Did you know that the number of online customer reviews for your company can impact the amount of new business you generate? Studies have shown that 97% of consumers read online reviews before making an online purchase. Getting and leveraging positive online reviews is essential if you want to bring in more new business.
Build Your Presence on Online Review Sites
Your profile on popular online review sites (e.g., Google and Yelp) and social media platforms can influence customers that might not otherwise consider purchasing from your business. These websites attract a massive amount of online traffic from customers that are ready to make a purchase. By ensuring you have a presence on their platforms, you increase the chances that a potential customer will include your business in their decision-making process.
Your online profile and positive reviews offer several benefits:
- Customers Can Trust Your Business. The more 5-star reviews your business has, the more consumers will trust it.
- Customers Can Find Your Business. Positive reviews can up your business ranks in search engine results pages.
- Increases Traffic to Your Website. When consumers are looking for a product or service, you want them to look to your website as part of their research.
- Shows You are Committed to Customer Service. Positive reviews highlight how focused you are on making sure customers are satisfied.
But don’t put all your eggs in one basket. While online review sites can be powerful tools, trusting them as your sole source of traffic and influence is a bad idea. Many things could go wrong: your reviews can disappear; their terms of service could change; they could go out of business.
Share 5-Star Reviews
To make the most of your positive reviews and mitigate your risk, be sure to share them on multiple platforms and in multiple mediums. A 5-star review about your business on Yelp doesn’t have to stay there – you can share it to potiential customers outside of Yelp. Since reviews are key to obtaining new customers, it is important that they appear in multiple places so they can be seen.
- Share the 5-star Review via Email. This is not the time to be modest. Whether in your next email blast or newsletter, let your current and potential customers know that other customers love your brand! This further validates to customers how great your product or service is.
- Add the Review to Printed Marketing Materials. Marketing materials can reach a whole new customer segment. Whether you are sharing a new product or promotion, printed marketing materials should include 5-star reviews about it, along with an eye-catching visual so the review does not get lost in the other text.
- Blast it on Social Media. Millions of people are active on social media, so it is a great avenue for increasing the reach of your customer reviews. In fact, in 2020, there were 81 billion social media users worldwide—that’s a lot of potential customers you could be reaching! Regularly update your status on social media with good news about your business, including backlinks to your profile on online review sites. For example, on Facebook, update your business’s status with a quote from a 5-star review with a link to the actual review. Social media reviews provide the social proof that some customers need before feeling confident in your company.
- Add it to Your Website. New customers will visit a business’ official website, either through a referral or search engine. To leverage the reach of the positive review, make sure some are displayed on the home page or add a tab for reviews. They should be easily accessible—don’t make the potential customer search for them.
- Highlight the Employee. If the review highlights the service of an employee, make sure you thank the employee publicly, possibly with a small gift. Likewise, be sure to thank the reviewer that took time to praise the employee. It further promotes your business as a caring brand.
Five-star reviews can be an effective marketing tool for your business. Just be sure that you maximize their reach by sharing them far and wide. Ask us how Centinal can boost your 5-star reviews to social media platforms to help authentically build your business.
