As a local course, you know just how important Google reviews are. Google currently has the most visible reviews on the internet. More reviews means more players, more SEO, and ultimately, more revenue.
If you do not know about the importance of reviews, hop on over to our free ebook "The Importance of Online Reviews".
Luckily for you, getting high-quality Google reviews is not that hard. Approximately 66% of consumers are willing to write a review—you just need to know how to ask them. To that end, we’ve compiled 13 quick tips to dominate Google reviews. In just a few short minutes of reading, you’ll have everything you need to generate online reviews and beat your competition.
01. Text - Texting has turned into the preferred communication of users throughout every industry. That is especially true for review requests. Text message-based requests are received instantaneously before, or as, a player leaves your course resulting in completion rates up to 15x traditional email-based requests. Text message-based requests are also easier for players to access. Open rates on email-based requests see an average anywhere from 20-30%. Text-based requests see open rates close to 98%
02. Create a Google review link shortcut - Simplicity is key in the review generation process. Players need to be able to leave a review in the most simple way possible. That starts by creating a link that takes players directly to the review destination. You can create a Google review link shortcut here.
03. Automate - Running a course takes significant time and effort which is why a lot of courses have left generating reviews to fate. The best way to deal with this is to automate the review generation process. That way GM's and Head Pros can kick their feet up and watch the reviews come in (only kidding, we know they have a million other things to do).
04. Post A Sign - Consumers are more likely to leave a review if they see a sign posted in the pro shop. We offer a free customized printable sign to each course.
05. Train Your Employees To Ask In Person - Employees are the front line in generating reviews. Train them to request a review when they know they are having a positive exchange with players.
06. Manage Reviews - If you want to collect reviews, it’s important for players to know that those are important to you— that means courses need to manage them. Respond to negative reviews within 2 hours and one out of every four positive reviews within 24 hours. Showing your players that you are responsive and open to taking their feedback will make them more willing to leave you reviews.
07. Turn Negative Reviews into positive ones - Taking the time to respond to a negative review can have a large impact. In fact, 41% of consumers see a course's response to an online review as a sign that the course really cares about its customers. This is a chance for your course to act fast and right whatever wrong the players feels your course made. If you’re successful, you might even get the upset player to take down the negative review.
08. Create a Google reviews page on your website - This is a great way to highlight your strong reviews to your potential players. Contact us to get a free review widget to post on your site.
09. Run a Google review email campaign. While text is clearly king, and emails only have an open rate of just over 16%, they can still be helpful in collecting reviews until you implement a text messaging platform.
10. Ask for reviews on social media. Social media is an excellent place to collect Google reviews and increase review visibility as the average consumer spends 3 hours a day on various platforms. You can start by posting a screenshot of your best review and asking your customers to leave their own feedback.
12. Use Text To Provide Outstanding Customer Service - Ultimately, collecting Google reviews starts with providing an outstanding customer experience. Players are twice as likely to prefer texting over any other communication method. Strategize how you can reduce friction and increase convenience in your player journey through the power of text
13. Use A Reputation Management Platform - Review management is another critical component of an effective online review management platform. Any course that is looking to track their reviews, see where reviews are coming from, and use reviews as a player experience feedback loop, need a single place where they can manage reviews from multiple online review sites. TeeReach's single place for review management is a dashboard and shows:
1.The number of total reviews
2. Overall average rating
3.Which sites generate the most reviews
4.Recent reviews from all platforms
And much more
Having this data in one place allows a course to efficiently monitor current activity, progress, and customer satisfaction. It also gives a starting place for better understanding where your players reside online for marketing and advertising purposes.
