customer reviews can help sell your product or service more effectively than any sales copy.
Reading the first-hand thoughts and opinions of others is a key part of the customer journey.
It can make the difference between converting a customer or losing a customer to a competitor.
To do this, getting reviews needs to be a priority – not an afterthought.
How often do you buy a big-ticket item or professional service without first reading a review?
If the answer is “never” or “rarely,” then you are one of the most consumers following the same path to purchase today.
Online reviews are so important to your business success that they should be a core component of your marketing strategy, just like PR and advertising.
But if you want to control and make the most of your consumer voice, where do you start?
Let’s talk about the top review platforms and the best ways to take advantage of them.
1. Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business (GMB), the starting point for any online review marketing strategy.
Reviews submitted to your Google Business Profile determine your star rating customers see in Google Search and Maps results.
The total number of customer reviews and the overall star rating are key factors in ranking your Google Business Profile in the local pack of search results.
If you think this won’t affect you, you are wrong because your business is online and not local.
Greater visibility in local packs can lead to increased website traffic.
in a study 30,000 sites involvedInvestment Reviews increased organic traffic from 5,500 to 8,000 in nine months.
However, knowing that your Google profile needs reviews and actually getting reviews are two different things.
It goes without saying that quality products and top-notch customer service are essential here.
Emphasize that customer service should be part of your company culture. Customers are more likely to leave a review after a bad experience than a good experience.
In addition to thoroughly reviewing your customer service and developing the best possible product, there are other steps you can take to get the most out of your Google Business Profile.
Let’s start with the obvious: you should set up your Google Business Profile, not leave it unclaimed:
- go https://www.google.com/business/.
- Choose or create the Google Account you’d like to associate with your business.
- Enter your name and address to search for your business.
- Click the appropriate location.
- Click “Mail me my code”. Google needs to verify your ownership of your business’ physical location. This is the easiest way.
- Add high-quality photos to your profile, emphasizing which aspects of your business and products can be most effectively communicated through visual media.
- Update all fields and descriptions, and decorate your profile as discreetly as you would your own website.
Now, you need to encourage your customers to leave you reviews, and the most effective way is to provide them with a direct link to where they can review your business.
Here’s how:
- On your computer, log in to Business Profile Manager.
- If you have multiple profiles, open the profile you want to manage.
- In the left menu, click Home.
- In the Get More Reviews card, you can copy the short URL to share with customers.
Screenshot from support.google.com/business, December 2021This is the link you need to share with customers at common interaction points to encourage them to leave reviews, especially during interactions where you have reason to believe you have happy customers on hand.
More Tips for Getting Google Reviews
- Integrate your Google Business Profile Review link into your email marketing campaigns. Use your email signature to ask your customers to leave a review.
- Segment your audience and find relevance Between quantifiable interactions and customer lifetime value, and ask for reviews from the people in your audience who are most likely to be long-term customers.
- Include training of all customer-facing employees as part of the training Ask customers for their opinions, especially where they seem satisfied.
- In the event that a direct link cannot be provided, Has ready-made materials to teach customers how to leave reviews.
- Write a personal email requesting a review. The context of a personal email should make it clear that the email is not mass produced.
2. Industry-specific review sites
While industry-specific review sites don’t directly affect your star rating in Google Maps and Google Local, they may affect your reputation in search results.
Also, star ratings in non-local results are often visible in search snippets.
the most important is, 79% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation from a friend or family member.
By all accounts, the more reviews available, the better, which is why you want to get as many reviews as possible in as many places as possible.
Of course, this assumes that your products and customer service meet customer expectations.
Angry customers can do serious damage to your brand’s reputation. Therefore, it is important to encourage reviews from a representative sample of your customer base.
Industry-specific review sites are sites built to cater to different verticals, such as Yelp for restaurants and TripAdvisor for hotels.
You can use the techniques discussed above to get Google reviews and simply apply them to these other platforms.
You can find a list of review sites for specific industries here and herebut you can and should find industry-specific review sites by performing a Google search:
- [your industry name] Reviews/ratings.
- [your competitor name] Reviews/ratings.
While there may be dozens of different review sites, it’s best to choose one to guide your customers.
