Outbound marketing support - we'll help you get your ducks in a row

We are all familiar with canvassing emails - here is a pretty standard one...

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...

• Not interested
• Not interested unless you can - quickly - give me a reason to be interested
• Interested

And in the case of the latter - those that are 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?

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 reviews of the business.

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...

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:

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 live search). 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

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...

See them live here

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The key...

When this business 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.

That was until we introduced them to HelpHound's moderation process, 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.

*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 here.

Further reading

• Results - 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...

If for some reason you cannot find yours, either follow Google's instructions here or call us and we'll talk you through it.

Using AI/Chat GPT to respond to reviews

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.

So let's take some real-life examples and see what Chat GPT comes up with (and add a few pointers of our own). 

Here's what we asked Chat GPT:

And here is Chat GPT's suggested response:

Note:

1. We gave Chat GPT no other instruction(s)
2. Chat GPT's response took just over 1 second
3. The business can edit Chat GPT's suggested response before posting it to Google
4. 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!

Here's another, this time for a firm of solicitors:

And for a 5* review (of a medical practice)?

Our conclusion

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.

'Allowing' and 'Inviting' reviews - the crucial difference

As regular readers will know, moderation - the act of reading a review before publication to ensure, as far as is legally allowed, that it is not factually inaccurate or potentially misleading for future customers of the business under review - is a cornerstone of our service here at HelpHound. It has been described as the BUPA, or the AA, of reviews; something you hope your business will never need but is absolutely essential insurance against the time when such a case arises.

But how is moderation squared with the CMA core regulations? These state that...

• a business must not prevent a customer from posting their opinion, whatever that may be
• a business must not filter negative reviews in any way
• a business must not control the timing of a customer's review
• any business that invites any of its customers to post reviews, anywhere (on Google or a review site or, in the case of HelpHound members, on their own website) must allow all of its customers to post a review

It's those words in italics above that go to the core of moderation. If you look at any HelpHound member's website (all illustrations here are on mobile - the most used platform these days) you will see the following...

The reviews themselves (the most recent ones or all of them - that's up to the business) alongside a button that leads straight to all their reviews...

A 'Write a review' button that enables anyone to write a review to the business at any time of their choosing...

And finally - we incorporate a seemingly innocuous question: 'Was this review helpful?'. We estimate only about one in twenty readers bother to click this, so three 'Yes's' in less than four weeks is pretty impressive evidence that the review is being read...

What does this mean in practical terms?

By 'allowing' anyone who visits your website to write a review - that will subsequently be moderated by us - your business is fully compliant with the CMA regulations. You don't have to actively 'invite' all of your customers to post a review (although, of course, most of our clients do, and many go a step further and include a link to writing a review to their website in the signature block of their emails, for instance - because far better to have an inaccurate review written to your website where it can be moderated - and a customer possibly saved at the same time - than find its way direct to Google).

What follows from this?

Credibility. All of our most successful client businesses employ their reviews as a cornerstone of their sales and promotion practices - in window displays, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and now even TikTok - as well as showing them to potential customers in face-to-face situations. And they are able to do this because they have a ready answer to potential customers who are, quite understandably, cynical about online reviews in general. They are able to both say and demonstrate...

1. That anyone can write a review
2. At any time of their own choosing
3. That the review - every review - will appear on the business's website 
4. And the reviewer will be automatically invited to copy their review to Google

Does this mean HelpHound can guarantee that a business will not receive any 'inaccurate, potentially misleading, or just plain unfair' reviews?

Bear with us! When we introduced moderation to reviews - the first, and to date the only, review management system to do so - we wondered just how much value such moderation would add for all parties concerned: the reviewer, the business under review, the regulators and Google. Well, ten years on we need wonder no more.

Let's first look at the moderation process in detail: 

Stage 1: the review is written and posted through the business's website - but not yet published; this flags up a notification to our moderator who reads the review.

Stage 2: The review falls into one of three categories;

• it is 'clean'; it contains no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors - and is therefore posted to the business's website to be read by anyone visiting that site. An automated email is immediately sent to the reviewer inviting them to copy their review to Google. That email contains the text of their review and a direct link that opens the business's Google review box, so there's no chance of the reviewer saying 'I didn't know how to post a Google review' or 'I couldn't find where to copy my review'.

