One of the best ways to get new customers for your Notary business is positive online reviews from your signers. In this article, NNA Social Media Coordinator Ashley Valera answers questions about the best approach to getting good reviews from customers, and what are the best review platforms for Notaries.
1. What are the best places online for Notaries to get customer reviews and why are those review sources good for Notaries?
We recommend Yelp and Google Reviews as places for Notaries to post their business information in order to get reviews. Yelp and Google Reviews are among the most reliable and the most viewed review sites and are among the top online recommendations when researching a business.
2. Do any review sites require Notaries to pay a fee or subscription to set up a listing or get preferred business status? If so, what are the pros and cons of getting a paid business listing vs. a free listing?
A Yelp business page and Google business profile are free to set up and manage. For a fee, you can also use these sites to place ads for your business, which may get you more exposure. But you cannot buy reviews for your business on any site.
3. Do you have any suggestions or tips to help Notaries get good customer reviews online?
My number one tip would be to ask. When you're done completing a service, remind your client to leave you a review. Make your business easy to find by including your business name and your name on any online profile so clients can find you later if they chose to write a review. Also, some businesses have seen success when asking their followers on social media to leave feedback if they've received a service before.
4. Is it appropriate to ask customers to leave a good review for you after performing a notarization for them? If not, are there other recommended ways to encourage customers to leave a good review?
It's appropriate to mention it to clients before you leave. Repeat clients may be more inclined because sometimes people who don't know you or your business don't feel comfortable leaving a review based on a one-time notarization. But it never hurts to ask, especially if you know you've given them great customer service.
5. What if you get a negative review online? How should Notaries handle this and what steps should they take?
They should try to reach out to the customer and remedy the situation and see how they could do better moving forward. Ask if there's anything you could do to make up for the bad experience. Most sites won't let you, as the business owner, delete negative reviews but they do allow clients to edit them so that if the Notary resolve the issue the signer may be willing to change or update their original review.
6. Do you have any other tips or suggestions for Notaries regarding customer reviews?
On the topic of bad reviews, sometimes even when you feel you've given your client exceptional service they might give you negative feedback. It's all a learning experience. Don't take it to heart — just make some adjustments and learn from it and allow your business to keep moving forward.
David Thun is the Assistant Managing Editor with the National Notary Association.
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