What does this mean for your business?
For small businesses online ratings are everything. Online ratings and reviews are the new forms of word-of-mouth marketing. They allow potential customers to get a real insight into a product or service before purchasing from a new company. Navigating the world of online ratings as a business owner can be tough. How do I ask for them? What do I do if I get a bad one? And just when you think you know it all, the algorithm changes again.
Facebook has just announced that they are transitioning all of their business page reviews and ratings to recommendations. What does this mean for you as a business owner? It means that instead of leaving a review on a scale from 1-5 stars, people who visit your Facebook page will be able to either click a yes or no button asking if they would recommend you to a friend.
Why is Facebook making this change?
The main reason Facebook is making this switch is that it will make it easier for people to leave recommendations, which will help you! It is also easier to look at and comprehend a percentage of people who recommend something, over a 5-star rating. Each time a Facebook user visits a business page, they will be encouraged to say whether they recommend this business or not. They will also have the option to leave a short written comment. The goal of this is to get more recommendations pushed out into the newsfeed, making your business more discoverable.
Right now, businesses on Facebook are still being given a star rating, but that will gradually change and turn into a recommendation score. Past reviews and ratings before the change will be calculated into the recommendation score.
Ask your customers!
Recommendations matter. Don’t be afraid to start asking your customers to start leaving recommendations so that your business can grow. Follow up with customers via email and ask if they have left a recommendation. Give incentives! Giving customers a sticker, t-shirt, or gift card is a great way to get more recommendations and happy customers.
What if someone leaves a bad review?
If you get a negative recommendation, handle it with professionalism. Reach out to the customer about their experience, apologize for the reasons they aren’t happy, and see if there is anything you can do to change their mind. Negative feedback happens to every business. Don’t let it stop you from doing the best you can.
Remember to respond to both positive and negative recommendations, use the tools that Facebook gives to you as best you can, and keep trying your best. This tool is meant to help you, so use it to the best of your abilities.
We’d love your recommendation!
Leave 2point4ward a Facebook recommendation to help us grow our business.
