LawMarketing.com Editor in Chief Cindy Greenway recently spoke with Carlton Dyce, VP of Peer Review Ratings and Client Review Services at LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell on the importance of attorney ratings, rankings and reviews. You can click on this link to hear the audio recording of that interview.
As Carlton so aptly points out, consumers have become conditioned to looking for peer reviews and ratings online when shopping for anything, be it a car, a haircut or an attorney:
Today, consumers are leveraging ratings and rankings to make an informed decision, and lawyers need to look at that as a way of differentiating themselves, a way to stand out. Ratings increase the likelihood of being hired by buyers of legal services, and what they do is they also provide consumers, corporate counsels and small business owners with that sort of extra reassurance.
Ratings also provide a sort of third-party validation. Consumers like to hear reviews and feedback in verbatim from people like themselves, and what they’re looking for is to see whether or not that person like them, what kind of experience they had. Was the experience someone had with that divorce lawyer the kind of experience where he or she was responsive to the specific matter or did he or she not ever call back in this difficult time.
Consider these latest Google research findings:
- 89% of consumers say online reviews are trustworthy
- 86% of consumers look for online reviews when researching products or services
- 80% of consumers say negative reviews will dissuade them from making a purchase
- 85% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase if the product or service has favorable online reviews
So how can you get good reviews or offset negative ones? Here are some tips:
Have a website. This sounds simple, but having a website that ranks well in search results will allow prospects to see who you are and give you the ability to control the message.
Ask clients for reviews and tell them where to post. Happy clients are the least likely to post a review, so ask your satisfied clients to give their feedback on your services.
Don’t post fake reviews. Consumers can inevitably sniff out the fake reviews and after that happens, you won’t be trusted.
Monitor your online reputation and respond appropriately. If you get a negative review, respond appropriately online and offline. Acknowledge the review with a reasoned response and then take it offline to attempt a resolution. Be sure to thank those who post positive reviews as well.
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