By Quinne Lowe | Published October 15, 2018
As you enter the final quarter of 2018 your company is probably exploring opportunities to improve their business’ reputation. One way of doing that is through generating positive online reviews. In today’s world of everyone having a publicly posted opinion, consumer reviews are vital to establishing and sustaining clients, because what one person says, or doesn’t say, can sink your business in a matter of keystrokes.
For a moment, take off the business owner hat and replace it with the consumer hat. Then ask yourself what is the first thing you would do if you were researching your product or service? Like your clients, you would probably head to the review section to see what others are saying about what you have to offer. Others have already taken the risk and know what you can expect if you make the investment. According to Social Media Today, 69.9% of consumers use reviews to start their research for new companies to support.
If a client searches for a service provided by your company but cannot find anyone talking about your work, there’s a good chance that they will select a competitor whose positive information is more readily available. All of this should reaffirm the importance of encouraging clients to leave a review on high traffic sites.
If you don’t ask for a review, it’s hard to determine what a client actually thinks of your services. Outside of some extreme cases where the work was very good (of course your work is always very good) or very bad, you generally won’t know if you met, exceeded, or fell below expectations unless you ask the client for feedback.
Some businesses only focus on positive reviews, but there is value in learning what customers think could be improved. The key is to reach the clients who have feedback immediately so you can address any concerns, resolve them, and use it to make positive changes within your business. This heals the relationship with the client and avoids a costly online review. Conrad Hilton said “success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” The ability to keep going in today’s business world means moving forward armed with the data from the past, whether it is a positive review or a negative review, and a plan for the future.
A consumer leaving an online review allows others to see what type of work you do as a company. Your website can have a robust “About us” or “Services provided” section, but it is really difficult for your website to tell the true story of how the services can benefit the client. Reviews do just that. won’t allow potential clients to see what you can do as a business, but a review will. Were you aware of new industry changes? Did the client have requests you couldn’t meet? The answers to these questions will be discussed in a review, and it will allow others to see if you really know what you claim to know.
According to invespcro.com, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. 72% say that positive reviews make them value a local business more. Reviews not only verify if you are what you claim to be but the more reviews you have, the higher the perception of the services offered and your business.
Recently, Google searching from mobile devices has increased immensely. On mobile devices, Google Business Listing profiles with reviews show up higher than organic search results, making it a must-have for any business that wants to rank high in a Google search. With Google Business Listing, not only can you be featured on Google’s “knowledge graphs” and “map packs” to highlight the location of your business, but your consumer reviews are shown there as well.
The more reviews you have, the stronger your visibility within local and national search results becomes, which is often the difference between someone choosing your company over a competitor.
It’s one thing to get a not-so-favorable review because the service provided isn’t up to par, it’s another to get one because of a weak or nonexistent digital footprint. Osky Blue specializes in custom and full-service digital marketing and has years of experience working with a variety of clients. Let us handle your online marketing efforts, so you can focus on getting that five-star rating.