GenBook Verified Reviews

Jul 26th, 2012

New tool aims to help small businesses generate reviews from within their verified customer pool.

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The Internet is vast territory to moderate reviews and mentions of your spa. Not only is it difficult to verify the authenticity of what people say via major review sites such as Yelp and Citysearch (Did they actually visit your day spa? Is feedback properly filtered?), but recent studies have shown that more than half of consumers now peruse online reviews before trying a new business, making online reputation management crucial for today’s spa owner.

To help put spas more in control of this information, GenBook, a cloud-based online appointment scheduling software company, has just introduced Genbook Verified Reviews. This tool aims to help small businesses generate reviews from within their verified customer pool, and then promote their reputation online. (Whereas many review sites function as open forums, Genbook serves both business owners and consumers by ensuring authenticity and control.)

Here’s how it works: 24 hours after receiving a spa service, Genbook automatically emails each client to request a brief review of the experience. Once submitted and verified, it’s published on Genbook’s scheduling webpage and also on your day spa’s Facebook page (through Genbook’s BookNow application). And, thanks to a recent partnership with big-time aggregator CityGrid, that information is now syndicated throughout the media company’s hundreds of partner sites and mobile apps, considerably improving SEO.

Jim Lankes of Divine Skin Spa in Scottsdale has seen revenues and client visits multiply exponentially since he started mining reviews through Genbook. “We now have more than 500 reviews and an average five-star rating,” he says. “Other sites’ review standards and filters have been frustrating in the past, but Genbook has made the process easier and accelerated our local, web and social media presence.”

GenBook also offers business analytics to give spa owners quantitative insight into sales trends, individual therapists’ performance and other key data metrics.

For more information, visit genbook.com.