• it contains spelling and/or grammatical errors that would render the review next to valueless for anyone attempting to rely on it. In most such cases our moderator will simply correct the errors without recourse to the reviewer. If it is impossible to discern the meaning of the review (bear in mind that nearly 10% of the UK population speak English as their second language) the moderator will email the reviewer asking for clarification.

• it contains obvious errors of fact or potentially misleading statements (or comments that would render the reviewer liable for actionable libel - for an example see this case history). In this case the moderator will contact the reviewer and the business - separately - in an attempt to correct those elements of the review.

Stage 3: At the close of all three of these processes the review is published in its finished form, whether or not the reviewer and HelpHound (and the business) have agreed to modifications.

This latter point - 'whether or not...' is fundamental. Any attempt to prevent the reviewer having their say, however inaccurate or misleading that may be, will go against the CMA's core regulations. Before you say 'Well, here we are back at square one again' let's look at some real-life numbers. In a sample of 1000 reviews, we mined down to see which fell into each category: 871 fell into the 'Clean' category. That doesn't mean they contained perfect Byronic prose (or that they all rated the business 5*), just that they would make sense to the average consumer who might rely on them to point the way to a decent business (or not). 93 fell into the 'Spelling and or grammatical error' category, meaning our moderator corrected the errors and they were published. 36 fell into the 'errors of fact or potentially misleading statements' category and required dialogue between the parties in an attempt to iron out those contentious issues. In the end in only 4 cases did the reviewer insist - as is their right under the law - to have their original review published (at this point it is best that we remind you that the business has a right to respond under any review, be it HelpHound or Google). 

So: HelpHound's moderation has the following effects - definite benefits for all concerned...

1.  All the reviews posted to HelpHound and copied onto Google will make sense to a reader

2.  The overwhelming majority of reviewers that have their reviews corrected - be it for spelling/grammar, errors of fact, or potentially misleading statements - nearly 10 percent overall, are pleased that HelpHound intervened. It turns out that few people - fewer than perhaps we expected when we first introduced moderation - actively want their names (or even pseudonyms) attached to erroneous reviews, on the business's site or on Google

3.  A tiny minority go against the grain - down from four percent before moderation to a fraction under half a percent afterwards. This saves businesses from untold pain of the kind that can be experienced when on the receiving end of an unfair, inaccurate or plain misleading review - here's an example that we managed to have Google take down after it had made the national press. N.B., In this case, we had the expertise to a) follow Google's appeals procedure to the letter and b) establish as a matter of fact that the reviewer had no personal knowledge of the business under review - a contravention of Google's Terms of Service. Google will not, for instance, allow an appeal against a review simply because the business has no knowledge of the reviewer

How does all of the above benefit businesses?

How to stand out from the crowd - safely and credibly? And yes, those stars next to the business's listing (first in organic search, as well as leading the Google 3-pack) are derived from the business's own reviews.

It's simple: it gives businesses the confidence to 'invite' and 'allow' reviews - to their websites (where they own the reviews - an increasingly valuable business asset: data). It also contributes to the business's SEO in search (up to 15% of Google's total score according to sources - just check any HelpHound member's position in local search). And it means that the business is always in compliance with the CMA regulations (they won't be cherry-picking or gating) and, most important of all, it drives new business (see these case histories).

In summary

• 'Allowing' reviews to be written about your business ensures compliance with the CMA regulations
• 'Inviting' reviews does not mean you have to actively chase every single customer for a review - put candidly: you can leave 'Mr. Angry' off the list without any compliance issues, but bear in mind they can always click on the 'Write a review' button or post a review direct to Google. What do our clients tell us they do? Most would rather deal with such a customer offline and through our moderation process and then explain to readers that they have 'done their very best' if they ultimately choose to write a review to Google.

