Lately, I have been finding myself relying on reviews and testimonials more than ever before when considering purchasing from a company.
Although I do like talking with salespeople, I tend to put more trust in a review from a customer who experienced purchasing the product than in words from a salesman.
As you can imagine, your customers are also turning to reviews to make purchase decisions. In fact, on average, buyers read seven reviews before deciding to trust a business. Does your business, product, or service have at least seven reviews or testimonials that are easily found?
Reviews and testimonials are often posted online via third-party websites such as Google My Business, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon, and social media. Customers find online reviews to be so helpful that 85% of consumers trust them as much as personal recommendations!
Start with Google My Business
So how can you make sure you are getting online reviews for your business? One of the first things I suggest to all of our customers is to make sure your Google My Business profile is optimized. We like to start with Google because it accounts for 57.5% of all reviews worldwide.
If you haven’t already, claim or set up your Google My Business account. This will allow you to post accurate business information, get Google reviews, and even respond to them! By claiming your account, you can also get access to informative insights on how people are searching and finding your business or product. We can help you set up your account, or you can start by reading these helpful articles.
Once you’ve got a handle on Google My Business, go to Yelp and other online listing sites to manage those profiles.
How to Ask for More Reviews
Asking for a review is the best way to increase your numbers. Generally, people feel like they are special when you ask them for a review (let’s be clear, if they are doing business with you they are special). It makes them feel like they are doing a service for you. Not everyone will give you a review no matter how nice you ask or how much they like your store, but ask them anyway.
SOME WAYS YOU CAN ASK FOR REVIEWS:
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Start with your happy customers. When someone tells you how much they love their purchase or experience, ask them to write a review! It’s easy to bring it up naturally in a conversation when you’re already talking about your business.
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Remind customers to leave a review after a purchase. You can do this by putting a reminder on the bottom of their receipt, printing a special business card-sized flyer with the review link, or sending a post-purchase email with the direct link. Or, you could have a place at your POS for people to do a review right then.
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Send an email blast or mailer. Send your customers a message that asks for feedback. You could even provide reviewers with a reward or giveaway of some kind.
Responding to Reviews
Try to respond to every review if you can. Third-party sites like Google My Business make this easy for you to do as the owner by simply clicking “reply.”
So now you are thinking “what if they give me a bad review?” Just count on it upfront. No need to worry about it, it’s going to happen. We are all human and we all fall short. There are just times and people when things go wrong. Take this advice to heart. Handle them with love and graciousness. Be honest in your response, but not critical of the customer. How you handle a bad review speaks volumes about what kind of a business you are.
If you find your business getting bad reviews often, the problem is probably a lack of customer service skills. Training is available and it is worth the money.
Want help managing your online business presence? Contact Barnyard Marketing to set up a time to talk about your goals.