By now, you probably recognize the importance of asking clients to write online reviews for your law firm. Building up client reviews can boost your SEO friendliness and allow your website to rise higher in search rankings. However, you may wonder how often you should check your reviews—do you really need to monitor them on a regular basis? And should you respond to every review, even the positive ones? Here are some best practices for monitoring and responding to online client reviews to keep your law firm’s reputation as strong and search-friendly as possible.
Know What Clients Are Saying About Your Firm
When you ask clients to write you a review, be sure to follow up and check to see what they posted. While you don’t have to check your online reviews every day, performing a quick check every week is a solid way to keep tabs on what clients are saying about your legal services. Without regular monitoring, you may have no idea that a negative review is dragging down your overall rating or putting off potential clients. Set a weekly reminder to check your reviews, or set up an automatic notification through the review platform that alerts you when a client posts a new review.
Respond to Reviews to Showcase Your Professionalism
While responding to positive reviews may not seem important, doing so can highlight your authentic investment in your clients’ well-being. According to the Harvard Business Review, businesses that respond to every online review tend to receive higher online ratings and better quality reviews than businesses that do not. When you respond to a review, you are acknowledging one person’s perspective while also showing potential clients that you care about their experiences working with your firm. People increasingly rely on online reviews when determining whether to work with a particular business or firm, so use your responses to online reviews to highlight your professionalism and commitment to valuing the client experience.
Dealing With Negative Reviews
While responding to positive reviews requires little more than expressing gratitude, replying to a negative review can be more challenging. Take some time to craft your response, making sure to acknowledge the client’s experience while expressing your willingness to remedy the situation. Sometimes, reaching out to the client privately can help them feel heard. The most effective responses to negative reviews tend to include some type of expression of concern that the client had a bad experience and the invitation to attempt to resolve the client’s concerns. Viewers will see your response as a genuine commitment to investing in the client experience, reinforcing your reputation as trustworthy and professional.
Call LegalRev today at (800) 893-2590 to learn more about navigating online reviews for your law firm.
