When a potential customer searches for your business online, what’s one of the very first things they’ll see?
Your reviews.
Like it or not, in the modern era, people are conditioned to look at reviews before visiting a new business or making a purchase.
Need more reviews? You’ve come to the right place. Getting more online reviews for your local business may seem like a daunting task. But at the end of the day, it’s really not that complicated.
To get you started, we’ve listed three quick steps to help your local business get more online reviews. These are steps you can start implementing today. Take a look and get started.
Ask
Asking for a review is often the easiest way to guarantee one in the first place. It’s as simple as that.
There are several ways to ask for reviews – and you’ll want to make sure you’re doing so in all the right places.
Consider every consumer facing element of your business. That includes social media, your website, text marketing, direct mail, and everything in between.
And of course, you can always ask in person. If your employees noticed that a customer enjoyed their experience, have them ask for a review. It doesn’t need to be a complicated exchange. Just make sure it’s natural. If you or your employee comes off as too pushy, it can seem inauthentic. It may even backfire.
That’s the key here. Authenticity. If you’re running a local business, customers know you’ve faced challenging times this year. Many customers will want to help however they can.
Respond
If you’re hoping to gain more online reviews, one of the very first things you need to do is start responding to the ones you receive. And not just occasionally. You need to be doing it proactively. BrightLocal reports that one out of every five consumers expects to receive a review response within a day.
That means you need to be on the ball.
When responding to reviews, don’t just thank the positive ones. Respond to the negative ones too. Apologize for what went wrong and ask how you can make things right. Make sure it’s personal and thought out. While you won’t always earn back a customer’s business, others will notice that you’re taking initiative.
Optimize
Unfortunately, online reviews aren’t all in one place. That means you need to manage your presence across review platforms.
There are the obvious ones, such as Yelp, Google My Business, and Facebook. But depending on your business, there are more specific review platforms. Get a lot of tourists? TripAdvisor is your place. Run a restaurant? You might want to be on Zomato or OpenTable.
There’s plenty of crossover between review sites too. It’s just up to you to figure out which ones are best for your business. It’s a good idea to look at which review platforms your competitors are using.
Once you’ve figured that out, it’s time to optimize. You’ll want to claim your business on each platform you’re prioritizing. You can start by doing the obvious ones. Make sure to fill out a Google My Business profile and claim your business on Yelp. You can update photos, information, and track valuable data to ensure your long-term review success.
Marketing With CoGoBuzz
Need a little extra help? We’ve got you covered. Get more (and better) reviews easily and automatically with CoGoBuzz, our state-of-the-art marketing service.
Leveraging powerful WiFi, SMS, and Email solutions, CoGoBuzz connects directly to your customers’ mobile devices, heightening engagement both in-store and out. Featuring a built-in custom landing page, accessed automatically through a one-time connection to the HotSpot, you can promote and incentivize customers to provide feedback. CoGoBuzz comes with a fully-digital, text-based loyalty program, allowing you to connect with your loyal customers wherever they go. Engage and reward them to help promote more positive reviews!
Click here to learn more about CoGoBuzz!
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How do you encourage more online reviews for your business? Sound off in the comments!