Online reviews play an instrumental role in every business’s online presence; including intellectual property law firms. People influence each other and a tangible positive collaboration with a client would certainly need to attract more and more clients.
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How Important are Local Reviews?
It goes without saying that clients search every product or business they consider on the internet before making the final decision. Brightlocal has found that 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they would trust a personal recommendation. The same study found that people read up to 7 reviews on a business or product before deciding to proceed or not.
The impact of local reviews is not only limited to the influence it has on potential customers, it’s also super important in determining how high a local search listing would appear.
You’re probably wondering what the best review-management practices are. There isn’t really one single go-to approach to handle all online reviews. Especially one that is specific and applicable to intellectual property law firms. Without any further ado, here is a list of the most recommended practices to manage local reviews:
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Answer Every Single Review
While it’s always a pleasure receiving praise for a job well done and for providing intellectual property law expertise, some clients can still not be as happy as others. It’s normal for them to share their frustration and it’s normal for you to feel the frustration in return. However, intellectual property law firms can still turn this around by providing review answers that not only acknowledge the disappointed client’s stance but also stop potential clients who read the review from basing their call on it.
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Thank Clients that Review Your Intellectual Property Law Firm Positively
Reviews that don’t have anything to complain about or any question to be answered should still be answered. A professional intellectual property law firm should demonstrate sincere care for its clients; the happy and the disappointed ones. This is where answering the positive reviews gets important; a human thank you demonstrates sincere care from your intellectual property law firm especially that you wouldn’t get any sort of benefit from it.
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Never Answer Reviewers in Private
Always respond to online reviews publicly and never go for the private messaging option. This is simply because every review is a chance for your intellectual property law firm to deliver the messages that it wants potential clients to consider. Always remember that the ultimate goal from dedicating time, energy, and resources to answering these reviews is to convey the idea that your intellectual property law firm cares about every client and potential client.
