all right so have you ever like booked a hotel mhm or you know picked a restaurant oh yeah based on those online reviews I mean all the time yeah we all have right for sure so today we're diving deep okay into these Google business profile reviews right you know those star ratings and comments that can like really make or break a business yeah we're going to figure out how these reviews actually shape okay what customers expect and how businesses can use them to handle interes complaints even cool so what's really interesting to me about these GBP reviews is that they kind of tackle this this big challenge okay you know the difference between what customers think they're going to get and what they actually end up experiencing right and these reviews sort of bridge that Gap exactly by giving people a real like a sneak peek yeah sneak peek into the business yeah it's like you get to look behind the curtain before you even it's more than just a peak right because reviews build trust they do why do you think that is well you know there's actually research that shows that like 93% of customers wow will read online reviews before they buy something oh that makes sense yeah I mean think about it you're way more likely to trust like a friend's recommendation than some fancy ad right absolutely and reviews tap into that they're like social proof you know yeah real people who've actually tried the product that makes a lot of sense so it's almost like like like a whole network yeah like a network of virtual friends who are vouching for a business that's a great way to put it and it's not just like a general thumbs up or thumbs down no not at all you can get into the nitty-gritty absolutely like all the little details you know the quality of a certain dish or how friendly the staff is at a hotel all those things so customers can really figure out yeah make those informed decisions exactly what they're getting into yeah and you know what's amazing to me what's that reviews can actually kind of filter oh yeah and guide customers the businesses that really fit their needs yeah like imagine you're looking for a quiet Cafe to work in reviews that mention a peaceful atmosphere and good Wi-Fi that's like a green light exactly so that's what we call self- selection okay customers can read reviews and decide if the business actually matches what they're looking for and for businesses that means they attracting the right people uhuh less chance of mismatched expectations so speaking of expectations okay let's get into how reviews can actually help reduce complaints all right so by actively engaging with reviews okay businesses can manage customer expectations in advance for example if a bunch of reviews mention long wait times yeah the business can say hey we hear you and here's what we're doing to fix it it shows they listening exactly and actually taking action transparency is q and it's not just about you know reacting to bad review right it's about showing you care about improving exactly and don't forget all those oh yeah Advanced features GBP has like uh attributes and the Q&A oh for sure businesses can use those to proactively answer questions and highlight things about their service yeah like a hotel that's pet friendly yeah can use attributes to show that right so no surprises yeah avoid complaints from people who didn't know the policy yeah so we've seen how these reviews build trust they help people make decisions and they manage expectations absolutely it's clear that they're like super important really important for the whole customer experience yeah it's a two-way street too oh how so businesses can learn and adapt from reviews right always be improving so that leaves us with like this final thought okay if reviews are so important right how can businesses encourage more customers to actually leave those detailed honest reviews that's the question isn't that really give a clear picture MH it's something to think about sure whether you're the customer or the business owner right thanks for joining us on this deep dive thanks for having me of course
