WALTHAM, Mass. -

Reviews have literally changed the way consumers find your business, whether you’re a car dealership or a dentist. According to a survey by Dimensional Research, a staggering 90 percent of respondents said that a positive review influenced their purchase decision.

More challenging for dealerships is the notion that the sheer number of reviews plays significantly in the decision to shop with your business. An eye-tracking study by Mediative suggested that a majority of clicks to a website from a review listings mobile app went to listings that had at least four reviews.

It’s your job to manage that review process to the best of your abilities, and get out in front of your customers with every opportunity to post a review. How do you get it done?

Ask for the review
It’s deceptively simple, but if you aren’t asking for that review, you’re missing opportunities to get those reviews posted. In the most manual sense, it’s simply requesting customers to post online reviews of their experience, but dealerships that are really out in front of reviews are more sophisticated.

Have a process for asking
That sophistication isn’t necessarily technical. It’s simply having a process that invites a review from everyone your staff comes in contact with. By utilizing outbound email processes, or phone calls to follow up with customers after service, forward-thinking dealerships are taking every moment to ask customers to review their experience.

Give a reason to review
Every single day, your dealership makes someone’s dream come true by delivering a brand new car. Don’t miss the opportunity to document that moment and share it with the person who just experienced it. DealerRater has a mobile tool called LotShot that allows sales representatives to take a photo of their customers at that amazingly exciting moment when they take delivery of their brand new car. The tool emails the new owner, offering a free download of the photo and an opportunity to leave a review. It also posts a photo along with the review. It brings a heavy dose of humanity by showing that happy new car owner along with their review.

Dealers at the forefront are changing the culture of their showrooms and service bays, making every single interaction an opportunity for a positive online review.

Ryan Leslie is the Director of Dealer Reputation Strategy at DealerRater. This column original appeared on DealerRater's DealerReader Blog, which can be found at http://blog.dealerrater.com.