Finding a reliable Garage - 2016 style

Prompted by this in the Sunday Times, we examine how consumers behave, and how businesses should react, in 2016.  

  

This is 2014's solution: spend an age googling review sites until you find on that suits your current need, one for plumbers today, one for getting your car MOT'd tomorrow, a hairdresser the week after. 

 Relying on consumers to make the extra effort find to sites like these when they have Google reviews a click away is no solution for any business in 2016

Today's consumer expects (but does not always get - no fault of anyone but the businesses concerned) a simpler solution: and its called Google.

But do the businesses recognise this? We think the answer is currently "Not a lot" because, if they did, they would look a whole lot better in Google search:

MOT - independent - search 'MOT':

 London MOT centre shines in this search, mostly because the remaining five businesses have only three reviews between them. London MOT is only one negative review away from falling foul of the Google Filter. We're guessing most MOT specialists have a put-through of at least one customer per hour - that's 2500 potential reviews a year - they don't need a high percentage of their customers to write reviews

Service - brand specific:

 Truly shocking - these businesses are allowing their unhappy customers to dominate the impression given in search (unless they really are as bad as they look - which we seriously doubt). One click away - if anyone makes it past Battersea Volkswagen's 2.1 score - is this:

Unfortunately the impression given is just awful, and the responses are transmitting the message - unwittingly, we are sure - that: "We won't address your experience here, where all our future customers are looking" when we would advise our clients to address the issue raised in detail, head on. But that is coming from a business that lives and breathes review management 24 hours a day

Hairdresser:

 No reputation at all or "Let's let a tiny minority dictate what we look like to the world at large." Again - how many potential reviewers a day are being shown out of their salons without so much as a nod towards reviews?

Plumber:

 

Does 'My Plumber Man' know that just one more review will give them a Google score? Maybe with one of the four being like this they are hoping they will never get one:

The message - our message - is loud and clear. ENGAGE. 

But we do understand that it's a minefield out there. That's why HelpHound exists: to provide professional advice and navigate our clients through that minefield. So they look great where it matters most - on their own websites and on Google.