Do you think reviews have an impact on your business? Do you think you should be watching what consumers are saying about your business? Do you think you should be responding to your online reviews? If you answered “yes,” you are right!
Reviews are becoming a vital part of today’s marketing plans and not something to be ignored. Not only do reviews have an impact on your SEO for your website, but they are also a deciding factor for many consumers of whether or not they decide to use your services or products. Online reviews are one of the most important areas to pay attention to for your business. Reviews by word-of-mouth from family and friends are trusted by others more than some realize.
Increase Visibility For Your Brand
Online reviews increase your business’s visibility and draw new customers to you. The more reviews you have make you more visible and make it easier for new potential customers to find you. It is more likely for you to appear high up on the search engine results page.
Let Your Customers Market for You
Customer Reviews are great publicity because customers trust others who have used your business before. Asking for reviews and people giving reviews is totally free. Let your customers do some of the selling for you. Investing your time in building reviews can allow you to spend less time on in-house marketing.
Increase Sales For Your Small Business
Your small business will generate more revenue with the more reviews you have. Positive customer reviews can persuade customers to buy more or use your business in the future. Positive reviews can give future customers the confidence to work with your business without worrying about the product or making a mistake. The more reviews a product or company has, the better chance that you will see an increase in sales/customers.
You probably wouldn’t purchase an item or take a vacation to somewhere you’ve never been if you can’t find reviews on it. You overhear your friends talk about their recent vacation to a small mountain town and you’re now interested in visiting, so what’s the first thing you do? Google search that town and find reviews for places to stay. Based on what you read will determine if/when you want to visit and where you want to stay.
Many businesses are afraid to ask for reviews because they are scared of negative feedback. Instead of being afraid, you should take that chance to make things right, by showing future customers that you want to make things right. And for those bogus reviews, don’t worry, today’s consumer is much smarter than you might think and can usually see right through those bogus reviews. But it’s best to respond to it so that you look like the good guy and customers can see that you do what is best.
What about those good reviews? You want folks to tell the world how pleased they are with you and you should want to thank them for it. It’s that simple. Ask for reviews from your customers and thank them publicly for being a valued customer so that they will do business with you again.