Why is it that when I think of public customer reviews, and particularly reviews of recruitment consultants publicly available and on the internet that I picture the three little pigs singing in that old Disney cartoon!
“Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, big bad wolf?” Here is a link to refresh your memory!
Who is afraid of a review? It seems to me that far too many service providers are afraid to have themselves under the scrutiny of their customers and the general public. As an owner of a recruitment agency, I know how important your reputation is in the market and how any damage to that can translate to lost fees and revenue. So, why is it then that you would make yourself available for such criticism and possible reputation damage, I hear you say?
Firstly, if you are assuming that everyone who takes the time to review your service is going to review you in a negative way then you probably need to consider the level of service you are offering. Instead, if you are proud of what you do and trust that what you are personally delivering or the people you have working for you are doing their utmost to provide a service people are willing to pay for then you should have nothing to fear. Instead, the reviews made public can amplify recommendation. Known in years past as ‘word of mouth’, recommendation by third parties to potential customers was the primary source of new business. Ask your accountant how they win clients and I bet they tell you it's by referral. Public online reviews can amplify the power of referrals.
Secondly, it is inevitable that not all customers will be happy and that there will be situations where your relationships with clients will be tested. It may be that these situations result in a negative review. Your potential customers are human and understand that nothing is perfect and that there are always two sides to any story. Your public response to a negative review, explaining your side and, if need be, an apology can satisfy a prospect that your business has integrity and can deal with unforeseen circumstances.
Finally, it has now become the norm, whether service providers like it or not, for customers to inform themselves about possible service providers through an internet search and validation through third parties. If you decide to exclude yourself from a review you are excluding yourself from these possible customers. Can you afford that?
Therefore, as an owner of a recruitment agency I have taken the leap and embraced online reviews for my team and chosen Talentwolf as the platform for me to manage this. Of course, we have Google reviews and recommendations on LinkedIn but Talentwolf enables me to combine the reviews with my website seamlessly through their widget and I get free SEO through their platform.
No, I’m not afraid the review big bad wolf!
