How important is your company’s reputation? More than 95% of consumers read online reviews before shopping for products and services.
Positive customer reviews are more important than they have ever been. There’s a good chance you or someone close to you won’t do business with any company unless the review rating is at a certain level. Most reviews are ranked using a five-star system, which means you’re probably only going to work with companies that have 4.5 stars or better. This means lots of reviews, and most of them need to be extremely positive.
How do you manage your online reputation using positive customer reviews? Let’s discuss.
Online reviews serve as a guide
You might not see the direct relationship between reviews and revenue, but it’s there. Would your company be better off without any reviews than managing your reputation and these reviews? Not at all. Research shows that customers are 63% more likely to trust companies with online reviews than those with no feedback. This means you need reviews to help increase business and sales. This means you’ve got to manage your company’s reputation with customers and cultivate positive reviews.
Ask for the review
It might sound like begging or groveling, but it’s important to request positive reviews from customers who have had a good experience with your company. You can do this by sending follow-up emails and texts that have links to an easy and quick review that can be posted or asked in person while the customer is at your business location. The follow-up approach can result in more reviews because customers can easily fill out the review form from the comfort of their couch at home.
Use incentives for positive reviews
If you run a business that has services and products, its pretty easy to offer discounts on either to entice customers to fill out your review and give you positive feedback. This has become customary. Check out the back of your fast food receipt and you’ll see links to fill out reviews that promise a free item during your next visit. This is a great way to increase the number of positive customer reviews that your company receives online.
Direct customers to the right review platform
The most popular place to search for anything is Google, and it has a review section that allows your customers to leave feedback and post reviews. That said, Google isn’t the only place you can get reviews that will be seen. The five most popular places for reviews are:
- Google My Business
- Amazon
- Yelp
- Trip Advisor
Positive reviews left anywhere online can be helpful, but these five sites are the most popular, thus the most impactful for your business and its reputation.
Reply to every review
In addition to asking for reviews and encouraging customers to leave positive reviews, you need to manage your reviews by replying to every review left for your business. These reviews are feedback from real people who have taken the time to share their experiences with other potential customers. It’s important that you increase your engagement level by replying to every review. If a negative review is left, you’ll want to engage with that customer directly and immediately to attempt to resolve their issues and win them back with engagement and positivity.
Avoid asking customers to leave reviews after negative experiences
If you know a customer has had a bad experience with your company, don’t ask them to leave a review. Sometimes, customers will leave negative reviews without you asking for the review, which means you’re going to need to respond to the review and work to gain them back as a positive customer. If you want positive customer reviews, you need to ask those who you know have no issues with your company and will be the most likely to leave positive reviews online.
Review matter, use them to boost your revenue
You aren’t going to directly make money off online reviews, but you can easily turn positive customer reviews into increased revenue. If your company’s star rating is high enough, your company will show up near the top of Google search pages, which means more potential customers will click on your website and do business with your company. If you offer incentives for positive reviews, those customers will likely return to your business and spend money beyond the incentive offered.
Your online reputation matters and its one of the most important aspects of doing business. Protect your reputation by correctly handling customer reviews.
