Online Reviews Facts and Tips

In today’s hyper-digital world, having an online presence is key to a business’s success. In addition to websites, blogs, and social media profiles, having positive online reviews can play a defining role in the success of your business. In fact, over 90% of consumers seek out and read customer reviews prior to visiting or using a business, most of whom trust the reviews just as much as they trust personal recommendations. Online reviews are one of the most effective ways to drive potential customers to your business. Sure, you can spend thousands of dollars trying to shoot your business to the top of the google search engine results page (SERP), but that can be expensive and inefficient. In addition, while being at the top of the SERPs can show that you’re an established business, it lacks the authenticity and brand trust that an online business review can provide.

It's important to know why online reviews matter and how to get more. Reviews help potential customers choose your business & build trust.

Here are the reasons why online reviews are so important:

1. They increase brand trust. Consumers crave transparency and read fellow customer reviews in order to get it. 
   
   
2. They expand your online exposure and local SEO. Since Google’s algorithm is driven by successful marketing tactics, businesses with multiple reviews show up first in local searches. 
   
   
3. They help you gain a successful feedback loop and pertinent customer intelligence. Each online review will tell you what you’re doing wrong, how you can improve, and what your customers expect.
   
   
4. They improve click-through rates. It’s vital to get customers to click on your link and a good collection of positive reviews entices people to do just that.
   
   
5. They convert more customers. Obviously, a customer is more likely to make a purchase if they find themselves on your site. So, advertising your Google rating on your site will often seal the deal.
   

Recommend Review Platforms

Here is my section of platforms you should be encouraging your customers to post on:

Google Reviews

Google has arguably the most prominent online review site. For starters, Google reviews have the potential to put you near the top of the search results page (as seen below). Many businesses will see this as the sole reason for focusing on generating Google reviews. While Google’s online reviews are a great starting place, it should not be the only factor to your online review strategy. Not everyone has a Google Account, something that is required to leave a google review, meaning you must supplement those efforts with other online review sites. Besides, Google isn’t the only online review platform that can rank in the search results.

Facebook Reviews

With nearly 1.4 billion monthly active users and 890M daily active users, Facebook is an online review site to be reckoned with. One main advantage to Facebook reviews is that most of your customers use Facebook and will already be logged in (via mobile or desktop) allowing you to easily direct them straight to your review page. While Facebook reviews arguably aren’t quite on par Google and Yelp reviews, the platform is fast-approaching.

HOT TIP: I highly recommend added a review widget to your website to pull your reviews from facebook automatically and display them on your site, this will help with the conversion of visitors to your site.

How to Ask for Online Reviews

Many businesses that already have a review strategy in place will tell you that collecting reviews isn’t always the easiest thing to do. So what’s the best way to generate them?

As a general rule of thumb, don’t incentivise for online reviews. Offering an incentive in exchange for a review may lead to a biased review that might not accurately reflect that specific customer’s experience. You may argue that it’s just business and you will do whatever it takes to increase revenue for your business. I admire that tenacity, but some online review platforms like Yelp do not.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK!

I recommend either setting time aside each week to send out messages or email asking for their review of your services of products, but you need to be proactive!

Now i love streamlining business and you can also streamline your review collection process by using an online review management platform that works for you and your customers. There are many online review management platforms out there but choosing one that works for both sides (your business and your customers) is key.

Managing Online Reviews

Positive online review response

Taking the time to respond to a few positive online business reviews is a great way to show that your business cares and is proud of the experience they were able to provide. Showing that your business is grateful for the company review also shows potential customers that your business thrives to create an experience like that for every single customer.

Negative online review response

On the flip side, taking the time to respond to a negative company review can have an even larger impact. In fact, 41% of consumers see a brand’s response to an online review as a sign that the brand really cares about its customers. This is a chance for your business to act fast and right whatever wrong the customer feels your business made. The above is a great example of taking a cool-headed approach in responding. They follow a few simple steps that can turn this negative into a positive for any potential customer:

• They approach the review with a calm and collected response (cushioned-defense).
  “Thank you for your review, we appreciate you taking the time…”
• They offer a pro-active way to right their wrong.
  “We’d like to do what we can to change that”
• They ask to continue the conversation privately.
  “Please contact our Customer Service Manager…”

What happens if the negative response isn’t legitimate? Hootsuite suggests that regardless of whether or not the complaint is legitimate, you should address it and apologize. Tell your side of the story in a sympathetic manner and offer to help correct the issue in anyway possible. Again, by addressing negative online business reviews, you get the opportunity to show that your brand has real, genuine people behind it and that you care about your customers’ experience.

Conclusion

Make it a point to respond to a certain ratio of positive and negative responses. This will help show your potential customers that you care about their experience. And, when you respond to a negative one (most everyone reading this will at some point) keep a cool head and approach it with a problem-solving mindset. Last, choose an online review management platform that works for you and your customers. Generally, text-based online review management platforms will work be more efficient and cost-effective than traditional email platforms.

If you don’t currently focus on gathering online reviews, head over to Google My Business and claim your business/location. Also, make sure you do the same on Yelp and Facebook. From there, take similar steps as mentioned above and watch those reviews flow in.