Having a stellar online reputation is critical to the success of your business. When you receive positive reviews, your prospective customers feel assured that they are working with a reliable company.
In fact, 97% of consumers look for online reviews when searching for a local business. Moreover, 84% of consumers value these online reviews just as much as they trust the reports from their friends and family.
Here are the top benefits of online reviews for your local business:
Build Credibility
Unlike an established brand, people are not sure what to expect from your small business. They may not be ready to do business with you. That’s where reviews can help.
Online reviews provide legitimacy and credibility to your business, giving your prospects a clear picture of your business and why you are better than your competitors.
Get Found Online
Online reviews of your business are perhaps the first thing to show up in the search results. Google considers review ratings from multiple platforms when ranking businesses in local search. In fact, specific keywords and online reviews have an immense impact on local search visibility.
Reviews Speak for You
In today’s times, consumers are used to reading online reviews before making a purchase. In addition to inspiring confidence in your brand, reviews do all the talking for you. By using good reviews as content, you can:
- Let your old customers help you obtain new customers.
- Get highly relevant and unique content for your social media pages for free.
- Show prospects that they can expect a fantastic customer experience from your company.
Forge a Good Connection With Your Customers
Every review including a negative one is an opportunity to forge a relationship with your customers. Take the time to reply to customer reviews in a helpful, thoughtful manner that expresses your gratitude while explaining any issues that may still exist.
This will not only boost your credibility in the eyes of your prospective customers, but it will also encourage others to leave reviews, which is great!
Conclusion
The very thought of asking your customers for reviews can seem daunting. However, if you focus on delivering a fantastic experience, your customers would be happy to tell you how they had a great time doing business with you. So if you are still wondering whether or not you should ask for client reviews, simply go for it. And be sure to leave a thoughtful message for those customers who respond.
Need an easy way to request reviews from your customers and have them show directly on your website? Why not check out Review Engine from LS25 Web Design? Our own, easy to use solution for gathering your valuable customer reviews.
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