Getting the word out about your business requires a bit of internet savvy and an eye for new trends. If you haven't considered Google Reviews as a way to pull in new customers, you may be missing out on clients, even on a local level.
People are far more likely to trust the word of a peer than what you say about your own company. Surprisingly, even negative reviews may help boost conversion rates. In a study on social commerce, researchers found an 85% increase in conversion rates when customers spent time interacting with negative reviews rather than positive ones.
As the world turns ever more to an online shopping or omnichannel model, people expect fair reviews to help them determine if a product is right for them. There are many ways you can utilize reviews to boost sales and customer satisfaction, and this list shows a few of them:
1. Meet Customer Expectations
People shopping online expect access to reviews and customer testimonials. If you want an excellent customer experience (CX), make reviews of your products and services easy to find. The more detail the reviews allow, the more likely people will pay attention to what they say. Add a review section to your e-commerce store, embed a link to Google reviews of your business and highlight the best ones on your landing pages.
Embed Social grabs short snippets from Google reviews and uses them on their website as testimonials. They show the number of stars given, a snippet from the review and the person's name. The reviews scroll through different selections, highlighting some of the best features of the company's software.
2. Edge Out the Competition
Put yourself in the shoes of a first-time visitor to your site. They've never heard of your brand. The person may compare you to other companies in the area offering similar products or services. You can stand out and edge out the competition by utilizing Google reviews. Some searchers never hit the actual websites of brands in your niche.
Instead, they search for something like "tour companies in Little Rock" and see what pulls up. They then look over to the right side on the results page and see which businesses have the best reviews. They may even read through some of the comments, choose which site to visit and potentially book a tour while there.
3. Engage Current Customers
Invite those who already love you to leave a review of your business on Google. The more reviews you have, the more chances someone might give you an opportunity to meet their needs. Who better to leave positive reviews than already happy customers? You can invite your clients to provide their insights via email, by sending a text message or through a link on your website.
Family Dentistry of New Jersey invites current clients to leave a Google review. They share a little of what they're about and then share the link to the reviews page for the search engine giant. By reaching out to those who already know them and what they're about, they encourage positive reviews. They also explain their mission as a brand, which guides the user on the type of feedback to leave.
4. Embrace Poor Reviews
The longer you're in business, the higher the chances that you'll have at least one unhappy customer. At some point, you'll encounter a negative review, whether it's fair or not. Think through how you'll handle nasty comments and establish a plan.
You should first respond on the platform where the user left the review, such as Google. Try to make amends. If the person is genuinely unreasonable and just wants to trash your name, leave a list of how you attempted to rectify the problem and let other consumers decide if it was a warranted complaint.
5. Gain Consumer Trust
Unless they've done business with you in the past, people have no reason to trust your company. There are a lot of brands out there who don't put customers first. You must add trust factors to your site to show leads you'll stand behind your product. One of the simplest ways is implementing a page filled with glowing reviews of your brand.
EFG Companies includes a section on their site dedicated to embedded Google reviews. Site visitors can look through the latest comments and highest or lowest ratings. When you embed something like this on your site, it's essential to pay attention to the feedback you receive and work quickly to fix any damaging comments.
6. Gain a Feedback Loop
If you want to improve your business year after year, you must look for ways to better meet customers' needs. Keep track of both positive and negative feedback. Study your own Google ratings and see if there are any areas you can improve. If people regularly give you a four-star rating, how can you get to five?
7. Highlight Your UVP
What is your unique value proposition (UVP) as a brand? What do you do better than any of your competitors? You can use reviews to highlight the advantages you have over the competition. Show your users that you do the basics just as well as other businesses, but you also have a few tricks up your sleeve they'll love.
Bergen Bagels does an excellent job of showing off their food quality and freshness by listing reviews stating how great they are. They mix the Google reviews with comments from TripAdvisor and Yelp, showing they meet customer standards no matter where they're mentioned.
Encourage Reading and Writing Reviews
The best way of encouraging your customers to write feedback about your company is by adding a link directly to your Google business page. However, you should also be upfront with sharing all reviews written about your brand. Embed the latest ones, link to the full list of comments and mix them in with your mission or value statements for a full picture of what you do and who you are as a company.
Lexie is a digital nomad and web designer. When she’s not traveling to various parts of the country, you can find her at the local flea markets or hiking with her Goldendoodle. Check out her design blog, Design Roast, and connect with her on Twitter @lexieludesigner.
