Importance of Ratings

Ratings takes this to a different level. Here people take the view of complete strangers as being a significant part of their decision making decision. It has become the way of the world in leisure and any one in that sector will already be very aware of what ratings they are given and what feedback they are given. They should also deal with feedback of all sorts promptly , effectively and politely.

As time goes by, this is becoming more of a reality for all sectors. We are all aware of Facebook, LinkedIn and Google also offering similar rating scores and ability for feed-back so what should be done?

• – be aware of what ratings your business is being scored on and which are being used most by your target market.
• – regularly check both what your overall ratings are and what feed-back you have received.
• – provide comments and response, where available, to all feed-back and comments and take appropriate action to prevent repeat comments where there is something that can be improved or learnt from.
• – put your own feedback loop into place at time of purchase to get feedback direct and avoid someone using a rating service out of frustration and again take lessons learned and respond positively.
• Actively encourage positive feedback form the “silent majority”. These should become your advocates and mean that even if the odd poor comment is received you r overall score is good. Also, many peope judge ratings by quantity of response as well as the score given. Get lots of people saying good things about you and this becomes a strong marketing message.

So, in conclusion, treat the rise of ratings as an opportunity rather than a threat and ensure that you take the actions above to ensure you are rated well.