It might seem a silly question, of course you did. But did you stop to wonder why? Most people will check the reputation of a service or retailer before using them, some statistics suggest that more than nine in ten purchases follow some sort of online research. And checking a massage therapist’s reputation is easy.
Different people will check in different ways. Some may have a preferred review site that they will check. Others might just turn to Google, and search for something like ‘massage therapist reviews’. While some might look at social media posts, on Twitter or under a Facebook page, to see what people are saying about a business. The one thing all those methods have in common is that they are so easy, it has become habitual for most people.
Why is a massage therapist’s reputation, or any business’s reputation, important?
Some research is, of course, purely factual. People might be looking for things like location, or checking that they can get the type of massage they want, there’s no point going somewhere that specialises in sports massage when they want a spa-like experience. However, for many, the research is to see what other people thought of the service.
Many purchases include an element of the unknown. It’s impossible to know what a massage therapist’s premises are like until you are in them, nor will you know how good they are at massage until you get a massage. But you can find out what other people thought of them. And that’s why a massage therapist’s reputation will be so critical to their business, just like the reputation of any business.
Most people will report that they will change a purchasing decision based on reviews. If they were considering booking a massage, for example, but found that there were negative reviews about the therapist they were thinking of using, they would look elsewhere.
Managing a reputation
It’s vital for any business to manage their reputation. Some of this can be quite simple. For example, simply hiding negative comments on a Facebook page will ensure that only the original poster and their friends will be able to see it. And on other social media platforms politely engaging and attempting to resolve complaints can go a long way not just to prevent harm, but even improve reputation as people tend to reward businesses that take customer satisfaction seriously.
However, it’s possible to be much more positive when it comes to building a five-star brand. Taking steps to encourage satisfied customers helps enormously. Simply pointing customers towards a preferred review site will increase the number of positive reviews that are left.
Using those reviews in marketing and advertising also helps. They don’t work just as good adverts, highlighting a great service to people, but it will also encourage others to share their experiences because it shows that customer feedback is important.
It isn’t just your massage therapist’s reputation that matters. Reputation is vital to every business — having positive reviews helps build trust because people can see that others like them have had a good experience, and that helps turn them into new customers.
Our online reputation service can manage the whole process. From addressing negative reviews to encouraging and highlighting new ones, it offers a complete service for reputation management and has helped hundreds of businesses build and protect a five-star brand. To find out how we can help you, call or email us today.
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