNB7-bgrS1Tgby7egIXnpOYzGT1ZKCK9lkFcAS8WcOOJwnJz7jiaZV85vQJ5ENmDKTmgvdUpLepWYMdy7sfoNMSejGOK3/w294-h378/Screenshot%202023-08-31%20at%2015.34.38.png" width="294" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The red arrow is pointing at the key to all of our clients' compliance with the <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">CMA regulations</a>, as well as the route to moderation. By clicking on 'Write a review' anyone can write a review whenever they wish, and that review will be <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderated</a> to ensure, as far as is compliantly possible, that it contains no errors of fact or statements likely to mislead a reader</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This also, by coincidence, provided proof of another kind. When faced with a business that is concerned with allowing all of its stakeholders to post a review whenever they choose - in other words: in compliance with <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html" target="_blank">UK law</a> - we don't hesitate to point out that estate agency is hardly the least criticised business sector of all time, so, if we can show it working, for the professional agencies at least, how great a risk would a medical practice or a firm of financial advisers be taking?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>So - after all of the above - are there any other benefits for your agency?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">There are two answers to this - both of which provide <i>tangible</i> benefits for <i>your</i> business:</span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Your clients will be grateful that you introduced them to HelpHound. There is no downside for them. They will be compliant with the CMA regulations from the day they join and just one look at our '<a href="http://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">Results</a>' will show them the potential uplift in enquiries through both Google and their own websites. HelpHound membership <i>will earn them extra revenue over and above our fees, from the outset*. </i>It also has the potential to make them significant savings on the likes of Google Ads, as well as the boost to their SEO.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">By becoming a HelpHound introducer you will be adding a growing quarterly income stream for your own business</span></li></ol></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">*If you have a client that already has a score of 4.9 and 200+ Google reviews they will be just as glad they joined: aside from a continued <i>compliant</i> flow of reviews to Google, they will be hosting <i>their own</i> reviews - valuable data - on <i>their own</i> website and benefitting from our <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation</a> going forwards. No more cherry-picking or gating and a great <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2019/01/reviews-and-how-they-boost-your-seo.html" target="_blank">SEO kicker</a> too.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-42145844957902958432023-08-18T18:18:00.002+01:002023-08-18T18:18:17.954+01:00Outbound marketing support - we'll help you get your ducks in a row<p><span style="font-family: arial;">We are all familiar with canvassing emails - here is a pretty standard one...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6b3CgnaXG3jbgq6JS83CsnIbPyUZV0J9zXsEG_1HkQVFeJub-3a_yVnw7AqLaXMZGAxFZ00lRd_hbZT2aAB7s7cJwGZ_03b-TnrtYuJrtPdHX-FFBHVDFuq1EJe2HRboJCPiMZudObPqNQx5HW2afwu7TGH96rFPbDloIWfBmZoMhpPw2U2qoUG9a61Tr/s1584/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.10.37.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="1356" height="660" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6b3CgnaXG3jbgq6JS83CsnIbPyUZV0J9zXsEG_1HkQVFeJub-3a_yVnw7AqLaXMZGAxFZ00lRd_hbZT2aAB7s7cJwGZ_03b-TnrtYuJrtPdHX-FFBHVDFuq1EJe2HRboJCPiMZudObPqNQx5HW2afwu7TGH96rFPbDloIWfBmZoMhpPw2U2qoUG9a61Tr/w565-h660/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.10.37.png" width="565" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Best practice after sending one? The follow-up call. And when this kind of email is followed up the salesperson knows exactly what to expect...