Highlight Your Business’s Strengths and Minimize Negative Feedback – the Right Way!
The bail bond industry is fierce, and agencies live or die on their reputations alone. In a competitive marketplace, you may be struggling to eke out ground against agencies that have been around for decades. In addition to cultivating a strong brand presence, online reviews are a great way to push your agency ahead of the pack. But when a negative review comes around, you need to respond swiftly and carefully to manage your reputation.
SLS Consulting, Inc., can create a custom marketing plan for a bail bond agency that wants to get a leg up on the competition. Our team of legal marketers can optimize every aspect of your website, from your graphic design to your SEO to your social media presence, to showcase the strengths of your brand and cultivate positive online reviews. Do not let one bad review get you down – use it as a chance to bolster your agency’s reputation. To discuss how to better market your bail bond agency, call us at (323) 254-1510 for a free case evaluation.
Every Satisfied Client Counts
Whether you are searching for a chiropractor or your new favorite restaurant, online reviews are often the deciding factor between scrolling past or stopping to pick up the phone. For bail bond agents, positive reviews from past clients can bolster the agency’s reputation and help you break out ahead of local competition. Clients need to know you are easy to work with, you will respond quickly to calls or emails, and you are experienced at working with courts and lawyers – all elements of your brand’s reputation. A prospective client should be able to comb through your positive reviews and understand your firm’s strengths.
Reviews can both seal the deal on a new client and expand your firm’s brand to new markets. Clients can come from a variety of channels, such as Google, Yelp, and Facebook. The better reviews you have on these platforms, the more likely that a new user will reach out to you. You should play close attention to how your reviews are ranking on search results and look to your SEO marketing to bolster your agency’s reach.
But for every five to ten positive reviews, you can expect one or more negative ones. While you should not ignore negative feedback, remember that you can limit a review’s impact by crowding it out with positive testimonials. Most review sites average recent reviews to calculate an agency’s overall score. Oftentimes, users will only look at the average when comparing bail bond agencies and may not dig too deeply into individual reviews before making a call. On the off chance a negative review is hurting your calls, there are steps you can take to get your reputation back on track.
Dealing With Negative Feedback
Negative reviews are expected in every business, and bail bonds are no different. You will eventually have an unsatisfied client or co-signer who felt you could have handled their case better, but what matters is how you respond to their feedback. Negative reviews are an opportunity to learn where your agency can do better – such as being more hands-on with clients or clearer when explaining a bond agreement – and you should not ignore useful feedback. One negative review could be the motivation you need to better satisfy future clients – and receive even more positive reviews.
Responding to negative reviews is another way to minimize their impact on your agency’s growth. Review sites and services like Google My Business allow business owners to respond directly to reviews, and you should use this option on a limited basis to resolve negative feedback. Remember, the best you can hope for is zeroing out the negative review and showing that you can respond professionally to criticism. You should never try to shift blame to the reviewer or deny accountability. Your focus should be on trying to resolve the reviewer’s issue and clarifying any potential questions for readers. You can always encourage a reviewer to contact you directly to discuss the issue as well.
Encouraging Positive Testimonials
It is risky to just trust that reviews will come in naturally as you post bail for clients. Most online users only leave reviews when they are upset, so you should always encourage positive testimonials where you can. One method is to create an exit package for defendants and co-signers. You can include details on where they can leave reviews, such as on third-party sites like Google or Yelp, or ask them to fill out personalized surveys. These surveys can help you identify areas where your bail bond agents can improve while also letting you determine what information should go online and what should remain confidential for your agency.
Video testimonials are also invaluable, allowing you to put a face to your clients and let users see the real-world impact of your agency. Whether you wish to host them on your website or on a third-party platform like YouTube, video reviews can personalize your firm in a way that a dozen Google reviews cannot. These videos should be curated in-house to allow you to control the production and distribution of your reviews.
Organic Marketing and Reputation Management
There is no easy path to carving out a strong reputation in the bail bonds industry. At its core, collecting positive reviews comes down to the day-to-day operations of your agency. From the way your agents answer phones to how quickly you respond to emails to the experience of waiting in your lobby – all of this will impact a client’s experience in small ways – and you have control over it. By paying attention to both positive and negative reviews, you can learn how to grow your bail bond agency and outpace your competitors.
On the marketing side of the matter, SLS Consulting, Inc., is here to highlight your wins. Reviews are one factor in your marketing plan, and we work to incorporate positive testimonials into your content, your design, and your social media posts. Where appropriate, we can bring attention to positive feedback that showcases your firm at its best. Many of our clients utilize dedicated landing pages to share personalized notes, letters, and videos from old clients – all optimized by SLS’s bail bond marketing team.
If you have questions about how online reviews and reputation management will play into your larger marketing plan, reach out to SLS Consulting, Inc., at (323) 254-1510. We provide free case evaluations and can create a custom bail bond marketing plan for your geographic region.