One thing is for sure: they feel that the advantages of HelpHound's moderation are more than justified given the other positive advantages of membership, far outstripping any comparable solution. We are, we believe, justifiably proud of the way that we enable our members to confidently put their best foot forward - if you are new to HelpHound please read this article about how those benefits can be quantified.

An interview with the joint CEOs of HelpHound

Robin Bruce and John Williams have been joint CEOs of HelpHound for over ten years. In this interview, we ask them the questions most asked by prospective HelpHound members.

Q1.  Online reviews have been around for the best part of twenty years now, what are the most important takeaways from your first-hand experience?

Robin: Linkedin

Robin: 'Three main things: first, businesses that commit to a proper reviews strategy unarguably win more business than those that don't. A great Google score and many Google reviews drive enquiries and clicks through search like nothing else. 

Next: product reviews are not nearly as valuable - or as influential - as service reviews. Consumers actively seek out and read reviews of medical, financial and legal services (as well as other high-value services such as estate agency) whereas they just go by headline scores for a new TV or a pair of shoes. Interestingly, consumers will buy a product that scores 4 out of 5 on any platform but when it comes to essential services they will apply a far higher benchmark and actively seek out Google reviews. A minimum of 4.8 from at least 100 reviews has to be the first aim for every business in those sectors.'

 

John: Linkedin

John:  'I'm in charge of moderation [all HelpHound reviews are moderated pre-publication on the business's own site and before the reviewer is asked to copy their review to Google]. In the beginning, we thought businesses would appreciate moderation as a 'nice to have' add-on to our main service: allowing businesses to own and display their own reviews; as time went by we - and our clients - learned that moderation is a life-saver for businesses. One well-written negative review can stop the phones ringing. We have a file of case-histories where businesses have approached us after such a review has been written on a public platform, and how they wished they had been members before. We can 'rescue' a business from such a position, but far better for it not to occur in the first place. Our statistics show that giving customers - clients or patients -  the ability to write a review to the business at a time of their own choosing results in far fewer inaccurate or misleading reviews being published on the business's own site or on Google.

Q2. How about review sites? 

Robin: 'They're great for reinforcing sales of products. Consumers do respond to star ratings when making product purchases. The question I would pose to any business where service is key (as opposed to products they might sell) is 'Would you rather have a score of 4.8 on Google or on XYZ review site?' Experience has taught us that the answer - for an absolute fact - is Google. The only reason most service-oriented businesses have opted for a review site, as opposed to Google reviews, is that review sites have salesforces and Google - in terms of reviews - don't.'

John: 'Many review sites continue to over-promise on many levels. In a way they have been forced to since Google - with their unrivalled visbility - came to online reviews after the review sites did. They are fully aware that Google reviews show first in every search so they have to add value in other areas; the problem is that they seldom do. It is illegal to use a review site to filter out negative reviews before asking customers to post a review to Google but it is so common that the regulators have given it a name [Gating]. Some review sites insist that the reviewer support their review with documentary proof of purchase if challenged by the business or they allow the business to control the timing of the invitation to write the review [there's nothing wrong with the latter as long as the reviewer can also write a review when they wish]; both practices are illegal in the `UK and EU'. Some review sites even offer to promote paying members over other businesses, a practice that is legal in the USA but also illegal in the UK and EU.'

Q3.  An outsider might have the impression that reviews are totally unregulated, is that not so?

John: the legal side is one of my main remits at HelpHound. Since the CMA [the UK regulator] wrote to businesses back in 2016 there have been very few cases of direct action against businesses flouting their regulations (which do have the full force of UK law). We have consistently advised non-compliant businesses that the main threat comes from competitors or ex-staff with an axe to grind who see (or know) that they are in breach. Competitors that see businesses in breach - and it is very easy to recognise those that are because, by definition, reviews leave a vivid paper trail - will simply use that fact against the business in question: 'Yes, XYZ do look very good, but then they would because [they cherry-pick/gate'].'

Step one: from here all good things review-related flow - moderated reviews shown on the business's own website; owned by the business, not by Google or a review site. Plus the overall score awarded by the business's customers and a click-through ('Write a review', top left next to the score and number of reviews) that allows anyone to write a review - ensuring full compliance with the CMA regulations.