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Not interested</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Not interested unless you can - quickly - give me a reason to be interested</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Interested</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And in the case of the latter - those that <i>are</i> interested - we know what a significant proportion of them will already have done: conducted a web search. So what do we see when we search?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnNJVdeWBi_y7zBVP8ved6UVGSvUgvVPG-ok_MlO8CuFgSVYLnKsoGIybrhQKCFWYeS13Wsym3NCtkaO2UrZ7H18XlMVkd-VfMnS56iedPhcndDZu59-VHgwoHjl55hDk2DXOBW6ws89ZioKTS6SWTySP7vJWBzIOjRi28Mo0k72k3Ow1jpUVSEsAM9LP/s2114/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.06.46.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="2114" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnNJVdeWBi_y7zBVP8ved6UVGSvUgvVPG-ok_MlO8CuFgSVYLnKsoGIybrhQKCFWYeS13Wsym3NCtkaO2UrZ7H18XlMVkd-VfMnS56iedPhcndDZu59-VHgwoHjl55hDk2DXOBW6ws89ZioKTS6SWTySP7vJWBzIOjRi28Mo0k72k3Ow1jpUVSEsAM9LP/w619-h333/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.06.46.png" width="619" /></a></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Google immediately offered, as its second most valuable search after the business's own website, a search for reviews. That means that, according to Google's algorithm, the second most relevant search after the business's own website is <i>reviews of the business</i>.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And right next to that search? The Google knowledge panel, which is expressly designed by Google to contain all the key information that both Google and any prospective customers of the business will need to know...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNZ1-zdqtrJkpJDsuKG7anANV8lPpq4idb5EvXExl0rMDOAygkk7XQFGvg_yje3OPC0ju3l4yM3CDAEx9xm_4RAw4O-U2ScmZ9NL-wTd3zfrDO1k7uDmJhswGDtZGW4Q9ZAwv_M5OUDk2oQT_uv8iYHBkIIhcUEj7lOznRavf5lZK75aj5z2OokzE_wP1/s1580/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.08.25.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1580" data-original-width="968" height="707" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNZ1-zdqtrJkpJDsuKG7anANV8lPpq4idb5EvXExl0rMDOAygkk7XQFGvg_yje3OPC0ju3l4yM3CDAEx9xm_4RAw4O-U2ScmZ9NL-wTd3zfrDO1k7uDmJhswGDtZGW4Q9ZAwv_M5OUDk2oQT_uv8iYHBkIIhcUEj7lOznRavf5lZK75aj5z2OokzE_wP1/w433-h707/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.08.25.png" width="433" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No reviews. Not a single one. How much easier do you think it would be to convert prospects if the business's knowledge panel looked like this:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRkJOHjVdv4BiQS3lhEWJtlTljveCISH9VL3dmCc6Qk1TKddm72p94MJe11DxHFRs2_0yG1qZaS3NiJszQx9s4BpwcQNh9_xML71L4K5_TZb9D9uh-47K6EE7Ul4g-iM-RLDgy9tYxcKw0JF7k5dvFD74Q_FM8knafY1jjJybrSUHLK0BW_sm3Ukcxi2J/s1358/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.21.32.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1358" data-original-width="642" height="991" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRkJOHjVdv4BiQS3lhEWJtlTljveCISH9VL3dmCc6Qk1TKddm72p94MJe11DxHFRs2_0yG1qZaS3NiJszQx9s4BpwcQNh9_xML71L4K5_TZb9D9uh-47K6EE7Ul4g-iM-RLDgy9tYxcKw0JF7k5dvFD74Q_FM8knafY1jjJybrSUHLK0BW_sm3Ukcxi2J/w467-h991/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.21.32.png" width="467" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's easy to lose count of the number of times reviews appear in this business's Google knowledge panel - either their own, from their website, or from Google itself: their headline score - 4.9 - and the number of reviews - 311, 'Reviews from the web' - their own (HelpHound moderated) reviews - 4.9 again and 532 (also showing in organic search, along with a star rating - see the screenshot below - or conduct your own <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=winkworth+kingsbury&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB1002GB1003&oq=winkworth+kings&aqs=chrome.0.35i39i355i650j46i39i175i199i650j69i64j69i57j46i175i199i512j0i512l2j69i60.10531j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">live search</a>). And then the three rich snippets that Google has taken directly from their Google reviews - all rating the business 5*. What a profound - and powerful - difference when compared with the previous knowledge