Local shops
The neighbourhood’s opinion, on the street and on the phone.
Local retail lives on word of mouth. Now that word of mouth is also written down, and read by people who do not know you.
A shop’s reviews are asked for from satisfied customers at the point of purchase, answered every one — the awkward ones included — and never bought, because Google’s policies forbid fake and incentivised reviews.
Last reviewed:
Word of mouth in writing
Neighbourhood retail has always lived on somebody recommending you. The difference is that the recommendation is now also read by whoever has just moved into the area and knows nobody. For that person, your reviews are all the information they have about you.
Asking without nagging
The moment is when the customer is happy with what they are taking home: a sentence at the till, a discreet QR code beside it. Without insisting and without repeating it every time they come in, because in a neighbourhood shop people return often and that grates quickly.
Answering the awkward one too
The typical retail complaint is about the service or about a return that was refused. A useful reply does not argue in front of everyone: it thanks, explains how your returns policy works and offers to talk. And if the customer was right, saying so disarms more than any argument.
And no buying them
Google’s policies forbid fake and incentivised reviews. In a neighbourhood shop it also stands out enormously: five reviews in a row from people who have never set foot in the area are recognisable by anybody.
The same thing, explained in general: Google profile
What we do about it
Part of the maintenance: you never have to ask, and it is never billed apart.
- An alert for every new review The same day, above all the awkward one.
- Help with replying With a written rule, not improvising.
- A way of asking for them A QR by the till and a sentence when taking payment.
- Reviews visible on the site The good ones you already have, where people decide.
- Reporting the ones that break the rules With an argument, when policies are breached.
- No buying stars We neither ask for them nor arrange them.
And this you change with one sentence
You write what you want changed and we publish it.
We have had a review about a refused return
We suggest a reply explaining your policy without arguing.
We want to ask for reviews without pestering
A QR by the till and a sentence ready to use.
Show our best reviews on the site
Published, with a link to the profile so they can be checked.
Frequently asked questions
Can a bad review be deleted?
Only if it breaks Google’s policies. If it is a sincere opinion, it gets answered, and a good reply convinces more than five stars with no text.
Can I give a discount for a review?
No. Incentivised reviews are forbidden and in a neighbourhood it shows immediately.
Do I reply myself?
Usually we suggest the text and you publish it. In local retail your own voice is half the answer.
How many do I need?
More than the shop next door, and recent. And with text: a review that says something is worth ten that only leave stars.
Where all this comes from
Every figure and every rule quoted above, linked to the official text.
- Prohibited and restricted content policies for contributions Google
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google Google Business Profile
The rest of what a website for local shops includes
A window for your products
What you sell, with photos and by category. Without running an online shop you then cannot staff.
Google profile
Hours, photos and directions, updated where people actually look for you.
WhatsApp to reserve
"Have you got it in a 40?" answered on the spot, and the item put aside.
Hours and campaigns
Bank holidays, sales and summer hours, changed with a sentence and never left stale.
Neighbourhood SEO
So it is you who comes up when someone searches for what you sell near your street.
Your own domain and email
Your name on the internet, registered to you, and an address that is not a free account.
Legal and backups
Legal notice, privacy and cookies reviewed, and a daily copy of your whole site.
How many reviews do you have from the last year?
If there are few, it is not that people dislike you: it is that nobody asked. A sentence at the till fixes it.
Write to us