We are living in a review economy, and having good online reviews is essential to your social credibility. It is common knowledge that consumers are educating themselves before purchasing a product.
90% of consumers Google and read reviews before they engage with a business.
I personally check out reviews on Facebook before visiting a restaurant I’ve never been to before. Why? Because I want to hear what people say about the restaurant. I want the truth, not whatever manufactured line the restaurant says about itself.
Review pages are an amazing tool that help prospective customers find you, and gives your business a lot more credibility. A statistic I heard recently is that 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Reviews hold weight!
Online reviews help your business by giving it credibility as well as giving you better SEO (search engine optimization) by supplying fresh content to Google.
Google your business right now.
On the right side of the screen will be information about your business – your website, address and things like that. Now there are two spots for reviews! One spot is for your Google Review, and the bottom spot is for other online reviews (Facebook, Zillow etc). As soon as someone looks up your business, they have immediate access to your reviews.
Tom Ferry recently said that 77% of consumers believe that reviews older than three months is no longer relevant! So make sure you are getting fresh reviews each month.
These testimonials are incredibly important! This is what people are saying about your business! If you have great in-depth reviews, that’s amazing. If you only have the star rating, that is alright, but it would be good to encourage your clients/customers to actually type out a review. If you have nothing, you are irrelevant. People don’t trust it!
On Facebook, the review is on the right side as well. When someone clicks on your page for the first time, it’s one of the first things they look at. Make sure you get good, fresh reviews often!
Tips & Tricks
How to get more reviews: It’s simple. Just ask your customers to review your page! It literally takes one minute, and most people are willing to help out. Giving a review is not a natural action for most people, so bring to their attention how important it is for your business.
Respond to negative reviews: If you have a bad review (which is bound to happen) make sure you answer the complaint publicly! Some people are jerks, and if they are, the person reading the review will be able to tell. By going out of your way to deal with the complaint, it gives you a reputation of good customer service.
Reviews play an instrumental role in attracting new customers. Start building your online reputation by building up your online reviews. These are incredible, and have the power to make or break your credibility.