panel</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTZa0WMMgqW2zwmCMnfLANtPtu73Jq4DjW3w2ZpbXfXi2j5-s3UF93px1o1ZHCDvPh8eCK6o1qoW1sTCTHs3RPjFr6bwBk71gMUNY8gm1wqfklkfUJ211oTQxjuCUYgixYtv3OtltgOJtmRc7Z6k1QsQ4BUKu1RyL6bF2BkkeKkUJ3-4vazk21nuoc1Yk/s1350/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.55.01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="1350" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTZa0WMMgqW2zwmCMnfLANtPtu73Jq4DjW3w2ZpbXfXi2j5-s3UF93px1o1ZHCDvPh8eCK6o1qoW1sTCTHs3RPjFr6bwBk71gMUNY8gm1wqfklkfUJ211oTQxjuCUYgixYtv3OtltgOJtmRc7Z6k1QsQ4BUKu1RyL6bF2BkkeKkUJ3-4vazk21nuoc1Yk/w625-h281/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.55.01.png" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Those 5 gold stars - and the rating and number of 'votes' are - surprisingly for some - not taken from the business's Google reviews, but from their own (HelpHound moderated) reviews hosted on their own website...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZIDQkLDNW9WgU_TNqd59n5ODZMY-53AVq5LCIbmsPXTmr2WHQOe3hA0B0dsuLSXBXpeldyTqAlHFmwuEJ0qzqKrBsgNB6Yk9Hi0FrCSuzP9mfbe9RTeTyUX9n4RmdBcM-0N5JfzwzeXys7OaobkD3baTojTe2c8vRa3hYii1R2Q_2Ii-mVXBITJkWj06/s1644/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.58.50.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1644" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZIDQkLDNW9WgU_TNqd59n5ODZMY-53AVq5LCIbmsPXTmr2WHQOe3hA0B0dsuLSXBXpeldyTqAlHFmwuEJ0qzqKrBsgNB6Yk9Hi0FrCSuzP9mfbe9RTeTyUX9n4RmdBcM-0N5JfzwzeXys7OaobkD3baTojTe2c8vRa3hYii1R2Q_2Ii-mVXBITJkWj06/w647-h313/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2013.58.50.png" width="647" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">See them live <a href="https://www.winkworth.co.uk/estate-agents/kingsbury" target="_blank">here</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><br /></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>The key...</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When <a href="https://www.winkworth.co.uk/estate-agents/kingsbury" target="_blank">this business</a> became a HelpHound client they had two Google reviews. They understood the power of reviews to drive business (in the form of clicks and enquiries) through search - and through their own website, and to power SEO, as well as minimising their outlay on expensive marketing such as Google ads, but they had, quite rightly, hesitated. Why? Because, like so many businesses, they were concerned that they had no legally compliant* mechanism with which to ensure that the absolute minimum of inaccurate, misleading or just plain unfair reviews they would get.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That was until we introduced them to HelpHound's <a href="https://www.helphound.info/2023/06/review-moderation-essential-ingredient.html" target="_blank">moderation process</a>, where every single review is read to ensure that reviews containing errors of fact or statements liable to mislead can be corrected prior to publication. And the rest - as they say - is history.</span></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Selecting customers to write reviews and/or using a mechanism such as a questionnaire to identify those most likely to write a 5* review are both illegal in the UK and the EU. We know you know competitors that do just that, but you also know that saying to a potential customer 'Yes, they have great reviews, but that's not hard if a business hand picks customers to write them; we, on the other hand, allow all ours to do so' wins business. You will find a short analysis of the law <a href="http://www.helphound.info/2017/04/reviews-and-law-detailed-analysis-of.html">here</a>.</span><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Further reading</b></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.helphound.info/2021/10/results.html" target="_blank">Results</a> - every business that joins HelpHound is able to monitor the resultant increases in calls and clicks by referring to its Google Business Profile (previously its Google My Business report), which looks like this...</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1AxXnX6IHijtj9W-tYnffR9SDZxIDo26KKp0ny668vclnHei2heFmBlbbpyyZxvlB7xBa7nOGH1vJl8VFPqz-X-KDBFjU8Jmlc2LH2m2sb5wFNjRetbgDYL2eMRxskCjRGgoBRu5RL7FsrsJz8GqwcGaNsL9Q5_hIgWTRO3XnCJZXiyKKtMZCcOuB-Os/s1384/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2018.11.49.