Let’s say you’re looking for a salon that offers affordable hair coloring services. You grab your phone and search for salons near you, right? But you see five options, so, how do you choose which one to go to? Do you decide based on the prices? Maybe you’ll take into consideration how far each salon is from your house. One salon might also not be offering the specific service you’re looking for.
Now, let’s pause here for a second. The scenario above perfectly shows how many factors go into a consumer’s decision to make a purchase or avail of a service. Apart from the factors mentioned above, another important consideration for consumers is other people’s experience with a business. This is why gaining authentic, positive online reviews is essential if you have a business.
The Importance of Online Reviews
Millions of consumers search for local businesses every day, from where to eat at lunch to where to have their dogs groomed. Among them, 82 percent read online reviews for local businesses. If you have less than four stars, only 53 percent of people who initially looked you up would still give you a chance. That’s half of your potential customers—gone because you don’t have a perfect rating online.
On the other hand, when people read positive reviews about you online, 91 percent of consumers become more likely to do business with you. What’s more, 76 percent trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from families and friends. All these numbers show that, apart from services like SEO and content writing, online reviews are crucial to you gaining new customers.
So, how do you make your existing ones leave you a review online? We have a few tips below.
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Set up profiles on review sites
Your customers cannot give you reviews if they cannot find you on review sites. Make reviewing your services easy and convenient for them by setting up profiles on websites like Google My Business, TripAdvisor, and Yelp.
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Provide excellent goods or services
The simplest way to start getting those reviews is by simply doing your job. Going by our example at the beginning, if a customer goes to you for hair coloring services, make sure that they’re comfortable throughout the process and that you’ve given them the color and style they asked for. When customers are satisfied, they will spread the word and maybe even leave you an online review.
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Ask your customers
If, despite your excellent services, customers rarely leave a review, you can ask them directly. Of course, you can’t ask for a positive review. Say that if they enjoyed, leaving a review on Yelp or GMB is appreciated.
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Incentivize leaving reviews
Sometimes, even your most loyal customers need something extra to make them type out a few sentences of review. So, to gather more reviews, make it worth your customers’ while. Maybe they can show the review and get 5 percent off on their next visit. Just be clear that your offer is for a review, not necessarily a positive review. Otherwise, they’ll think you’re bribing them.
Reviews can make or break your business. But they have to be there in the first place. Follow the steps above and see your online review count rise.