Robin: 'We completely understand the temptation to flout the CMA regulations, given the power of positive reviews to drive business and the harm unfair negative reviews - even one - can do to a business. It's the main reason so many businesses either attempt to avoid engaging with reviews altogether or find themselves in breach. When we first speak or meet we are often told 'We had no option, we run a complex business in the [medical, legal, financial] field and if we obeyed the CMA's core rules - no cherry-picking and no gating - and allowed all of our [patients, clients] to post reviews our business would be put at severe risk'. It's why we introduced moderation and why moderation is so key to HelpHound adding value over and above simply inviting reviews direct to Google. Moderation is the AA of reviews - in the same way as no-one expects their car to break down but we all have motoring cover, when moderation does kick in it can be - often is - a lifesaver for the business.'

Q4.  Can you put some numbers to moderation? What proportion of reviews need moderating?

John: First: we moderate every single review. They are read by a human being, not an algorithm (does 'hot' mean good or bad?). It's not the volume, it's the individual review itself. A business can have half a dozen or more 1* reviews that complain about 'the attitude of the receptionist' or 'the business's inability to answer the phone within X rings' and, although such reviews will impact the business's overall score, they won't, of themselves, deter a reasonable person from contacting that business. 

But a single well-crafted but inaccurate or plain mistaken review that reads with credibility can - and will - do untold harm [here's just one example, where the judge awarded significant damages to the business for loss of earnings that the court had accepted were proven as a result of just one such review]. The interesting thing, in this context, is that very few authors of such reviews - containing factual inaccuracies or potentially misleading statements - respond negatively when contacted by one of our moderators. 

If I had to give a short statistical answer to the question posed I would say that we see between one and three such reviews in every hundred; of those less than three percent choose - as is their right in law - to have their original review published after moderation (and always bear in mind: the business has a right to respond to such reviews, both on their own website and on Google).'

Q5. What are the biggest mistakes made by businesses regarding reviews?

Robin: There's quite a list...

• They use a review site when they would be far better served by using a moderated system such as HelpHound feeding through to Google reviews
• They break the law - often unintentionally ('ignorance is no defence' etc,)
• They don't fully integrate reviews throughout the business - and into their core CRM. You see this often - a flurry of reviews and then months when none are written
• They are sceptical that review management will add value in terms of their bottom line; it will - definitely!
• They copy what their competitors are doing when they could be trouncing them
• They don't understand the SEO impact of hosting reviews on their own site (it contributes roughly 15% of the total - just check any HelpHound client's position in local search)

John: I would simplify what Robin has just said: HelpHound, in terms of cost and disruption, is so negligible by comparison with its benefits for any business, especially those in the professions and services, that the Number 1 mistake has got to be 'Not trying/testing HelpHound.' 

 

There's also the case of the client who thought that they would be just as well off inviting reviews direct to Google - until they fell victim to a such a damaging - and unfair - review that they dropped the Google review feed from their website altogether, thus going from HelpHound to Google to no reviews at all in a matter of months. When they came back to us we had to point out that changing their review mechanism as and when was a) probably placing them in breach of the CMA regulations and b) would be bound to be noticed by their competitors and used against them. Find a moderated system and stick with it. 

Q6. Can you quantify the results you produce for HelpHound clients?

Step 2: the business's image in search: Google includes so much review-related information - the business's rating from its own reviews (the star rating and number under the business's listing top left); its Google score and reviews, in the Google knowledge panel (on the right), with the reviews themselves just a click away.

Robin: In the early days, we marketed HelpHound as 'nice to have'. Because we had no hard numbers to back up our logic. That logic told us that a business with a great review score on its website and on Google would attract more customers than one that did not. 

 

For some years now we have had the numbers - thanks, in part, to Google - Google reports increases/decreases in enquiry flows every month, direct to the business, so any uplift becomes rapidly apparent, and in part by some detailed competitive analysis done in an article on an estate agency industry forum that compared the results for two clients of ours against their main competitors.  

A screengrab of a typical client's Google report, just one full month after implementing HelpHound. Does professional review management pay for itself? You bet it does.

