The Guides for Brides online review policy

 

 

Listing your wedding business on a website that includes reviews is by far the most powerful way to promote yourself . The number of reviews your business has will have a direct impact on the number of enquiries and bookings you get as couples gain confidence from seeing the "social proof" that you are popular.

 

With testimonials a business chooses which feedback to display. This isn't the "social proof" brides are looking for as they know it is a curated list and they want to see the full story.  

Guides for Brides, along with TripAdvisor and Yelp, display the full story and for this reason brides and grooms trust us, and they trust the businesses that list with us. 

 

 

Absolutely yes! Send a link to /reviews after every appointment, booking or after the wedding day itself.

• 85% of reviews are left as a result of businesses asking for them
• 5% are left because the business delivered bad service
• Only 10% are left simply because the business delivered great service

This means that unless you ask, you are missing out on receiving 85% of your good reviews. 

The ability for customers to leave online reviews has led to a big improvement in customer care, which can only be a good thing. If things don't go well between you and your client it is better to resolve it before it is taken online.  Contact the couple as soon as possible to apologise and ask how they would like the situation to be resolved, BEFORE the couple leave a negative review. Most negative reviews are as a result of a business failing to resolve an issue, rather than the issue itself. Reputable review sites can not remove negative reviews where the reviewer has reason to feel aggrieved, so once a fair and reasonable review has been posted it will only be removed at the reviewer's request, so it is best to prevent the situation arising.

 

Sometimes a service simply isn't up to a bride's high expectations, and we all know those expectations aren't always reasonable. 

Negative reviews can feel like a personal attack and it is easy to over-react, however most brides will consider a business's reviews to be more credible if there are a mix of reviews, not just highly positive ones.

The best approach is to use the "respond" option and leave a polite reply, apologising if the service was anything other than the exceptional standards you pride yourself on, and inviting the reviewer to contact you directly to discuss their concerns. This gives a clear message that you take customer care, and your good reputation, seriously. Adding positive reviews will quickly and effectively "drown out" a negative comment, so upload any reviews you have already been sent and ask other brides to leave a review.

 

If you have received an email or letter of thanks from a couple this can be added as a review, however we'd encourage you to let the couple know

  

I'd rather not have any reviews
The review facility can be removed from your advert at your request. Our experience demonstrates that adverts with reviews, good and bad, receive a better response than those without and reviews.