For small businesses especially, online reviews can often be the deciding factor in helping customers make purchasing decisions. The statistics back this up: 74% of consumers stated that positive online reviews play a large role in helping them trust local businesses, and 84% said that they trust online reviews as a means to aid in their purchasing decisions. In addition, 68% of consumers said that they only need to read six or fewer reviews to form an opinion.
Given the importance of online reviews, what steps can you take to ensure that you are making the most of what your customers think about your small business?
5 Simple Tips to Improve Online Reviews
Ask
Ask your customers to review your products or services so that you have multiple reviews on a variety of pages. But make sure you don’t write fake reviews. Apps such as Yelp have consumer alerts programs that warn consumers of disingenuous businesses.
Provide the “goods”
Quality customer service should always be your number one priority. As long as it is, the majority of your reviews will be positive. You want to generate as many positive reviews as possible so that potential customers see those first. Even if you have a high overall rating, consumers are most concerned about recent reviews. They will usually make purchasing decisions based on what they see at the top.
Reply
Chances are that you will have some negative reviews. Make it a priority to regularly monitor your online reviews and reply to every negative review. As a matter of fact, respond to every review. They took the time to interact with you. A response will make them feel good.
Concentrate on the best sites
Focus on generating reviews on a variety of sites but ones that are relevant to your business, industry, and customer base. Examples include the aforementioned Yelp, Google Reviews, Angie’s List, and the Better Business Bureau.
Don’t forget social
Social media platforms can also be utilized for generating reviews. They go a long way in helping to boost your ratings and search rank.
Finally, one of the easiest ways to improve online reviews is to tell people how to do it. In addition to asking them to review your business, tell them how to do it in the most effective way possible by including sites and URLs. For instance, if your business is online, create a page on your website or a pop-up that allows them to easily click to a review site. If you own an ice cream parlor, on the other hand, create table top cards with QR codes or URLs to help them review you while they’re still in store. Some businesses are even using apps and geolocator technology to prompt customers to review when they’re in-store.
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