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="1384" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1AxXnX6IHijtj9W-tYnffR9SDZxIDo26KKp0ny668vclnHei2heFmBlbbpyyZxvlB7xBa7nOGH1vJl8VFPqz-X-KDBFjU8Jmlc2LH2m2sb5wFNjRetbgDYL2eMRxskCjRGgoBRu5RL7FsrsJz8GqwcGaNsL9Q5_hIgWTRO3XnCJZXiyKKtMZCcOuB-Os/w599-h500/Screenshot%202023-08-18%20at%2018.11.49.png" width="599" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">If for some reason you cannot find yours, either follow Google's <a href="https://support.google.com/business/answer/9918094?hl=en-GB" target="_blank">instructions here</a> or call us and we'll talk you through it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p></div>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4125437380285444886.post-75585758698527070572023-08-12T15:37:00.005+01:002023-08-12T18:50:48.397+01:00 Using AI/Chat GPT to respond to reviews<p><span style="font-family: arial;">So many businesses neglect to respond to reviews - their own or those on Google. We nag away - as regular readers of this blog will know - but often we are faced with 'too busy' or 'other priorities get in the way', so we thought we would see whether AI could possibly help.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So let's take some real-life examples and see what Chat GPT comes up with (and add a few pointers of our own). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's what we asked Chat GPT:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu613krM1jFoHaOri0rVf7kv7Kch5P1tDNJY0XlkyDzZ5yo1q5cCBE6-8kV1RU4UzQw9u6MwocVdmBRRfJk-0N8CTHX08masqGow6OfX0RMWmPotlH7ybfKvHMO0G_yPy266XZy0Jl9r4a8I-2cpSRc9UpQFphpNCV0Xohc8r6J9Uobs-pCcxX6YC1Prf9/s1132/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2014.00.29.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="124" data-original-width="1132" height="69" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu613krM1jFoHaOri0rVf7kv7Kch5P1tDNJY0XlkyDzZ5yo1q5cCBE6-8kV1RU4UzQw9u6MwocVdmBRRfJk-0N8CTHX08masqGow6OfX0RMWmPotlH7ybfKvHMO0G_yPy266XZy0Jl9r4a8I-2cpSRc9UpQFphpNCV0Xohc8r6J9Uobs-pCcxX6YC1Prf9/w634-h69/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2014.00.29.png" width="634" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjjanTKt2-QBrA93_LSFUldn0akOv5LHrHZbmMlpZFJgfK2AcXDbHavQzdFbRvcSBdgoN-l9VAsR0tAXCMoYoxo6udhaKlk65VEID6mxBeIfGdmckZfYbVyO-qpQmP-HIlKzhogQrgoJCXb8RtL7XlWjU_REPY92Y9PFcO8dF1wpynxzhrBj_4tmn6fBT/s1192/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2014.00.40.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1192" height="545" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjjanTKt2-QBrA93_LSFUldn0akOv5LHrHZbmMlpZFJgfK2AcXDbHavQzdFbRvcSBdgoN-l9VAsR0tAXCMoYoxo6udhaKlk65VEID6mxBeIfGdmckZfYbVyO-qpQmP-HIlKzhogQrgoJCXb8RtL7XlWjU_REPY92Y9PFcO8dF1wpynxzhrBj_4tmn6fBT/w608-h545/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2014.00.40.png" width="608" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And here is Chat GPT's suggested response:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMRVtWjwfvMBaLJhwdSnAN6yjTGJ5O9lt3-NPtLG4UWVMTl6v1IfVfAOKlkL8KwyAZgj_QBi8rhZsx-cazD5FUNeKA4ZFBMET6WYI3auD9vqWpEUJyPJ36f1FjBzLFbofHceH4EydGTyJ4UGHvwBz8GIfzSkY9iyBa14gllC3EfKLIjXPh2Qqkl7KMS3A/s1312/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2014.00.56.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1312" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMRVtWjwfvMBaLJhwdSnAN6yjTGJ5O9lt3-NPtLG4UWVMTl6v1IfVfAOKlkL8KwyAZgj_QBi8rhZsx-cazD5FUNeKA4ZFBMET6WYI3auD9vqWpEUJyPJ36f1FjBzLFbofHceH4EydGTyJ4UGHvwBz8GIfzSkY9iyBa14gllC3EfKLIjXPh2Qqkl7KMS3A/w573-h437/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2014.00.56.png" width="573" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGFpcdoQOw7wfr5SKkThIb6qa0DGZzeGkmN2biWMXZODyYQFqL67qA1BeIhXYFcdgurGORAtdL_f1QCbdqL0UpbZxS3tXLG2HNQu7byzqmUmUzYX-qfME5t3Xk_jTz3M9a7VzNChLBhzF2FpZeQNNOZXdF7jVLorSf8eBEPlZe2ZxGuFMsJeiQqpGz3HK/s1302/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2014.01.15.