Businesses stand to gain a lot from online reviews. When a potential customer is thinking about purchasing a product or hiring services from a company, more often than not, they look through reviews to determine whether or not they can trust that business.
The short answer is yes, Google reviews are worth it. Positive reviews have helped many businesses create a loyal customer base and build relationships with new customers. Negative reviews have also tarnished the brand of several companies.
Given that 80% of customers trust online reviews as much as they’d trust recommendations from family and friends, business owners can harness the power of online reviews and use them as a marketing tool. Since customers tend to trust reviews more than an advertisement, it makes sense to invest in getting positive reviews to attract more customers.
There are several review sites, but Google reviews dominated the field over the past several years. Whenever a customer looks up a business on Google, reviews are typically the first thing they encounter. The reviews will immediately paint a picture for the customer of what to expect from the company, determining whether or not they’ll spend their money there.
Google reviews have made it easier for customers by showing an average rating on a base of five stars. With the rating and a few recent reviews, the customer can quickly determine whether the business is trustworthy, reputable, and worth their money.
Positive Google Reviews
Every business owner wants positive reviews for their business. Positive reviews attract new customers and help retain existing ones. Many businesses use these reviews as quotes on their websites and social media posts to increase traffic. Additionally, the reviews can be used to recognize outstanding employees and reward them for performance.
Getting positive reviews is one of the best ways to encourage customers to contact your company. It is a quick and efficient marketing tool because it takes just a few seconds for a potential customer to check a business’s star rating. One challenge is that not all customers will be willing to post reviews, so companies must simplify the process and encourage customers to leave reviews.
Negative Google Reviews
While no one wants a negative review, it can be a learning experience. A 2-star rating accompanied by a detailed review can help the business learn from its mistake, apologize, and make meaningful progress with constructive criticism.
Again, the challenge with negative reviews is that sometimes the customer won’t leave an explanation for the low rating, and this can affect a business’s image for potential customers because all they’ll see is a low rating. Additionally, the reviews are posted immediately to Google, so the company may not get a chance to solve the problem.
We Can Help Manage Your Online Reputation
We’ve seen that positive reviews are good for every business, but how can business owners encourage customers to leave positive reviews? Using a reputation management service via Speedsquare is an excellent way to boost positive Google reviews and ramp up your overall business reputation.