From an outsider's perspective, it would, I'm sure you would agree, be hard to differentiate between London's two dominant agents - Winkworth has over 60 branches in London and Foxtons is not far off that number. Both invest heavily in presentation and marketing. Both have strong sales and lettings operations. But just pause a second and read the numbers here, put together by another agent. Without knowing, as we do, that Russell White, head of Winkworth's Putney office, majored in testimonial-driven sales before his branch became a client over five years ago, wouldn't you still be tempted to trial the only obvious differentiator: HelpHound membership?

 

John: As the person responsible for statistics within HelpHound I will put some numbers to Robin's comments:  HelpHound clients report average uplifts in calls and clicks through Google between 15 and 25 percent. We have outlier clients that have reported in excess of 100% uplifts in the first 12 months of membership. And we obviously have clients who score near 5.0 with lots of Google reviews when they join that won't see such dramatic uplifts but value CMA compliance, the SEO kicker and moderation going forwards, as well as the facility to host their own reviews on their website and the maintenance of their competitive position. We have never had a client report a fall in such numbers. 

There is more to effective review management than simple lead generation; quality of business is important as well, and the independent numbers support an uplift in that too. In this context the report that Robin is referring to above compared two very similar businesses - in estate agency - where our member had a sales inventory nearly twice as large as its competitor and a monetary value per transaction over 72 percent greater. Not only are they attracting more clients, each client is earning them significantly greater fee income.'

Q7. And finally, what would your advice to any business reading this article be?

In many areas of business there are, as is illustrated here, so many more businesses competing for visibility in a Google search than Google can possibly cram into any kind of screen, be it desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone, and we all know that consumers will, all other factors - high score, many reviews - being equal, be drawn to those that dominate in search. There are upwards of twenty pins in this map, but just how many potential fee-payers will click through to one of the top three (by the way, that rich snippet 'Good service...' is drawn, by Google. straight from one of their reviews)? 

 

John: The potential rewards a service business will derive from HelpHound membership so far outweigh the cost that a trial membership is a no-brainer. 

Robin: Surprise: I agree with John 100 percent. Come on in! I'd just like to add that, unlike many things one does in business, there's absolutely no downside risk whatsoever. The very worst that can happen is that you'll have a fully-CMA complaint review management system and a great extra CRM channel, plus an SEO boost. But if you see no uplift in enquiries or the quality of the business you attract just speak to one of us and I will bet my bottom dollar we can put that right for you (if you interrogate this blog - box top right -  you'll see just how much more we do for our clients here at Helphound - we provide a Service with a capital 'S', not just software).

And finally: a note to our readers...

If there is a question that you feel we haven't answered or should include here, please email either Robin - robin.bruce@helphound.com or John - john.williams@helphound.com and we'll answer you direct. We may even include it - and our answers - here.

Please don't wait for this to happen

So often we get the call. And we had another this week. It invariably goes along lines very similar to this...

'Help! The phones have stopped ringing.' Swiftly followed by 'Our Google reviews were looking great until [recent date].'

What is our standard reaction? After an unspoken 'Oh dear!' we kick into emergency first aid mode with 'Give us twenty minutes to look at your image and reviews in search and we'll get straight back to you.'

And what do we always see? One* or more - very recent - one-star reviews. To understand the full effect, here is our latest case...

*One review alone can stop the phones ringing. However much readers of this blog might fight against this finding harsh experience dictates otherwise. So much so that we gave this kind of review a name - a 'killer review' - way back in 2012. Anyone doubting this will do well to read this case history.

Not so terribly bad? Read these reviews...

 

Now you understand just how damaging this is for the business. Note the lack of a question mark at the end of that sentence. It's a statement - not a question. Never mind the reviews - mine down a little deeper and there's some even more worrying evidence in the upvotes (28 in the last two weeks) - every single one representing at least one lost customer - ouch! And how many people have read the review in question and acted upon it (by not contacting the business) without voting? We usually estimate a ratio of between 1:10 and 1:100. 

So - what to do?

