Reviews, reviews, reviews! This seems to be a common topic for me this past couple of weeks with my clients. I know that it can be scary putting your business “out there” but there are some serious benefits. We all know that most consumers will research a company before purchasing anything from them. When they search for a business and read positive reviews their confidence increases. Hearing that other customers were satisfied, and why, is very meaningful and has a big impact on their buying decision.
How are Reviews Helpful?
There are other, less obvious benefits as well. Many people don’t realize that reviews on Facebook, Google, or directories such as Yelp, actually help your SEO. The Google algorithm sees the reviews and this helps your ranking. (It is even better if your customers throw a few keywords into their review!)
The Impact of Online Reviews
I love seeing the benefit of a review strategy that I have put in place, take last week for example. One of my clients, Mike the mover, has been working on getting reviews for about a year now. We started a monthly gift card draw open to all customers who posted an online review. Everyone is entered, no matter what their review says. This increased the number of reviews and their overall rating. Next, we added a follow-up text to each customer’s cell phone following their move. The text thanks them for their business and has a link to where they can post a review to enter the draw. Guess what? It works!
Having a review strategy also made the owners at Mike the mover more aware of the customer experience. When a review is anything less than five-star awesomeness, I help the owners take action. The customers who we reach out to are almost always blown away by the incredible follow-up. It has been a great way to help the company’s SEO and allows them an opportunity to turn disgruntled customers into allies.
Grow your Business with Customer Reviews
Take some time and think about how customer reviews can help your business. It goes way beyond telling everyone how great your business is, even though that is the fun part! If you are not sure where to start, contact me at heather@vanpattergroup.com or Van Patter Group on Facebook and let’s chat!