Many companies still don't give due weight to the online reviews they receive, but it's crucial to understand how essential a digital presence is for any company, regardless of its size or industry.
Reviews play a fundamental role in influencing consumers' perception of a business, as well as directly affecting a business's visibility and reputation.
Therefore, having a strategy for them makes all the difference to your results. To help you, we've put together some fundamental steps to help you make assessments an ally on your journey. Follow along!
The importance of online reviews for the success of your business
Online reviews , or the famous reviews, are customer feedback about your product, service, or business in general , and they have a great influence on how the market and the public view your business and its reputation:
Increased trust and credibility
People want to hear others' opinions when making decisions. According to Reclame Aqui , 70% of people say that, during their purchasing journey, customer reviews are the source of information they trust most. Furthermore, 63% are more likely to make a purchase on a site with user reviews.
In other words, having a good volume of reviews, and of course, positive and truthful ones, makes people trust your business more and more, and it becomes increasingly credible in the market.
Improved visibility and SEO
Reviews are important for search engines to understand what your business is, what it offers, and why it should be shown to users, being a crucial part of SEO and Local SEO .
Local SEO is the process of optimizing search engines to target a business to those around it, and brand reputation is one of the essential pillars for whether or not search engines display your company.
Therefore, with good reviews, your chances of organic visibility on consumer networks are greater.
Continuous improvement and innovation
Customer feedback is more than just praise or criticism; it provides valuable insights for companies to improve their products, services, and processes. By developing strategies and processes based on reviews, you can drive innovation and your customer experience and .
Strengthening brand reputation
Digital reputation is a valuable asset, and it's how your company is perceived online. This reputation is crucial for attracting or alienating customers, and working to build it well is essential for business.
Assignment #0: Initial Google Sheet Setup
Before we even get started with the tips we've put together to increase your reviews, we need to cover the basic, initial step: setting up your Google My Business . There's no point in creating strategies for your customers to review if your business isn't well-established on the network, right?
Google My Business is a free tool that allows businesses to be found by consumers, and optimizing your company's profile on this platform is essential for good results.
Here, you need to provide your information to the client, such as standardized nomenclature, address, contact telephone number, opening hours, peak times, website, services, events to be held, photos of the environment, appointments, message exchanges with clients, among others.
Having your Google My Business completed correctly and optimized so that all your business information can be found is crucial for the rest of your Local SEO and drive-to-store strategy, for example.
We've prepared a powerful and easy step-by-step guide for you to follow: Learn how to set up and achieve top results in local search with Google My Business!
7 steps to encourage and generate more online reviews
We've already discussed Google My Business, so let's look at some practical tips to boost your digital reputation and get even more reviews for your business. Follow along and implement them now!
1. Actively and strategically request reviews
Customers are often willing to review businesses, but they need to be reminded of this. Therefore, you need strategies to solicit reviews without simply waiting for them to arrive.
Therefore, think about the best times and opportunities to understand your customer's satisfaction and seek this evaluation.
After purchases or interactions, for example, these are important moments to send personalized emails requesting reviews about the purchase, product, or use of a service.
Also take advantage of other opportunities, such as after resolving a problem or delivering a project. Remember that you need to capture the customer at a strategic moment after their interactions with the brand so they can be genuine and share their experience with the product/service.
It's also worth considering offering small incentives, such as discounts or freebies, to encourage customers to leave a review.
The key here is to understand your company and your customer to find the best moments. Once you've done that, test multiple times to understand what really works!
2. Simplify the evaluation process
As we said, people are often willing to evaluate a business, but companies make the process so bureaucratic that withdrawals are common along the way.
To avoid this problem, make it easy and simple to receive reviews. Forget those long, question-filled, step-by-step forms and make the review process as simple and quick as possible with direct links and user-friendly interfaces.
Provide clear and precise instructions on how to leave a review to avoid frustration and abandonment mid-process. Let your customer choose where they want to leave their review, including platforms like Google My Business, Facebook, and specialized websites.
3. Respond to all reviews professionally
Unfortunately, a business can't thrive on positive reviews alone, and you need to address all the feedback your company receives. It's important to respond to all reviews quickly, personally, and professionally.
For positive reviews, show your gratitude and take the opportunity to strengthen your existing relationships. Remember, this is also an important moment for building loyalty.
As for negative comments, don't ignore or delete them, but respond proactively, adopt an empathetic approach, and demonstrate your commitment to improvements, problem-solving, and ways to improve the customer experience.
Consider that your response is seen by thousands of potential customers : imagine that each response is a showcase for your company, attracting or alienating new customers. Therefore, communicate clearly, professionally, and empathetically, considering the impact your words will have on future customers.
Replies to reviews are opportunities to reinforce the positive points mentioned in the review, demonstrate your commitment to quality and customer service , and build a positive image of your company to the general public.
4. Monitor and analyze reviews regularly
Simply receiving reviews isn't enough to enhance your profile without taking practical action based on them. It's natural that the larger your business, the greater the volume of reviews you receive, and you need to monitor them so that they're all evaluated and responded to.
Furthermore, they are part of improvement metrics and it is necessary to have ways to monitor and analyze their performance.
Monitor the volume of reviews received across different platforms to identify trends and areas for focus, analyze customer sentiment based on their reviews, and use feedback data to make strategic decisions and improve your products, services, and customer service.
5. Encourage a culture of positive reviews
Reviews should be part of the company's culture and a solid pillar of its strategy, so it's important to train from the inside out. Teams need to be trained to handle feedback and, most importantly, to be able to respond to customers and encourage them to leave reviews.
Additionally, create a positive and welcoming environment for your customers and employees, increasing the likelihood of positive reviews and, when possible, recognize and reward employees who contribute to obtaining positive reviews for the business.
6. Use assessment management tools
We know it's not easy to monitor, respond to, evaluate, and connect all your business networks, so you need tools, technology, and automation. Use platforms capable of managing and monitoring reviews across multiple platforms. Look for those that offer advanced review analytics, generating valuable insights for your business. Pay close attention to integrating review management tools with other systems, such as CRM and customer service software.
Harmo , you can track and respond to all reviews with SEO optimization and reputation strategies.
7. Make online reviews a priority
As we said, reviews are often just another aspect of your business, but you need to view them as a priority and a crucial part of your strategy and customer journey.
It's important for your business to have clear, measurable goals for the quantity and quality of online reviews you want to obtain, as well as to create a culture of reviews within your company, encouraging participation from all departments and employees.
For everyone to be engaged, everyone needs to understand the importance of these assessments, so invest in internal communication, train teams to identify opportunities, and put your customer at the center.
Conclusion
The current situation means companies are increasingly positioning themselves in the digital landscape, and building their credibility, visibility, and online reputation is crucial for business results.
Reviews are part of this strategy, and they need to be carefully and objectively considered so that they become allies of your teams. How has your business truly evaluated what your customers think and say about it on various social media platforms?
Take advantage of our tips, review your strategy, ensure that reviews are increasingly positive and frequent in your business, and count on Harmo for increasingly better results!
