Small businesses must make strategic choices about where to spend their marketing budget. Should you be doing more to get customer reviews? What do reviews bring to the table? And how can you improve in this area? Learn more about the answers to these questions!
Online reviews are just one tool in your marketing arsenal, but they have an important impact on potential customers. Why? People tend to give real reviews more credence, trusting them as though they were recommendations from people they know. Their peers or fellow customers are seen as reliable indicators of what to expect from your business. Reviews are the modern version of word-of-mouth!
Of course, anything that helps bring in customers is good for your business. But reviews can also help you improve in other ways. One of the most important ways is that they provide feedback from existing customers. You can act on this feedback to make positive changes as a result.
Those positive changes aren't limited to responding to bad reviews. While you certainly want to correct anything that is creating negative feedback, positive reviews identify areas in which your business is excelling and interests your customers have. This allows you to tailor your efforts to capitalize on what your customers really want.
Finally, reviews are good for your brand. Their existence makes you more visible as potential customers search for various keywords and see reviews pop up in response. Generally high reviews move you to the top of many searches, getting your brand out there and in front of more eyes.
You can also use good reviews in other areas of marketing. Add them to your website, social media channels, ad campaigns, commercials, and direct advertising to really reap the benefits. Use them as testimonials in short advertising videos. You have an infinite number of ways to maximize the impact of even a single well-worded positive review.
Now that you know why reviews are so valuable, the next question is how you can get more positive reviews. The good news is that there are lots of ways!
Start by coming right out and asking for reviews. When you serve a customer, you have the chance to directly suggest how and where they can leave a good review. This is especially useful if they give a compliment or show appreciation for their interaction or product. Happy customers want to feel like they are supporting what they believe in. And you can help them do that.
It's also important to make it easy to leave reviews in target locations. Provide a few short instructions. Specify where you would value a review the most. Encourage short reviews, letting customers know that you don't need a lot of their time.
How responsive are you when a customer does leave a review? Do you respond right away, thanking customers for positive reviews and offering assistance to those who had negative experiences? Do you know how to identify fake reviews and what to do to remove them? Do you know the right words to use when responding? Improving your review management processes can make a big impact!
If you still struggle to get and use online reviews to help your business, work with professionals. RevLocal helps small businesses like yours improve in this vital area of marketing. We provide a range of services to target your needs and maximize the benefits of customer feedback. Call today or make an appointment to learn how we can assist you.
Taylor Rice, Blog Contributor
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