Our advice, in cases like these, breaks down into two parts:

1. Immediate action
2. Ongoing strategy

Immediate Action

As anyone can see by reading their reviews there is a CRM malfunction at the business's end. We have advised them to boost investment in customer service delivery. That's the easy part dealt with. Now for the reviews and the future...

• Proper professional responses should be posted under each review. And by 'proper' and 'professional' we mean each point raised by the reviewer addressed head-on in each response - not a c&p 'Thank you for your comments, please call [number] or email [address] and we will address the issue you have raised.' Formulaic responses such as this don't help the reader understand the business's side of the story.

Ongoing Strategy

• Implement a moderated review management system, to include...                    

• a module (see below) that invites and displays moderated reviews to be embedded into the business's own website
• developing a standard template email inviting customers to post their review to the business's website
• including an automated invitation for all reviews ultimately posted there (post-moderation) to be copied to Google by the reviewer
• developing a campaign to invite all existing customers (new and historical) to write a review of their experience, on both the business's own website and subsequently to Google

This is an example of an API-generated review module that allows anyone visiting the business's website to see the business's overall score, read moderated reviews (as many as they wish), post their own review (which will be moderated), and also understand HelpHound's role in the process (by clicking on 'What is HelpHound' at top right). It also enables the business to take the moral high ground if and when someone posts a critical review direct to Google: 'But you always had the standing invitation to write your opinion to us by going to our website.'

The results

Over time (and we are talking weeks and months, not years here) the actions described above will result in the business's overall score rising back to at least 4.8 and maybe even  4.9.  The current damaging* negative reviews will remain (Google will not remove the genuinely held opinions of reviewers, however misguided they may be, unless they contravene its Terms of Service, which, on the face of it, none of the above do) but their impact will be diminished as the flow of 5* reviews picks up.

* All negative reviews are damaging because the score that attaches to them negatively impacts the business's overall Google score. On top of that most, if not just about all, savvy consumers do two things when searching for a business: they eliminate all but the top three or four by score alone (hence the vital importance of scoring 4.8 or better) and then they read the 'lowest' default. 

What should any business reading this article do?

Implement the strategy outlined above - before something like this happens. Remember: the business referred to above had 38 Google reviews rating it 5.0 until less than a month ago. It can happen to any company at any time. Even a company with 500 reviews is not impervious as potential customers invariably read a business's lowest-scoring reviews first.

Not only does this business look great in search - every kind of search - but its management and staff are able to sleep well at night in the sure knowledge that they are very unlikely to receive inaccurate or misleading (almost always negative) reviews. They also know that they have the most effective mechanism currently available to counter any such pile-on as has happened to the business at the head of this article

Conclusion

HelpHound cannot guarantee that the business will get no negative reviews in the future (even HelpHound can not - and should not - prevent genuinely held opinions, however erroneous, being published) but it will at least allow the business to have those reviews moderated to ensure that any that are factually incorrect or potentially misleading - or just plain 'unfair' - are much less likely to see the light of day.

Extremely important note

This business scored 5.0 before this flurry of negative reviews. Sitting pretty. Phones ringing and emails from prospective customers arriving in their inboxes. Appointments being made and orders - and cash - flowing in. And, as we say above, there is no guarantee whatsoever that HelpHound membership would have prevented those highly damaging reviews from being posted to Google. So why do businesses place such value upon HelpHound?

Here we go...

1. Inviting, or just plain allowing, all of your customers to write a review - as the law dictates - is extremely high risk. There are plenty of people out there who are confused or unsure about the service businesses provide for them, especially businesses in the professions and the high-value service sector - legal, medical, financial, recruitment, accountancy, estate agency and suchlike. These kinds of business value the added security and compliance that HelpHound brings
2. Inviting selected customers to post reviews - those the business knows to be satisfied - is illegal, in the UK and EU at least. We know: you think the chances of having the CMA turn up and confiscate your hard drives are vanishingly small, but cherry-picking (to give hand-picking customers to write reviews the name the regulators use) is always obvious to competitors and they'll be the first to alert your potential customers (and the first CMA 'reviews raid' will undoubtedly be prompted by just such a competitor)
3. Our experience - covering a span of well over a decade now - shows that over 90% of customers with a grievance will contact the business before posting a negative review if given a mechanism to do so. They want to be taken seriously. That's all. And they want any misconceptions they may be about to publish to be corrected, they really do
4. Our clients don't score 4.9 by accident - they use HelpHound in conjunction with their other CRM to head off inaccurate or misleading reviews. And it's not an add-on, it is integrated into all their staff training and practice
5. Having a moderated system in place - such as the one HelpHound provides - in the event of one or more negative reviews being posted to Google means the business has a ready-made mechanism to immediately ramp up the flow of positive reviews to counter such a situation (the business at the head of this article is in the opposite situation, it is now doubtless even more frightened to invite its customers to post a review)

