Customer feedback is essential information that should be a part of any brand or business’s digital marketing strategy for the acquisition of new customers. Whether you own a big brand or a small, home-run business, it’s vital to get online reviews for your business to establish a reputable brand.
Online reviews can often be considered the most compelling content associated with your brand. The fact that it’s not you but your customers who are talking about your product makes it more trustworthy to the average consumer and to your prospects. According to a BrightLocal report, 85 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
While customer reviews can be daunting to manage, it is instrumental to your brand’s growth in the long run. Once you learn how to get online reviews and use them to your advantage, you’ll grasp the best strategy to minimize negative reviews and increase positive online reviews.
Let’s look at some proven ways to get online reviews for your business and acquire more leads and customers.
How To Get Online Reviews And Close More Deals
1. Build Customer Trust
It’s quite simple: companies with positive reviews garner more trust from the public. But that does not necessarily mean that you need to get only positive reviews to gain your audience’s confidence.
Negative reviews also play a part in earning customer trust. A Harvard Business Review study revealed that brands that actively respond to negative reviews on time end up getting better review ratings overall.
The key to turning negative reviews into a win is to respond in a sincere and timely manner. Apologize and assure customers that you are taking action to address their concerns. Whether you get good or bad reviews, you must provide an appropriate reply to let everyone know that you care about your customers and are always working towards improving your product or service.
2. Boost Search Engine Visibility And Increase Brand Awareness
When customers leave a review on your business listing, you stand a better chance of appearing in search engine results because Google identifies this as fresh content. Additionally, online reviews, in general, can be treated just like any other content and can appear in search results from any review platform or social media network.
As a result, your brand is exposed to people who may not be familiar with your company but are looking for the products or services you offer. Couple that with positive reviews, you attract a new market that is more likely to check out your brand and turn into customers.
3. Highlight Your Strength
The best advocates for your brand are your happiest customers. When they share their reviews, they might mention what they loved about your company and what sets you apart. You don’t have to remind your audience that you’re the best — your customers can do that with online reviews.
Customer feedback, especially specific ones that reflect on your company’s values, is a powerful tool to validate your brand’s message and increase positive online reviews. It’s proof that you deliver what you promise and that’s more than enough to turn clicks into conversions.
4. Demonstrate Great Customer Service
Consumers want companies to treat them well. When people see that you are making an effort to reply to reviews and address complaints, it tells your audience that you are serious about providing excellent customer service.
Even famous brands don’t always know how to use online reviews to provide excellent customer service. A study conducted by social media analytics firm Locowise revealed that 87 percent of Facebook customer messages went unanswered.
Customers don’t expect an instant solution or lightning-fast response, but they deserve a respectful reply after a reasonable amount of time. Social media messenger applications like Facebook have provided ways to automate your answers to ensure all customer feedback receives a reply. A review response system that covers all review platforms is also ideal to make sure no customer feedback goes ignored.
5. Improve Products and Services
Customer feedback can be a great source of information, especially when it comes to specific details about your product or service. When you get online reviews for your business that bring up the same issues, it can indicate that there is a valid flaw with your product offering or service delivery.
While this can harm your business, it’s also an opportunity to improve your product and come out with a stronger brand. You not only learn how to use online reviews to generate leads but improve your product as well.
When you provide the best product to your customers, people will see your efforts not just in reviews but also with your product’s actual performance. This can lead to an increase in positive online reviews and customer trust. You have the power to turn negative feedback into better products and services that customers will appreciate.
6. Attract More Customers
Online reviews are the new word-of-mouth. Research shows that 90 percent of Americans read reviews before deciding to buy something online. These days, reviews can show up on any platform, including Google, Facebook, Yelp and Amazon, making it extremely easy for consumers to learn a lot about a product they’re interested in. As a business, you need a reliable system to monitor customer feedback across all channels.
Does this mean you need to have to get online reviews that are all positive? Not in the beginning, but it should be your goal. Having a reliable online reputation management system helps achieve this. You can’t expect to turn a 3-star rating into 5-star overnight.
One way to attract more customers is to maximize positive reviews by displaying them on your website’s home page and social media feeds. This creates instant customer trust and boosts conversion rates.
It takes time and an effective review management strategy before you understand how to use online reviews effectively to boost your brand. The key is to create and implement a plan to increase positive online reviews while effectively managing negative ones.
7. Find Your Niche
With customer research and feedback, you gain valuable insight as to who your customers are. You might not get it right the first time, so you need to pay attention to whether your customer persona matches your actual customers. To ensure that you are aware of what your customers say about your business online, having online reputation management software can help.
Once you get online reviews and gather sufficient customer data, you can clearly distinguish your target market. This is vital in defining a niche for your brand and capitalizing on this specific group of people. When you understand your niche, you know precisely where to promote your products and exactly how to promote them.
8. Use Reviews For Influencer Marketing
Despite being a new method, influencer marketing is being used by 9 out of 10 marketers in 2020. It’s not surprising as 92 percent of marketers believe that influencer marketing is an effective method of generating leads and revenue.
For smaller businesses, influencers can significantly boost brand exposure and online visibility as they get more engagement with their massive following. A report by Influencer Marketing Hub reveals that for every dollar spent on an influencer, the brand receives $18 in return on investment (ROI).
Influencers choose only the best brands to promote. They value their followers and don’t want to ruin their reputation by promoting a brand that does not deliver. They need to see that your product or service is excellent and people love them. When pitching your brand to influencers, make sure to include your best customer reviews to win them over and close the deal.
Learning how to get online reviews that benefit your brand can be a challenging process. Closing deals and generating more sales is a lot easier when you have great online reputation management and review response system service like Rize Reviews. Rize provides online reputation management software that you can use to monitor and manage customer feedback across multiple channels. To learn more about Rize, contact us here.
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