Customers end up leaving reviews anywhere they want. But you can work to centralize happy customers in one place, such as with the review link you email to customers.
If you want to increase the volume of reviews for a range of review sites, it’s best to do so by rotating the review links, rather than overloading customers with choices.
3. Product review sites
Product review sites are third-party sites designed to help companies get reviews while reviewing their accuracy.
The advantages of these sites are twofold:
- customers are more likely Comment Know that it will be reviewed and published by a third party.
- Customers may be more inclined to believe these comments Know that they are not being manipulated.
Getting a lot of positive reviews on product review sites can generate more conversions and positive brand sentiment than reviews on other sites.
Of these, Trustpilot is arguably the preferred starting point—largely because Google trusts it enough including its product rating in Google Shopping ads.
Another reason Trustpilot is the de facto product review site is that reviews cannot be modified to give brands an undeserved score.
Therefore, reviews on Trustpilot may affect brand recognition and your reputation with Google.
One of the most useful features a third-party review platform can bring is the ability to incorporate reviews directly on your website (here How to do it especially TrustPilot).
A good product review site will also contain the necessary schema markup to list your star rating in Google’s search results.
With a product review site, you can stay on top of your brand’s story while participating in the conversation.
If you’re concerned that reviews on third-party sites won’t be 100% positive, consider the following Online Comment Statistics:
- On average, consumers need 40 online reviews to trust a business’s average star rating.
- When a product has at least five reviews, it is 270% more likely to be purchased.
- 43% of shoppers say text-based reviews have the most influence on their purchasing decisions, while photos (33%) and videos (24%).
- Local businesses that appear on Google have an average of 39 reviews.
- 82% of shoppers would not choose a retailer with less than 3 stars.
4. Social Media
Facebook Business Pages show that brands need to think of social media not just as a marketing channel, but as a place where customers review their business.
Screenshot of facebook.com/business/pages, December 2021Everything discussed in the above section applies to social media just as it applies to Google business profiles, industry-specific review sites, and product review sites.
However, there are a few extra things to consider.
Share customer reviews
Social media isn’t just a place to get comments; it’s a place to share comments. The key is to do it subtly.
When you share, retweet, post, and pin reviews from customers, it’s important to highlight individuals who leave reviews on your own brand.
It becomes even more relevant when other social media users can see the person behind the comment.
Social media is where people stay in touch with friends and loved ones, so it’s important to respect the platform’s intended use.
Reply to online comments on all platforms
Responding to reviews lets other customers know how they are being treated when doing business with you.
Also, it’s called “social” media for a reason. Customers want you to be part of the conversation.
This includes Respond to negative reviews,as well as.
Even the most respected brands in the world get negative reviews, so don’t be naive to think you’ll never get one.
That being said, it’s important to be proactive and develop sound strategies for dealing with negative emotions.
Otherwise, you risk a PR disaster by responding purely emotionally.
Address customer issues openly on social media
It is also appropriate to address the issue openly if the customer complains publicly rather than raising their concerns directly with you.
If you ask customers to email customer support or send you a private message, bystanders may wonder what you’re hiding.
Keep in mind that there are some clear lines that should not be crossed, such as revealing personal information that the customer did not voluntarily provide.
However, it’s good business practice to openly acknowledge your client’s needs rather than telling them to skip another link and contact you more directly.
While you should never give in to unreasonable demands, you should show how customers can expect to be treated by you.
in conclusion
Online reviews play a key role in earning the trust of today’s consumers and building a strong brand reputation.
No marketing strategy is complete without a plan for capturing and responding to reviews.
While brands have no control over what customers say and what they say – there are ways to encourage more positive reviews than negative ones.
A call to action to satisfied customers is one way to increase the number of positive reviews.
Another way to build a positive perception of your brand is to respond to negative feedback and address complaints publicly.
These actions will undoubtedly require additional work from you and your team, but they have long-term benefits for your company, including:
- Build consumer trust.
- Manage brand reputation.
- Increase conversion rates.
- Improve local search rankings.
- Generate organic search traffic.
- Acquire customers through word of mouth on social media.
Now, use what you’ve learned here to master the art of branding and stand out in today’s competitive marketplace.
Featured image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Magazine
