By now every dealer probably knows the importance of online reviews.
A large quantity of reviews and a high rating can multiply the power of a dealership’s advertising. Consumers have a built-in defense mechanism when it comes to car dealer reputations. Unfair or not, it is a reality that dealers have to realize when considering their online reputations.
If an online rating is too low, some vehicle shoppers won’t bother to click on and read reviews; and they certainly won’t click on a dealership’s website if the rating is too low. They just go to the next one on the screen.
If an online reviews rating is “good enough,” the consumer will likely click on and read a few reviews. If a negative review appears at the top because it is recent or because Google has deemed it to be important or relevant, it can cost a dealer a sale even when they have a decent reputation.
During a consulting day or while conducting employee training at dealerships, I reveal the strategy to saturate pages with earned positive reviews. I also uncover how to avoid negative reviews by providing great customer experiences and using a feedback system that doesn’t violate any FTC rules.
Even still, all dealers will get a negative review at some point no matter what they do. Drowning out any negative reviews with a large quantity of positive ones is a good strategy. In addition, there is a way to get some negative reviews removed. I have used this for private clients and have not revealed it publicly until now.
There are a few reasons why Google will remove a review because it violates Google’s terms and conditions. Here are two:
1 - Cursing or something similar
Some dealers and marketing agencies may realize that you can get a review removed if there is a curse word in the review. But did you know it can be something close to a curse word and still get removed?
We had a negative review removed for a client because the review included, “They sell cars that are a POS.”
Cursing in a review is against Google’s terms and conditions. But it's also possible to remove reviews that contain hints of curse words or acronyms such as POS and SOB. Yay for Google in this situation. Civility is back…well one can dream.
Read the review below and see if you can figure out why Google removed it after we reported it.
We reported this review because “Vales Verga” in Spanish can be vulgar. Google removed it.
*Note - The unhappy customer is more likely to curse or say something derogatory. I have yet to see someone revise their review. Instead, Google just deletes it.
2 - Reviews written on behalf of someone else
We reported the review above and it was removed because Jennifer’s review openly says, “My friend bought…”
Google reviews have to be written by the person who had the experience, not their friend or family member.
There are a few other Google terms and conditions I recommend looking at. Here are a few bonus tips to help you:
● Do not try to get a review removed that is not a violation. A customer writing a misleading review or outright lying is not a violation.
● Do not try to get a review removed just because it hurts your reputation. I will leave it up to the attorneys to explain if that is a problem with the FTC.
● Understand that you are not going to court and presenting all of your evidence. You do not get to go back and forth with Google explaining what happened. The violation has to be obvious to Google, not you.
● Having someone who has reported a number of reviews may help also. One, they know how to report it properly. Also Google seems to have a favored group. It’s not because Google likes us or because we paid for the privilege. Google openly promotes being a Google Local Guide. I believe Google also moves quicker to react to Google users who have reported a number of different things successfully on Google without issue, including keyword spamming Google Profiles, businesses that have closed, incorrect business names, other Google Profile and Maps issues, and of course, reporting Google review violations.
Guest author Kenny Atcheson is the founder and president of Dealer Profit Pros and author of Marketing Battleground: How to Deploy Under-the-Radar Strategies to Explode Your Profits. Request a consult or learn more about his company’s marketing and advertising programs, customer service, and sales training at www.DealerProfitPros.com
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