Further reading

Once a business is 'insured' by adopting a professionally moderated and legally compliant system to protect it from inaccurate, misleading, and just plain unfair reviews it can then begin to reap the positive benefits of hosting its own reviews on its website and getting a significant proportion of those over to Google. Read how this not only results in a great Google score, derived from a significant - and credible - number of reviews, but also drives instantly measurable calls and clicks, as well as an astonishing uplift in the quality of new business generated.

Reviews in 2023 - the key indicators

Consumer reviews is a fast-moving marketplace - in every sense. In this article we will take a very useful post  - by US company Reviewtrackers - and examine (and comment upon) every point.  If you only read one article about reviews this year we recommend it be this one.

HelpHound comment: Given that Yelp is mostly used to find eateries (and overwhelmingly in the US at that - having withdrawn from the UK and EU) and Tripadvisor those plus travel, accommodation and leisure activities, then it is Google's presence in the review space that we are concerned with on behalf of our own marketplace of the professions and service-oriented businesses. 

If that's taken as a given then we can safely assume that Google's dominance rises to at least 90%. It's also worth bearing in mind that Google's share of the search market now extends to 85% of searches worldwide and a full 96% in the UK. So it's not just where reviews are written that is of concern for businesses; it's where they are most likely to be read. The answer to both, thankfully, is Google.

HelpHound comment: the same as for 'Google is the review site of choice' above. Businesses should clearly concentrate on Google reviews above all others (in fact, except in special circumstances: to the exclusion of all others) - simply because that's what their potential customers are doing - both reading and writing. On top of that, Google reviews are free and are far more credible than reviews from other sources.

HelpHound comment: it's early days but we think the answer is twofold: first, the dramatic rise in working from home. Consumers are using some of their reclaimed 'commuting time' to better research purchasing decisions. Secondly, the steep rise in inflation and mortgage interest rates has made consumers much more careful in their choices - especially where critical (health, legal, financial) and big-ticket (purchases in the £000s, such as property) items are concerned.

HelpHound comment: this is certainly the case where businesses either a) don't invite reviews at all or b) don't request reviews in the correct manner (by text is a prime example - text requests for reviews tend to elicit text-type reviews). If reviews are asked for in the correct manner they will actually be longer than average - and therefore much more helpful (and convincing) for potential customers and the business under review.

HelpHound comment: We always recommend that all reviews should be treated in the same way as any communication from a valued customer. What business would ignore such a  communication via email or a phone call for days? Or not respond at all? Aside from the etiquette aspect, the ability to respond to a review, on the business's own website or on Google, brings an excellent opportunity to highlight positives and explain negatives that should never be missed. 

There is one very important statistic here '94% of consumers say a bad review has convinced them to avoid a business.' Well-written negative reviews are very dangerous indeed, so dangerous that we christened them 'killer reviews' years ago. They can literally stop the phones ringing - here are two examples, one for a small business in Cornwall, a case that made the national media, where we were able to successfully appeal the review to Google and have it removed and another for a business - not a client of ours - that made the fundamental error of suing a reviewer in open court; the collateral damage caused by a single review (interestingly the court agreed and awarded damages to the business) was vastly outweighed by the attendant publicity generated by the media coverage of the case, which caused far more damage in the longer term.

