These days, many people won’t buy anything without first checking online reviews. Research by BrightLocal found that 86% of customers read reviews for local businesses. So whether you’re a boutique florist or an independent financial advisor, as a growing business, reviews are crucial to your success.
HubSpot Research found that customers trust recommendations from friends of family over any type of online marketing and advertising. And according to BrightLocal, 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends of family.
It’s a phenomenon called ‘social proof’ which, in marketing terms, means that customers are more likely to shop with you or use your service when they know that others are doing it too.
There are five things to consider:
1 Where are your customers looking for reviews?
Work out where your potential customers will be looking for reviews, and what sources they trust the most. By ‘claiming’ your business or setting up a profile on sites like Google, Yelp, Facebook, Amazon and Trustpilot, you’ll be able to interact with customers on some of the most well-used review platforms.
2 Does your website encourage reviews?
If you have your own website, make sure it’s easy for customers to read and leave reviews, with clear instructions on what you’d like them to do. You can even add a Trustpilot widget to your website to show recent, relevant reviews.
3 Who will you ask, and when will you ask them?
Getting new, positive reviews is simply a case of asking the right customers at the right point in their journey. If you are selling a product, wait until the customer has had time to try it out. If you are a hair salon, an immediate review request is likely to prompt a positive review.
4 Will you offer incentives for reviews?
You could offer discount codes or competition entry as an incentive to leave a review. Or why not add a request to the end of your receipt or invoice? It could be something as simple as: “We’d love it if you shared your experience by leaving a review on our Facebook page”.
5 Who will be responding to customer reviews?
Once you’ve ‘claimed’ your company on a review platform, you will be alerted when a customer leaves a new review. Facebook and Google prioritise businesses that respond quickly to customer queries, comments and reviews, so make sure you regularly monitor communications so you don’t lose out in search rankings.
It’s important to respond to every review, on every platform – including the negative reviews. Mistakes happen. One-star reviews happen. The best thing to do is respond in a thoughtful, proactive way and come to a solution. This could include giving the customer a small discount if you are at fault or letting them know about changes you will make as a result of the issue they have raised.
Don’t be afraid to shout about positive reviews. Share them where you can – on your website, in a Facebook post, or turn the quote into an Instagram image and post it to your followers. This will prompt existing customers to follow suit and leave you a review too, and encourage new customers to consider using your business. It’s a win-win situation.
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