One thing I like to do on all of the websites I make for dive shops is include an easy to see link to the shops tripadvisor page. I usually do this through a widget like you can see half way down the front page on this site I made for Rangiroa Plongee and how I have done it in the bottom widget area of the site I made for Rocket Frog Divers.
This does two important things. The first thing it does is allows your customers an easy way to find your profile on tripadvisor so that they can go and leave a positive review of their diving experience with you. It is important to make it easy for them to do so as if it isn’t easy, it just might not happen. I also try to make it possible for them to do so on facebook which is another thing that isn’t overly hard to set up and gives you another opportunity to get some good reviews out of your customers.
The second thing it does is gives your potential customers an opportunity to easily view your reputation that has been built by your customers over the years. This can create a lot more trust in your potential customers and can quite easily make the difference between the visitor becoming a customer or moving on to another dive operators website.
Having a good reputation online is important. You work hard to run your dive shop the best you possibly can and it is important to answer all complaints which people make online. Not only does it give you the opportunity to tell your side of the story, it also shows again that you care about the reputation of your dive shop and you are willing to take the time to do this. If you are actively searching for and managing your reputation online, it also gives you the opportunity to find invalid complaints. Complaints that may have been directed your way by someone who has never been your customer before. Unfortunately these erroneous entries do happen. Whether they come from a competing dive shop, a disgruntled former employee, or someone with a personal problem with you, they are equally as damaging to you and need to be addressed.
There are all kinds of other sites that are more specific to the dive industry which also offer visitors the opportunity to rank your dive site. Sites such as scubadviser, bookyourdive, divereport, scubaboard, and other dive directories have customers who are following the posts of others all the time. These are great opportunities to thank your previous customers for good reviews and their business or to respond the their complaints. The manner you do so will give visitors an impression of your dive shop as either professional or unprofessional and will greatly impact their decision on who to dive with when they travel to your area.
If you don’t have time to manage your reputation online you need to have someone do it for you. We can certainly include this in a monthly plan and work to make sure that your dive shop keeps its reputation as good as it deserves.