HelpHound comment: it's self-evident - industry leaders look like industry leaders online. This rarely happens by accident, it involves developing a concerted and continuing strategy that runs from top to bottom through senior management to every single member of staff in any way involved with the business's CRM. What rarely occurs is a regulatory audit*: this involves ensuring that such a strategy does not contravene the CMA regulations - such contravention provides competitors with an easy answer to a business's glowing Google score. 

*HelpHound provides this service.

HelpHound comment: this is a very broad-range finding. Our experience - of managing reviews for the professional and service sector for over ten years - definitely shows that the closer a business can get to the 'Perfect 5.0' the more calls and clicks it will achieve through Google. We have never - ever - had a call from a client business suggesting that their review score has become so good that they are losing credibility in the marketplace. On the contrary, we take on many businesses that already score over 4 out of 5 but understand the need to minimise factually inaccurate or potentially misleading reviews in order to improve their scores.

HelpHound comment: as we only work on behalf of pure service or service-oriented businesses (such as the professions, medical, legal, financial services or estate agency, for instance) we have always known that reviewers focus heavily on the customer service aspect of any transaction.

HelpHound comment: show us a business with over 50 Google reviews* that scores 5.0 and we'll show you a business that's in breach of the CMA regulations. Put plainly: that business will be breaking the law. Our very best clients - and all of our clients are dedicated to the highest levels of customer service, that's why they employ Helphound - score 4.9. There's always going to be one!

*that is not a client of ours!

HelpHound comment: There's absolutely no doubt about this one: consumer scepticism about Google reviews evaporates at about the fifty mark. Comments such as 'I bet they just asked staff and friends to post reviews' fall away at that point. All our client businesses are able to assess the success of our involvement by tracking the number of calls and clicks they receive every month. 

It's very simple: get more reviews with a higher average score and your business will win more leads and customers. To do this a business needs to stop taking three paces forward - getting ten 5* reviews - and one step back - a factually inaccurate or plain 'unfair' 1* review. Only a moderated review system can achieve this with any degree of certainty - see point 2. below.

Three further key comments

Great - possibly - for online retail; disastrous for professions and service-oriented businesses

1.  Review sites other than Google should be avoided at all costs ('cost' being the operative word: not just the monthly cost of the review site in question - Google reviews are free - but the cost of the lost opportunity to shine in Google reviews). Below is a paragraph taken directly from a review site's annual report to its shareholders. Our loose translation is that they are saying that as they have lots of business customers in the UK already they are making hay by exploiting the natural instinct of businesses to emulate their competitors. Fair enough, but every business that follows on is missing one of the very best marketing opportunities there is: moderated Google reviews (again, see point 2.). 

 

This article deals expressly with the considerable - and invariable - damage done by directing reviews anywhere but to Google (unless the business concerned is only involved in online retail and any ones stars, on the website and associated marketing, will do, in which case carry on with [XYZ review site] and their blue/green/yellow/red stars).

2.  Reviewtrackers don't mention review moderation, simply because the only moderated review management system currently available is in the UK. And you’re on its blog currently!

Moderation protects businesses and consumers alike from factually inaccurate and potentially misleading reviews, not to mention just plain 'unfair' ones. The No.1 reason given by businesses that haven’t yet engaged with reviews is fear of such reviews. Moderation can’t provide a 100% guarantee against such reviews but to date we reckon our system resolves well over 95% of them before they’re published.

This article explains how moderation enables good businesses to shine - legitimately and in compliance with the law - in Google reviews.

Which of the businesses above benefits from moderation? Which leads consistently in Google local searches? Which receives more clicks and calls? Which saves most on Google Ads? Which is a HelpHound client?

3.  Proof. It's the first, last and - as the song goes - everything. But it is strangely lacking in most review sites' marketing to their business audience. Rareley, if ever, do they quote actual numbers for lead and business uplift.

A snapshot of a client's Google report - from the first full month after joining HelpHound. Yes - results can be that fast!

Not so here at HelpHound. Clicks up? We - and Google - will tell you by exactly how many. Calls through your Google listing - stats available month on month. Impact on the quality of your customers similarly improved? For this, and some independent numbers on the quality of business generated by Professional Review Management, read this article.