Customer testimonials are important to any small business as you attempt to grow and secure more customers. Your reputation is key to helping you to do this. In this article we aim to outline the key things that you need to consider about requesting and securing reviews of your business, and it's products and services.

Why should I care about reviews?

When a prospective customer is looking for a product or service in this day and age, what do they tend to do? They will do their research.

This means they will use the internet to look for a supplier who can provide the product or service that they need.

Generally, reviews are considered to be an important part of increasing online visibility, in particular on Google. The higher your business ranks in search results, the more likely potential customers are to find you. More and more companies are using Google to attract customers. If your customers spend time on Google looking for a product or service, chances are you are there and can be found.

In the context of your business, a review is a review of your business, your services and the product or service that you are providing. Basically, to improve your reputation as a business you need to get the word out about your products and services. That's where reviews come in.

How to get reviews

How you do this is simple. You should build it into yoru business processes and make a point of asking customers for a review when you interact with them. The challenge is how do you go about doing this in a way that ensures that it is easy for customers to leave a review and it maximises the chance of those reviews being seen by other prospective customers.

You also want to ensure that you capture customer reviews on your website and also on key review sites that prospective customers are likely to see when they research online, such as on Google and Facebook reviews.

All of this is where we at Review Engine can help.

What should I do with reviews?

It's important that you display honest reviews on your website and social media channels, so that the message about the quality of your business is visible to other prospective customers.

Another important element of customer reviews is an internal one as well. They often give you a strong sense of what your customers think of your services (both positive and sometimes negative), so they are something that you can use to learn more about how you are doing, your strengths and weaknesses as a business. You can then make strategic business decisions based on these facts. Running a small business can be a rewarding experience but it's important to be prepared and armed with the right knowledge.

Conclusion

Trying to promote your business is a full-time job. It's vital to make your customers aware that they can easily and instantly communicate their satisfaction to you in a way that is immediate and meaningful.

For small businesses, as well as ensuring that their customers are well informed and keen to tell everyone they can about what your business has to offer, there are other things that you can do to aid your growth. Like trying to become an authority in your field and establish your credibility by gaining reviews and testimonials of other satisfied customers. It's a tricky task but, with some effort, you can surely succeed.