Why Reviews Matter More Than You Think

Oftentimes when money, effort, and time has been put into marketing; a company may not think much of acquiring reviews, especially companies who already have happy and satisfied customers. But in today’s world a review from a customer is an extremely important aspect to have, it’s something that can make or break your company. Even more so if your business provides a product or service, obtaining reviews should be a top priority.

Whether or not you as a business give regard to certain review websites, you do need to embrace them and be enthusiastic about gathering more customer reviews. Everything you have worked hard for can easily be washed away without the protection of your online reputation. Negative reviews can and will prevent potential customers and employees. Not only are people influenced by online reviews but there are a number of major implications online reviews have the ability to affect:

• Local search engine rankings
• Which search results get clicked on
• Consumers purchasing decisions

From an SEO standpoint, reviews can be the difference in placing ahead of a competitor in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), as well as mobile searches. The more reviews your business gets, and the more positive and detailed they are, the better your possibility of advancing search engine rankings. With a little time and effort, a process can be developed to acquire reviews. After all, more reviews=more customers.

But, why reviews?

• First and foremost, Google likes it

Online reviews are important to both consumers and search engines like Google because, as previously stated, it shows your business is doing things correctly. Google can drive a lot of traffic to your business website, so it’s important to know what can help your rankings. One factor being how much your customers like you–so online reviews, especially positive ones, help reinforce that you are a legitimate business.

• Reviews establish trustworthiness

If customers take the time to say something about your services/business, it means you’re doing something right. People searching for your product or service want to do business with a company that knows what it’s doing.

*Note: As mentioned above, the more liability and authenticity your reviews have, the more power it has. People like true stories and experiences, and if they can read real information about your business they are more likely to come to you. Example from one of our clients, Paul Mitchell The School Salt Lake City:

*Note: Reviews let you convey things about your business that you can’t say as effectively. A customer’s testimonial stating how timely or precise your business is is much more convincing than you yourself telling people how great your business is.

• Google Map searches feature reviews

Google’s map search layout has been designed to show ratings and reviews much more noticeably, giving the user immediate feedback to help them make a hasty decision.

Keep in mind that it is just as important and effective to respond to reviews (both positive and negative) as it is to attain them. Here is Paul Mitchell the School Salt Lake City’s response to the review posted above as an example:

Whether positive or negative, it is important to thank people for taking the time to leave a review. For a negative review, respond politely and promptly. In some cases, leave contact information for an offer to come back and give it another chance. These responses show you care not only about your customers, but even a disgruntled employee. In many cases you are able to turn a displeased customer into a lifelong positive one, and even ask them to change their review based on new experiences.

Keep in mind that it is best to respond to every negative review, but not all positive reviews–or at least not all at once. This leaves your responses looking automated and fabricated, and in some cases (on Google) it can lead to your page taken down for things such as spam.

Review sites help display some important knowledge into the company culture. For this reason, it is critical that employers take negative reviews seriously and respond to them in  a way that exhibits their commitment to satisfaction and positive work. As much as possible, try not to engage in discussions of detail, respond in a non-defensive way that shows you are listening but take the conversation offline as quickly as possible. Once an issue has been resolved, end it simply with something along the lines of “It was great speaking with you and we’re happy we could resolve this issue for you.” This shows that your business not only cares to help, but is professional and tactile.

Want more help with your reviews? Contact Oozle Media for all of your concerns!