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1302" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcGFpcdoQOw7wfr5SKkThIb6qa0DGZzeGkmN2biWMXZODyYQFqL67qA1BeIhXYFcdgurGORAtdL_f1QCbdqL0UpbZxS3tXLG2HNQu7byzqmUmUzYX-qfME5t3Xk_jTz3M9a7VzNChLBhzF2FpZeQNNOZXdF7jVLorSf8eBEPlZe2ZxGuFMsJeiQqpGz3HK/w571-h558/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2014.01.15.png" width="571" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Note:</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">We gave Chat GPT no other instruction(s)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Chat GPT's response took just over 1 second</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">The business can edit Chat GPT's suggested response before posting it to Google</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">There is currently no 'English English' version of Chat GPT, so you will need to correct American English - apologize etc. - aside from that Chat GPT's vocabulary and grammar is often better than some of the responses we see currently!</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's another, this time for a firm of solicitors:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBqg_ozEve-LMJAn5qeClORyAvrqdyC4DUuTno14tj8qzdjpYCHLhrDkJKC2ltuURyRP4qkCAd2GR7owqa4Dp4zjCnU_nup5FIdlM4DCd5DJq5E8bR9ZtypR05Lcr7E4VlYa2zAgJgfgyPlOA0FKwsSYEtogSs_s821LrARyNl4VcRIilYJidIa1ejawJ/s1472/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2015.22.55.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="1472" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBqg_ozEve-LMJAn5qeClORyAvrqdyC4DUuTno14tj8qzdjpYCHLhrDkJKC2ltuURyRP4qkCAd2GR7owqa4Dp4zjCnU_nup5FIdlM4DCd5DJq5E8bR9ZtypR05Lcr7E4VlYa2zAgJgfgyPlOA0FKwsSYEtogSs_s821LrARyNl4VcRIilYJidIa1ejawJ/w593-h469/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2015.22.55.png" width="593" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-dkFIMuvStSzZoB4Wd2ququIy-U4jrBRDFt4LL7PZExqmcaP8FCaPQFCD9yI94UObA-NnSch3tiLKWBNMAYLcfsMAq0WcqTBXPV3KdY7sIzwxA0W0TiAcl7529d_l0FYfoec6ScQWH0N3kiNywuGp6K3uUG_giM2htNXAAtdnCYMQBkU5WGTuBNK8KEq/s1454/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2015.25.11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="1454" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-dkFIMuvStSzZoB4Wd2ququIy-U4jrBRDFt4LL7PZExqmcaP8FCaPQFCD9yI94UObA-NnSch3tiLKWBNMAYLcfsMAq0WcqTBXPV3KdY7sIzwxA0W0TiAcl7529d_l0FYfoec6ScQWH0N3kiNywuGp6K3uUG_giM2htNXAAtdnCYMQBkU5WGTuBNK8KEq/w600-h156/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2015.25.11.png" width="600" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;">And for a 5* review (of a medical practice)?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14Xq66IkxUeojTl9AtzR3xrJPLNePjthcoSMYF1hZWcm1wf8oZtIbXzR-6jQHxL9vAwU1NpVVg0qwL1FPtMQozUBQe8i3WSWA8ERhJF8lIhnrYSPnfb82bF53LW_vAZW986bZfZDbzOjFrlpHGLuct6kVoIwIVlf8tew_d7Ki7KanQ1x_6dJdMZyWvwY6/s1490/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2015.32.35.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="1490" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14Xq66IkxUeojTl9AtzR3xrJPLNePjthcoSMYF1hZWcm1wf8oZtIbXzR-6jQHxL9vAwU1NpVVg0qwL1FPtMQozUBQe8i3WSWA8ERhJF8lIhnrYSPnfb82bF53LW_vAZW986bZfZDbzOjFrlpHGLuct6kVoIwIVlf8tew_d7Ki7KanQ1x_6dJdMZyWvwY6/w600-h464/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2015.32.35.png" width="600" /></a></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGiFKzojStJbpBlgmzs2GyXAPeS4BF8HRJRmcHaDqMHp16LNlI0jXgiaGb5QwRpN09PJU5M4SQJ-GzPiYVD5dSQbKl04a6uOZaPSjomANEf78bCJRSySNjWa2ITWy5hptATXf5nCHTMDVHgXZ1XY4oYg9fB95QjYst3L8LPPSKatI8cJNMCBoBo10uaEXd/s1428/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2015.32.44.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1428" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGiFKzojStJbpBlgmzs2GyXAPeS4BF8HRJRmcHaDqMHp16LNlI0jXgiaGb5QwRpN09PJU5M4SQJ-GzPiYVD5dSQbKl04a6uOZaPSjomANEf78bCJRSySNjWa2ITWy5hptATXf5nCHTMDVHgXZ1XY4oYg9fB95QjYst3L8LPPSKatI8cJNMCBoBo10uaEXd/w605-h239/Screenshot%202023-08-12%20at%2015.32.44.png" width="605" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></div><b>Our conclusion</b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course, in an ideal world, we would have 100% of our clients responding to every review within 24 hours of it being posted, even if only to thank the reviewer for taking the trouble, but in cases where there would otherwise be no response at all, we think that AI may well have a role to play.</span></div><div><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>HelpHoundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17916939226336003753noreply@blogger.com0