Today a story was released in the WSJ about a lawsuit filed against sites that host and manage customer reviews of their companies online. One of the most prominent review sites, Yelp, is at the center of the story. According to one carpet cleaning business owner, his business was negatively impacted by as much as 30% following a rash of negative reviews on Yelp.As we have previously posted, user reviews are critical when it comes to brand management for attorneys. I recently visited with an attorney who had two reviews on Yelp - one of which was highly negative. When I showed her a search of what her potential referral clients see when they Google her name, Yelp was right there are the top - with a 3 star rating. When I asked her if she was aware of this, she said that a number of clients has mentioned it to her over the past few months. Which leads me to the following question; if this many people would mention it to you, how many more would not? Moreover, how many of those have now become lost cases and clients?
We know from studies by AC Nielsen in 2009 that 70% of people now trust online consumer opinions. When referrals are given out, they are typically given in numbers which means you have competition for that client / case. Now that your referral clients are increasingly reviewing you online before and after your initial meeting with them, you need to know and more importantly, better manage your brand reputation and reviews online.
According to this chart on Yelp reviews, fully 34% (1/3) of all reviews on Yelp are three stars or less. That means negative reviews and lost business for attorneys with negative reviews and increased business for those without them.
Which option best appeals to you?
#lawyermarketing #brandmanagement #seo #yelp
