How Reviews Can Help Your Local Business.
Customer reviews can bring your local business an opportunity to develop new business, solidify relationships with existing customers, and improve your business’s product and service offerings.
It’s not that potential customers don’t trust you, it’s just that they trust the opinion of your customers more.
Sure, potential customers are interested in your marketing messages, including how your local company’s products and services can meet their needs, but once they find your company a fit, they want to be assured that they are making the right purchasing decision. The deciding factor for a new customer is often the word of others: Customer reviews.
Customer reviews can enhance trust in your company and its products. When you provide an opportunity for your existing customers to share their opinion it provides proof and confirmation to potential customers…Eliminating any risk they may perceive.
Why Else Does Your Local Business Need Customer Reviews.
- Publishing customer reviews can help your business’s findability in search. Search engines reward websites with unique and consistently updated content. Reviews can improve your SEO rankings. As well, potential customers will often search the name of your business along with the word “reviews.”
- Asking your existing customers to share their reviews shows that you care about their opinions. Not only do reviews help to gain new customers they help to solidify your relationships with existing customers.
- Reviews can also help you to identify and improve upon issues with your business. Learn from negative reviews to make your business better.
- Responding to negative reviews quickly and professionally can leave a very positive impression and help to build customer relationships. As well, many potential customers judge your business’s responsiveness. You can gain credibility with new and existing clients in the way you respond to business challenges.
- Reviews can also identify business opportunities for you. There is nothing more important than the voice of the customer in identifying needs and opening opportunities for your business to expand to satisfy them.
Prior to the proliferation of digital technology, it was long recognized that word-of-mouth advertising was among the most productive and effective forms of advertising. Customer reviews are the modern equivalent to word-of-mouth. Gathering customer reviews can help you to market your business and drive new and returning sales.
Need More Proof?
Below are some key takeaways related to customer reviews:
- 95% of customers read online reviews before buying a product. Positive reviews can help a business stand out and position it as an industry leader.
- 73% of customers say they trust a local business more if it has positive reviews. Reviews can help establish a business as trustworthy and credible.
- 49% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- 94% say reviews have made them avoid a business.
- Positive reviews can lead to increased customer retention and repeat business.
- Boosting customer satisfaction: A great customer experience can lead to positive reviews and fewer complaints.
- Reviews can help businesses identify flaws and make improvements.
- Reviews can help increase a business’s visibility and promote it to new customers.
Build trust in your business by encouraging and managing customer reviews.
Sentinel Solutions are experts in reputation management and the use of customer reviews. We can help you design a custom and integrated multimedia marketing program, incorporating reviews, to support the goals of your business.
Give us a call if we can help at 603-352-5896 or e-mail to Advertising@SentinelDigitalSolutions.com. We’re here to help you succeed.
