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Video Summary
Having a strong reputation is crucial for your business if you want to build trust and credibility with your customers.
Online reviews continue to grow in value and have a significant impact on your visibility in your local area. And, as your business becomes more visible, this translates to more potential customers and sales. To encourage your existing customers to leave positive, impactful reviews, you’ve got to start by making sure your clients always have a positive experience with your business.
Here are 10 tips to create a strong reputation through online reviews and customer feedback…
Video Transcript
Hello, my name is Jeffrey Kirk. And welcome to video #9 in the “how to get seen online” series. If you would like to watch the previous videos, look for the playlist link here to get easy access.
In this video, I’m going to tell you how to create a strong reputation through online reviews and customer feedback.
I’m giving you 10 tips today. And, if you’d like, you can download these tips on a checklist I put together for you. Besides the tips, the checklist also contains 3 action steps you can take to implement each of these 10 items. Get this checklist for free at upatdawn.biz/10reviews
Now, let’s get started… Having a strong reputation is crucial for your business if you want to build trust and credibility with your customers.
Online reviews continue to grow in value and have a significant impact on your visibility in your local area. And, as your business becomes more visible, this translates to more potential customers and sales. To encourage your existing customers to leave positive, impactful reviews, you’ve got to start by making sure your clients always have a positive experience with your business.
Here are 10 tips to create a strong reputation through online reviews and customer feedback…
Tip #1 — Offer incentives or rewards to customers who provide feedback.
These incentives can include discounts, coupon codes, prizes, early exclusive access to new products, or some form of recognition.
But keep in mind that Google frowns on incentivizing reviews. Other platforms may not be as strict. Any feedback comments that come directly to you, however, are not controlled, so you can offer incentives for feedback.
One way to recognize clients who offer feedback or reviews is to let them know you’ll share their comments on your website or social media accounts. That’s not an incentive, but it can be a nice token of appreciation.
Tip #2 — Encourage customers to leave reviews on popular review sites.
Word of mouth is still powerful, and maybe it’s even more powerful than ever. People want to see reviews, and those reviews build trust while giving you a boost in visibility within your local area.
There are many popular review sites. Where those reviews work best can vary by industry. For example, Yelp, Angi, and TripAdvisor all have their place. But Google and Facebook are very strong for many industries. In fact, since Google owns about 95% of the search engine market share, it’s the one place for reviews I recommend above all others.
When prospects see a business with large numbers of high-quality reviews, they instantly trust that business almost as much as a personal referral.
Tip #3 — Encourage happy customers to share their positive experiences with others.
It’s important, as much as possible, to encourage happy customers to provide feedback and leave reviews. Online reviews continue to grow in value and have a significant impact on your visibility in your local area.
And, even outside your local area, your reviews help build credibility for your business. So don’t leave it to chance. Ask your clients to leave reviews on the platforms that are most meaningful for your business.
If you can provide a way to send them directly to the review page, that makes it easier. For example, you can offer a link or even a QR code they can scan on their phones.
Tip #4 — Respond to all reviews, whether they’re positive or negative.
At some point you might get a negative review. It happens. It might not be your fault, but it is your review, and you must address the situation.
At a minimum you want to get your side of the story recorded as well. Better yet, a good response can totally negate a bad review, or it can even prompt the reviewer to remove the review.
If you don’t address the situation, that negative review can affect potential new customers’ perceptions of your business. For that reason, respond as soon as you can, and do it in a respectful and professional manner.
For negative reviews, it’s often best to acknowledge the issue, apologize if necessary, and provide an explanation as to what happened. And respond to positive reviews as well. Customers appreciate it when you take the time to acknowledge them.
Tip #5 — Use customer feedback to improve your products, services, and overall customer experience.
In business, true customer feedback is gold. It helps you understand your real live customers, what they think about your products and services, and why they chose your business in the first place.
You can use this feedback to improve your products, services, and overall customer experience. Doing this makes your business even better for future clients. Additionally, customers who give feedback appreciate it when you listen to their suggestions. And that improves your overall brand reputation as well.
Now, what if I could show you a way, a very effective way to encourage more clients to give you feedback as well as leave more and better reviews. Would that interest you?
How about if this process also helps you beat competing businesses in the search results? That means you get more clients than ever before! Join me on an upcoming training and I’ll show you how. It’s totally free. Go to upatdawn.biz/webinar.
Tip #6 — Integrate customer feedback into your marketing and branding efforts.
A positive review, or a positive testimonial, has the potential to convince a visitor to become a buyer. With customer feedback and testimonials, you can answer questions and show new prospects how other people have already used your products or services.
Customer testimonials show other people the value of your products and services without any sales pitch. These give potential buyers the additional push they need to make the decision and to purchase. Testimonials can be proof that your products work, and that your services are what you say they are.
You can showcase customer testimonials on your website and in social media accounts.
Tip #7 — Continuously monitor your online reputation, and address any negative feedback or concerns.
With reviews and testimonials, you can better understand your audience’s pain points, prove your value to prospects, and build the best possible experience for all your customers.
And by continuously monitoring your online reputation and addressing any negative feedback or concerns in a timely manner, you will be able to solve any issues as soon as possible while showing customers you care about what they think.
In fact, according to research, 55% of consumers felt good whenever the business they’re supporting responds to a review. By simply doing this, you are giving your business a competitive advantage.
Tip #8 — Build a strong brand identity that aligns with your values and mission and resonates with your target audience.
Building a strong brand identity can be seen in the way your customers understand and relate to your business, and how you communicate your values, personality, and mission.
To align your brand identity with your target audience, you need to understand them, and communicate your values consistently through all your marketing platforms including your website and social media.
By consistently communicating your brand identity through these channels, you build a strong identity that aligns with your audience and contributes to the long-term success of your business.
Tip #9 — Provide excellent customer service.
I mentioned this earlier, before any of the tips. Your customers must have a good experience in order for your business to get good reviews. I’m bringing this back as a reminder. Providing the best service you can give, should always be your priority.
When your clients have great user experiences, they appreciate it. When you go beyond expectations, they can comfortably reciprocate with positive reviews and feedback.
Aside from getting good reviews, providing a better user experience also helps transform traffic into sales.
Tip #10 — Stay up to date with the latest online reviews and reputation management trends and best practices.
I have mentioned this in previous videos… The internet isn’t sitting still, so it’s important you follow the trends while continuously testing and experimenting with new tactics to improve the results in your business.
If you make the effort to get to the top of your industry, you don’t want to lose that spot. Continuing to follow reputation management trends and best practices can help your business remain king of the hill and contribute to your credibility and trustworthiness.
Google is the number one place for reviews, but reviews and ratings are not exclusive to Google. Social media platforms are also great avenues to spread influence. So your business might benefit by using these big media companies as well.
People post on their social media profiles about their experiences whether they’re positive or negative. And a positive post about your business will certainly make a good impression on others.
If you want to take advantage of positive word of mouth, then you must provide quality service. Doing so allows you to build a strong reputation online, attract more customers, and, ultimately, drive more sales and revenue for your business.
If you haven’t done so already, go to upatdawn.biz/10reviews and get your copy of these tips along with the action steps.
Your business deserves to be seen online, and I will help you get there.
Thanks for watching and have a great day!
