According to statistics, a large percent of potential customers read reviews before making a purchase. This is a staggering figure which should be a wakeup call for business, big or small. Online reviews are known to increase customer trust and also influence their buying decisions in a significant manner.
There were very few tools and options to garner reviews from customers, back in the day. With an increasing number of businesses making a transition to an online platform, the number of online customers has also increased. This has directly impacted the way they interact with brands and business owners.
If you are a business owner of any caliber, you cannot ignore the importance of feedback from your buyers. In this post, we share five tried and tested tips to bring in more online reviews for your brand.
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Utilize Google My Business Tools to the fullest.
This tool is one of the best ways to advertise your business without paying a dime. It is no secret that Google is supreme when it comes to search engines. So your presence on the platform will not go unnoticed.
Make sure that your business details profile is accurate and up to date, so you get the most out of Google My Business. The address and the phone number should be the same on your business website. This way, Google can determine that these are the same entities.
After you complete and update your profile, complete the verification by email. Add several pictures of your products or service with relevant keywords and encourage your customers to leave reviews.
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Add options for reviews on your website.
The thought of keeping your website open for customer reviews can be daunting, what with all the keyboard warriors lurking all over the internet. But adding the options for customer reviews on your website triples the conversion rates.
Besides, a new study has found that even negative reviews can boost sales. The same study found that positive reviews are not the only ones that bring in sales. Business owners that display their online ratings, both negative and positive, boost their sales by almost 270%.
However, you need to be very selective and strategic while encouraging customers to leave reviews. This invitation on your website and Google My Business are good places to start. If you send this invitation to a lot of websites, you will have problems responding to all the reviews. You might also attract a lot of negative reviews, including spam.
The key to this is to sign up with a review platform that is reliable and trusted, which brings us to the next tip.
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Get an account with a review site.
Just because potential buyers read reviews, it does not mean that they trust all of them. Therefore, it is important to choose a review platform that is trusted and has credibility. This will allow your customers to place their trust in the reviews, which ultimately influences their buying decision.
To find a reputable review platform, here are some things to watch out for:
• Costumers should be the focus on the site’s homepage. This means that options for customers to find reviews and write them should be provided. If the homepage does not allow this and instead focuses on the business owners, the reviews have no credibility with the consumers.
• The site should have policies and rules to keep spam reviews in check.
• The review site should give badges and codes to makes ratings easier.
• It should also have options for sending out automatic embedded review forms and invitations as well.With this in mind, Trustpilot is a fantastic review site worth checking out.
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Identity industry-specific review platforms.
Platforms that cater to industry-specific reviews are also a great way to garner credible reviews from consumers. If you cannot find such a specific platform for your industry, consider searching for reviews about your brand and your competitors. This way, you can identify the channels through which your brand or those similar to yours are reaching your consumers.
During this undertaking, if there are any reviews about your brand, make sure that you respond to them. This is especially important if there are negative reviews from customers.
You will be rectifying a lot of misconceptions while building your trust with the customer. An estimated 78% of customers feel that the brand cares about them when they respond to online reviews.
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Monitor your brand name online.
An increasing number of customers view online reviews similar to customer support in the olden days. But because a lot of customers will be leaving reviews and expecting you to respond, this can become increasingly difficult.
Setting up Google Alerts is a good place to start so you can monitor when your brand is mentioned online. This will also allow you to respond to consumers on time.