Do you search for reviews before making buying decisions? Most people do. We rely on the experience of past buyers to help us decide which restaurants to go to, which hotels to stay at, which plumber to call during an emergency, which renovations companies to call for quotes, which movie to see or TV show to binge, the list goes on.
Reviews drive buying decisions so it stands to reason that companies should encourage reviews from their customers. You want as many five-star reviews as possible on Google as well as on your company’s Facebook page, local business directories, Yelp or other similar directory services, etc. There are main tier review sites. There are industry specific review sites. And, you can leverage your own website as well as social media profiles to showcase five-star reviews that your company has gotten. The more legitimate positive reviews you’ve got, the better. How do you get more reviews and get as many high-star reviews as possible?
1. Encourage Reviews
Encouraging your happy customers to post reviews is a good idea, particularly if you’re confident about your product and /or service. You can do this in follow-up emails, on your invoice, in your social media updates, and so forth. You might even consider adding a review submission section to your website that allows people to give you feedback. If you receive glowing feedback from a customer specifically, it never hurts to ask for a review. Don’t be afraid to tell them how helpful it can be to your business.
2. Avoid the Urge to Fake It
Fake reviews are a very bad idea. First of all, services that offer this often use one or two writers and it’s easy to spot similar writing styles that make it look fake. Secondly, a lot of customers can see right through it and review sites have advanced algorithms that can often spot the fakes. Posting fake reviews on review sites could harm your online reputation.
You want to build trust with your customers and genuine reviews, even if they aren’t all five-star reviews, can help do that. People will read the five-star reviews and they’ll read the negative reviews too to see why (as well as to see whether or not your company went to the effort of dealing with the less than stellar feedback in a constructive way).
3. Respond to Feedback — Professionally
Whether reviews are positive or not-so-glowing, replies are usually a good idea. Thanking customers for their positive reviews can help foster loyalty and further demonstrate your company’s desire to build lasting relationships with clients. Addressing negative reviews with efforts to turn the experience positive for the customer will also go a long way. Not only will you have an opportunity to change the mind of someone less than thrilled with your product or service, but your other customers and potential customers will see your willingness to fix customer satisfaction issues. This can instill trust and is a factor people consider when reviewing options for their products and services.
4. Sharing Positive Reviews
Sharing a positive review on your website, in your newsletter, on a social media update can do a few great things for you.
- You get an opportunity to highlight your expertise and quality by showcasing a happy customer. You acknowledge the efforts of customers by thanking them for their review.
- Social media updates can drive buyers to your website or into your sales funnel, either by chance or through searches as they investigate your reputation.
- You’ll encourage more reviews by sharing your reviews. Recent customers may jump on the bandwagon, so to speak, to add their glowing review. Be sure when you share reviews that you illustrate that you appreciate them and point people to where they can submit their feedback.
- Reply to all of your reviews. It’s important to monitor your online reputation. If customers see that you’re responsive on review sites, your Google reviews, or on social media, they will be more apt to use it.
- If you get negative reviews online, do respond as well in an effort to make it right. Do so with professionalism and you could alter someone’s negative perception of your business.
5. Use Reviews to Your Advantage
It’s smart to monitor review sites and your brand names as well as to keep an eye on the reputation and reviews of your biggest competition. You’ll have an opportunity to capitalize on the great reviews, operate with continuous improvement principles with the less than stellar reviews, and learn about your company’s strengths and areas of improvement as well as glean business intelligence that will help you continue to compete. Whether you ask for reviews in person, through a sales funnel or autoresponder software, or you solicit them through social media updates, your efforts to get those reviews can help you drive more prospects to become customers.
6. Use an online reputation management software
When you have a business to run, it can be hard to find the time to fully manage and grow your online reputation and reviews. That’s where a reputation management software company can help you! Rize Reviews offers a fully managed service that takes care of everything for you, from the initial set-up to managing your customer review outreach and automation. Contact us to learn more today!
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