Why Online Reviews are so Important for Businesses
When you stop and think about the question "are online reviews important", most consumers and business owners will answer with a resounding "yes" to that question.
However, if we ask those same customers and business owners how much of an impact these reviews have, they will likely answer with "probably a lot" or just shrug their shoulders.
The Power of Online Reviews
Most people don't think about it actively, but the words of happy and disgruntled customers alike are what both fuels and fizzles out the success of all businesses. When you leave a review on Google, Yelp, Facebook, HomeAdvisor or other local business directories, you are telling future customers whether they should use that business.
Still not convinced about the incredible power of online reviews? Studies have shown that 88% of customers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation from a friend or family member. Pretty crazy, right?
Well, those same 88% of people will also hesitate to choose a business that has negative online reviews.
There have been countless studies regarding this topic, especially during the pandemic where online shopping was at an all time high. The bottom line is, consumers rely on the reviews from other customers to determine the quality of a product or service and whether they recommend it to any future customers.
Now that you have a grasp of the power of online reviews, it's time to discuss how you can harness them.
Harness Your Google Reviews
When the word "review" comes to mind, a lot of people's first thought is Google Reviews, and that's for good reason. According to ReviewTrackers, 63.6% of consumers say that they will check Google Reviews before visiting a business location. It's safe to say that Google Reviews are the lifeblood of just about every local business, which is why we will refer to Google Reviews as the main focus of this post.
Access Your Google Business Profile
For a business to harness their Google Reviews and take advantage of this platform, you have to ensure that you have access to your Google Business Profile. If you're not sure what a Google Business Profile is or whether you have access to it, read our full guide on how to claim your account and manage your presence on Google.
Find Your Reviews
Once you gain access to your Google Business Profile, finding your reviews is relatively easy. On the left hand side panel showed in this image, click on the text that says "Reviews".
Here, you will be able to see how many reviews you have, the reviews you have replied to, and the ones you haven't replied to. If you want to see what your average review score is, or how many stars you have, you will need to either go back to the home screen and scroll to the bottom, or search for your business on Google to see your ratings.
Replying to Reviews
More often than not, a business would leave their Google reviews unread and therefor un-replied. We can't blame them. They have a business to run and replying to all their reviews is not the first thing on their to-do list.
However, taking the time to do so is not only paramount to their success in the eyes of Google, but it shows customers that you actively engage with customers. Here's why that's the case.
Google Will See Your Business as Active
Google measures your business listing in a multitude of ways, and one of them is engaging with online customers. This includes replying to messages from your Google Business Profile as well as replying to online reviews.
When Google sees that you are replying to reviews, they will be more likely to show your business when someone enters a relevant search query. If your business is running Local Service Ads through Google, engaging with reviews also has a huge impact on whether your ad is shown.
It Shows to Customers that You
Engage With Them
When a customer sees that you are replying to past customers who left both positive and negative reviews, it shows that you value the words of your customers and the experiences they had with your business.
It doesn't matter if the reviews you reply to are positive or negative (though having no negative reviews is ideal), the fact that you engage with your customers gives prospects an insight to what kind of a company you are and what the customer support experience is like.
Handling Negative Reviews
Just like most things in life, there is a right and wrong way to go about a situation. When it comes to replying to negative reviews, there are a few rules you should follow in order to preserve your online reputation.
Rule 1) Don't Start a Fight
First thing's first, do not have a public brawl on your Google Business Profile. The last thing that a prospective customer wants to see is you replying to a negative review with vulgar language, harsh replies, and banishment from a business. The only thing this act does is deter that customer and any future customers from doing business with you, ever.
Such actions signal that you don't take criticism lightly and that your first reaction is to yell at the customer and tell them to take a hike. Even if the negative review is completely untrue and fabricated, you should not start a fight and make accusations in the reviews section.
Rule 2) Be Respectful and Take it Offline
We understand that you might be upset, maybe even livid about getting a negative review. But the best thing to do, no matter what, is be respectful and take the conversation offline so the situation can be mended outside of the public view.
One possible way to reply to a negative review is:
"We're sorry that you had a negative experience with our business. We value the experiences our customers have and we would like to make it right. Please feel free to call us at 123-456-7890 or email us at info@businessname.com so we can further discuss your situation."
The bottom line is, being nice and courteous goes a long way. Even if the disgruntled customer is throwing every punch they can at your business, it is critical that you act as the bigger person and take the conversation away from the reviews section.
How to Get More Reviews
Getting new reviews is just as important as maintaining the reviews you currently have. While in some instances, a customer who is really happy with the outcome of their product or services will leave a review on their own accord, there are some things you can do to generate more real reviews.
Get Your Google Reviews Link
Before you employ any of our recommended strategies, you must first get your Google Reviews link. The best way to get a hold of this link is to navigate back to your Google Business Profile's home dashboard, and scroll towards the bottom until you see this section here.
From here, you can copy this link and use it just about anywhere. Below are a few ways you can generate more online reviews with this link
Review Generation Strategies
- Include this link as a button on your website
- Send this link to customers via text message or email
- Include this link in your newsletters
- Make a social media post with this link
- Include an incentive to leave a review (i.e., 20% off your next purchase)
How NOT to Generate Online Reviews
While we listed a few great ways to encourage customers to leave an online review, there are ways that we highly discourage, which is fake review generation.
Some companies offer the service of having bots disguised as real customers leave reviews on your Google Business Profile.
At first glance, these reviews may seem real. They will likely have a human name with a profile picture, and their diction and grammar even sound human. However, Google's algorithm has gotten a lot better at detecting these fake reviews.
Google's automated detection system algorithm looks for anomalies in your reviews such as the frequency of new reviews coming to your account. If their system determines that a review is fraudulent, it will prevent it from showing on your profile.
With that being said, the cost associated with paying for these fake reviews and the chance of them being removed versus the chance to increasing your review count is just too high to even be considered.
Either employing the strategies we mentioned above or hiring a team of reputation managers who know how to employ these growth strategies properly, reply to all reviews, and make sure your online presence is pristine, is the best route to take.
It's Time to Take Control of Your Reviews
The power of online reviews is without a doubt unmatched by just about any marketing strategy. You can run all the Google Ads you want and post about your products or services on social media all day. But as Warren Buffet says,
"It Takes 20 Years to Build a Reputation and 5 Minutes to Ruin it."
If you haven't been taking your online reviews seriously yet, now's the time to take control of your online reputation and make it work for you.
If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed about taking the reigns of your online presence, we have a robust reputation management platform to help you gain more reviews and manage the ones you currently have.
