Get More Positive Reviews Online
Is your business getting enough reviews? Online reviews have a massive influence on consumers. One recent study showed that when searching for local businesses, 86% of consumers will read their reviews first. If your online presence is lacking those reviews, your audience may lose some trust in you and head somewhere else.
We know a few simple ways to increase the number of reviews coming in regularly. But we also understand that you don’t just want any reviews, you want shining, positive reviews. The ones that speak volumes to browsing consumers and influence them to check out your brand. The ones that instantly show your audience the great experience and quality they can expect when they choose you over a competitor.
The fact is, positive reviews influence consumers to do business with you. 57% of those consumers will go with another business if your online rating is less than 4 stars. We’re here to not only help you get more reviews, but get more than enough positive reviews to reach that 4 or 5 star rating.
1. Respond to Reviews—ALL of Them
Your first step to a better rating and more positive reviews is simple: write responses to every review you receive. Some businesses have seen a 12% increase in reviews received along with a boost in their online ratings, just by responding to both positive and negative reviews.
A simple, “Thank you,” or apology can go a long way, both for those past customers and the potential ones reading your responses. If customers know you value your opinion, they’ll be more willing to write a review in the first place. If other consumers see the care and concern you have for each customer, they may be persuaded to use your business.
Go the extra mile by writing personalized reviews to customers. Save time with review response templates that are ready for you to enter in the reviewer’s name and other unique details mentioned in the reviews. Here are a few items to consider when creating such templates or any of your responses:
How to Respond to Negative Reviews
Before becoming defensive, either about an outrageous claim or sometimes a legitimate one, apologize to the customer for their negative experience. Be empathetic in your response and attempt to resolve the issue if possible. In some cases it may be best to give the reviewer an outside outlet to discuss the issue further so that they don’t continue to blow up your review board with more negative comments.
Example:
Thank you, [Reviewer’s Name], for your feedback. We sincerely apologize that you were not attended to more quickly in our office. Thank you for bringing it to our attention so that we can improve our service moving forward. Please feel free to reach out to our office manager at [Phone Number] to discuss any additional concerns. We will do all that we can to resolve this issue for you.
How to Respond to Positive Reviews
Again, add a personal touch to the reviews by including the customer’s name, or something about the experience if you remember that particular customer. Be gracious and thank the customer for taking the time to leave you a review.
Example:
Hi, [Reviewer’s Name]! Thanks for leaving this kind review! Our team strives to provide each customer with that high-quality work, and we love hearing when our efforts have paid off. Thank you again for taking time to write a review. We hope to see you again soon!
To be timely in your review responses, Local 360 Media offers free reputation monitoring services. We’ll send you notifications when your business receives a review on any of your platforms, so that you can respond faster and gain that trust among your customers. Get in touch with us to learn more!
2. Set Up Profiles on Various Review Sites
The more places you have for customers to leave reviews, the more opportunities they have to leave reviews! This also gives mores opportunities for consumers to find your business on sites where they can already be found, like Facebook or Google.
The trouble here is keeping track of your accounts after you’ve created a profile on several review sites. This is one area where our reputation monitoring can be a helpful tool. Rather than checking each platform every day for new reviews, we’ll do the monitoring for you! You save time checking accounts,
Check out our blog post on how to set up profiles on Google, Facebook, and Yelp for complete step-by-step guides!
3. Just Ask!
Want more reviews? Then ask for them! Many customers, no matter how much they liked your business, won’t leave a review unless you remind them about it. Asking them in person can be effective, and should become a habit. However, more must be done. That customer easily may forget your request when they make it back home.
On top of asking for reviews when you meet with customers in person, send them a simple way to leave reviews for you on your different profiles. This can be done in an email or over text so that even when they step out of your store, they have that reminder to share their positive experience. Send customers a link to your Google, Facebook, or Yelp page for easy access to your review platforms. First ask, then make it simpler to leave 5-star reviews.
Positive Reviews Coming Your Way
Contact Local 360 Media to learn more tips and tricks for improving your online reputation.Our solutions make it easier for business owners to improve relationships with their customers in less time and with less hassle. Contact us today for free reputation monitoring and other helpful resources!
