How to Nail Online Reputation For Your Nail Salon

Your online reputation says a lot about your nail salon

Word of mouth is still a powerful form of advertising, but these days, it’s being replaced by online reviews more and more. Let’s face it. Instead of asking friends and family for recommendations on where to get their nails done, most people will simply do a quick Google search.

Making sure that your business stands out online is a huge part of separating yourself from your competition, and that means that you need to learn how to nail your nail salon’s online reputation.

Managing your business’s online reputation will take time, energy and consistent effort on your part. And even then, it’s not always easy to manage, especially if it’s new territory for you. Luckily, though, with a little know-how, getting your nail salon’s online reputation right can be much simpler.

Tips to help you nail your nail salon’s online reputation

#1. Claim your listings

You don’t necessarily have to pay to get your nail salon listed on a variety of review sites. In fact, it probably already is! And the first step of managing your salon’s online reputation should consist of determining where your business is already listed, claiming your salon’s existing listing and signing up for as many relevant review sites as you can.

Why is it important to claim your listing?
  • Simply having your business exist on multiple review sites is a great start, but your job is far from done — you also need to claim your listing. Often, when a listing is left unclaimed on review sites, the information that’s available may be outdated, incorrect or, in some cases, missing altogether. So whether the listing still has your old address or it’s missing your phone number, claiming it will allow you to update the information. You could also add photos and other media to make your listing stand out more.
  • Additionally, claiming your business makes it easier for prospective clients to find your business on a variety of different review platforms, and in most cases, it gives you the ability to actually respond to the reviews your business gets on the platform.

#2. Let your customers know where your salon is listed

Now that your business is listed and your listing is claimed on a variety of review sites, it’s time to start generating more reviews for your salon. The more reviews you have, the better, and it’s even better when your reviews are more recent.

When people are checking out a business online, they typically won’t just read one review and more on. They’ll read several different reviews, and in order for those reviews to be relevant to their potential experience with your business, they need to be recent.

In fact, a lot of people won’t even pay attention to a review if it wasn’t left within the last few weeks. This means that generating reviews for your nail salon needs to be something you focus on consistently and continuously.

How can you generate more reviews for your nail salon?
  • Let your clients know where you’re listed – Hang a sign in your salon indicating the different places your clients can leave you a review. But keep in mind that the last thing a client is going to do is to go through the process of signing up for a Yelp account or an Angie’s List account in order to write a review for your business. If your business is also listed on a platform where they already have an account, like Facebook or Google, it’ll make it much easier for them to leave a review for you. This is another reason why it’s important to get your business listed and claimed on a variety of review sites.
  • Ask for reviews – Asking for reviews can be kind of a grey area, depending on the review site in question and how you go about doing it. However, there is one thing that’s crystal clear about asking for reviews — it works! The vast majority of your customers won’t think to leave a review for your salon on their own, but if you ask, they are more than willing. But it’s important to keep in mind that asking for reviews is not the same as incentivizing them, and you should never promise a discount or anything else in exchange for a five-star review.
  • Send follow-up emails – Requesting reviews in-person is incredibly effective, but we get it, it’s not the first thing on your mind when you’re with a client. When you’re with a client, you’re focused on providing them with the very best manicure or pedicure possible — not badgering them to write a review for you. That’s why sending follow-up emails the next day can be a great option.

#3. Respond to your online reviews

While generating reviews is essential, simply having reviews isn’t enough to effectively manage your nail salon’s online reputation; you also have to respond to them. Reviews are one-sided, and they’re not always an honest or accurate portrayal of the kind of service you offer your clients.

That can be incredibly frustrating, but when you take the time to respond to your nail salon’s reviews, you can share your side of the story and set the record straight.

It’s important to note that there’s a right way and a wrong way to respond to reviews. If you respond to a review — even a negative one — in the right way, you can show off your customer service chops and potentially even win back the client in the process. But if you respond in the wrong way, you may come across as petty or immature, which could not only mean losing that individual customer for life but a lot of other potential customers as well.

