People today are turning to online reviews before purchasing any product. It suffices to say that reviews are the tipping point where a prospect decides whether or not to become a customer. They are seen by thousands or potentially millions of prospects, which is a great example of their potential to affect your business. For instance, Yelp’s online statistics show more than 244 million reviews, which keeps soaring.
According to Harvard Business School, each one-star rating your business gets can increase a revenue boost of up to 9%. Reviews and reputation management are interlinked with revenue, and if they are well balanced, you have significant chances of gains. Most prospects view reviews as unbiased, honest, and trustworthy. So, how can you make them work for you? This article will teach you seven ways to make reviews work for you.
1. Gather Reviews Together
One or two reviews can never be enough. Your customers will have more confidence in your business if you have many reviews. According to Statista, online shoppers in the USA expect significant reviews when searching for a product online, with the average number being 112. Younger shoppers expect more reviews than older ones.
The challenge with reviews is that they can be scattered over the internet. You might have reviews on your website, review sites, and Amazon. In addition, customers can leave reviews on social media like Instagram and Facebook or other platforms such as Better Business, Reddit, and YouTube.
Potential customers might visit a few review sites but will not take much time looking for reviews across the net. So, it would be in your best interest to bring reviews to your website. Also, get reviews from experts and bloggers since they have much weight. An excellent way of ensuring your business gets the best reviews is by working with a1corp.com.sg. They provide excellent customer service and advice that ensures you offer your clients the best services for excellent reviews.
2. Collect Email Addresses when You Bill
When buying a commodity, one way to get a customer’s review is by asking for their email address and number. When customers willingly share that information, they are satisfied with the experience they received and willing to share it with others. Ensure you write a friendly follow-up once you have their emails asking them to write an honest review about their experience.
Use Niche Review Platforms
It would help if you endeavored to get reviews on dedicated sites to supplement your Google reviews. These sites include Care.com for babysitters, TripAdvisor for tour guides, G2 for SaaS, and Edmunds for cars.
Reviews on notable sites can push your business further, even more than those on Google and Yelp. People visiting these sites have more intent on purchasing than someone simply browsing on Google. The good thing is that sites like Yelp have millions of visitors, so you reach a big audience.
3. Display and Broadcast Review Proactively
Ensure it is easy for your customers to find reviews that matter. Display them on your website and add a headshot when necessary. Bring attention to your top reviews by using them in social media ads to catch the attention of prospects. Also, include a feature where customers can search reviews by keywords.
4. Mention to Customers that You’d Appreciate Honest Feedback
Ensure you communicate with your customers that honest feedback would be appreciated, especially if they seem satisfied. You should also train your employees to tell customers that the business appreciates feedback. The method will not be effective if the employee keeps repeating the same while many customers are in line. It should be done when rapport is proper and not every time since it might seem redundant.
5. Use Review Reminders on Your Website
One way of ensuring customers leave a review is by making it easy for them to do so. Many businesses are not making enough effort to simplify the review writing process for their customers. It will be worth noting that customers do not leave reviews since they don’t want to start learning how to leave them on complicated sites. So, make your site simplified and straightforward for an easy time for customers to leave their feedback.
6. Give Your Customers a Great Experience
Your customer in-store experience is essential to the quality and amount of reviews you get. Customers delighted by your product or service will likely leave a review. Meeting customers’ needs and surpassing their expectations is the key to better and more reviews. So, if you deliver the best customer experience, expect positive client feedback.
Wrapping Up
When was the last time you bought an item without checking reviews? It is highly likely that you also check them before purchasing anything. The same applies to prospects coming to your website.
Reviews serve as proof of your business. They are the tipping point where prospects convert to customers. Therefore, ensure you get it right regarding customer reviews, and you will grow your business to significant levels.