What’s the right way to respond to reviews?
  • Respond quickly, but give yourself a minute to breathe – When a client leaves you a review, they expect a response from you in a timely manner, but if the review has upset you, it can sometimes help to give yourself a few minutes to breathe and collect your thoughts. Some assertions made in reviews can be downright insulting, and it’s normal to get upset when someone is lying about your business online, but if you get caught up in the moment and let your emotions guide your response, it’ll only make the problem worse.
  • Respond to every review – It’s absolutely essential to respond to negative reviews, but did you know that it’s just as important to respond to five-star reviews? Whether the review is negative or positive, the client took time out of their day to write it, and you need to honor that by taking the time to thank them for sharing their feedback. This also ensures that your clients know that their feedback has been heard.
  • Take the conversation out of public view – It won’t look good for your business if you have a public argument on Google or Facebook with a client. You’ll only make yourself look bad. That’s why, when you’re responding to a negative review, you should apologize and offer the client to call you or email you personally to discuss the matter.

#4. Check-in with your clients while they’re in the shop

A big part of managing your nail salon’s online reputation actually happens in person in your salon. Not every review will be an honest reflection of a client’s experience in your nail salon, but most of them will be, which means that your nail salon’s online reputation is a reflection of the kind of service you offer in your salon. One of the best things you can do to manage it is to make customer service your main focus every day.

Sometimes, you might think you’re doing everything right and the experience is still not what the client wanted or expected. That’s why it’s important to keep a pulse on the situation while it’s happening by checking in with your clients to ensure that they’re satisfied throughout the entire experience.

You should also make it a point to ask for feedback in person after you’ve completed a manicure or pedicure. You may even try surveying your clients.

In-person feedback is great because it allows you to solve an issue before it becomes a negative online review that the entire world can see, and it demonstrates to your clients that you truly care about what they think of your salon. The goal of checking in at regular intervals in person is to ensure that they are happy when they walk out of your door — which should be your number one priority with every customer interaction.

#5. Be active on social media

Most businesses think of their website as their ultimate home base online, but it’s actually just one of the many places where you can connect with both your existing and potential clients online. In fact, one of the best places to connect with people is through social media!

Social media is a great place to show off your work and let people know what kind of results people will get when they choose your nail salon, but with a little know-how, it’s also a great place to expand your client base and community.

How do you expand your client base with social media?
  • Focus on the right platforms – All social media platforms aren’t made equally, and while you should be listed and have a presence on a variety of platforms, your main focus should be on the platforms that your client case uses the most. What’s the best way to know what platforms those are? All you have to do is ask!
  • Show off your work – The common saying — “a picture is worth 1,000 words” — is especially true when it comes to social media. While you can and should use text to communicate on social media, almost nothing is more powerful than an image, except for videos, that is, which is another great medium for showing off your work.
  • Post often – Posting on social media isn’t something you can just do once. You have to keep at it on a regular, consistent basis in order to make an impact and grow your online reputation to what you want it to be. Posting regularly on social media will also help to improve the social media optimization of your website, leading to better organic rankings and more visibility.
  • Engage with your audience – Making connections with other people is one of the best things you can do for the success of your nail salon, and that’s just as true on social media as it is in person. Make it a point to always respond to any comments you get on social media, and don’t be afraid to ask for permission to share your clients’ nails or stories on social media as well.

#6. Display reviews on your website

When you get a glowing, five-star review, it’s normal to want to shout about it from the mountaintops. There are so many ways to display your reviews so that more people can see them, but one of the best things you can do is to display them on your website.

A good client review is a great thing to display prominently on your website, and when people see it, it will help to establish trust and comfort in your nail salon.

There are two basic ways that you can add reviews to your website. One option is simply to copy/paste the review, which is good, but the most effective way to display reviews is with a reviews widget. When you copy/paste, you can only display one review, but when you embed a review widget on your site, you’ll add new, dynamic review content to your site on a regular basis.

Take control of your nail salon’s online reputation with Top Rated Local®

Top Rated Local is not your average review site. Our algorithm collects reviews from a variety of review sites to provide you with an overall Rating Score™ for your nail salon, which will give you a good idea of how you’re doing across the board — instead of just on one single review site.

In addition to helping you get an understanding of your nail salon’s overall online reputation, signing up for Top Rated Local comes with a long list of benefits for business owners, including real-time notifications when you get reviews, the ability to respond to reviews, prioritized profile ranking on Google, monthly email updates about your salon’s reputation, a Top Rated Local badge to help you display reviews on your website and so much more.

Don’t wait. Become a Top Rated Local nail salon today!

Originally published 11/7/19

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