In this episode of Actionable Marketing In Minutes we talk about reviews, gold stars, and why they are vitally important for your business.
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Problem:
According to Zendesk survey, 90-percent of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business. 74-percent say that positive reviews increase their trust in a local business. That’s probably because 84% trust online reviews as much as they would a personal recommendation.
Studies show that 92% will use a local business with at least a 4-star rating. In fact, 58% of consumers say that the star rating of a business is most important. What traits matter most? 27-percent say reliability; 21%, expertise; and 18%, professionalism.
As you can see, reviews of your both your local and online business matter a lot more than you may have originally thought.
54-percent of people will visit your site after reading positive reviews. And, here’s the best part. Customers are likely to spend 31% more at a business with excellent reviews.
How many reviews do consumers need to read before they are convinced? 72% will take action after only reading 1 review. 90-percent will read less than 10 before forming an opinion. But, if the review is outdated – older than 3 months – not as much credence is given to the review.
Needless-to-say, 86% will hesitate to purchase from a business with negative reviews; though, it stands to reason that if a business has all 5-star reviews, something is amiss and consumers won’t fall for it.
Solution:
It stands to reason that there will come a time when your business will receive a negative review. Yikes! What should you do? There are a lot of articles on the Internet that tell you how to respond to a negative review. Here are a few that we recommend:
1. Respond – promptly
2. Admit your mistakes
3. Highlight your strengths
4. Correct the problems
5. Take it offline, if necessary
6. Provide restitution/resolution
7. Be consistent
8. Ask loyal customers to share
But, we are proponents of overwhelming the negative reviews with positive. In other words, have so many positive reviews that the negative will get lost in a sea of positive. Notice how the last item in the list of how to respond to a negative review is to ask loyal customers to share? That is key. And, since 7 out of 10 of your customers will write a review if asked, why not ask?
Here’s how:
* Set up profiles on multiple relevant review sites.
* Then, the next time a customer pays you a compliment, simply ask them to write a review.
* People are busy. So, make it easy for them to leave a review. Include direct links to places where they can access it, such as on your website or newsletter.
* Offer incentives for reviews. Remember: never pay for a review and never ask for a good review. Just a review.
* Make sure all of your staff that works with people – whether that is sales or customer service – understands the importance of reviews. You might even consider incentives for garnering reviews.
* Always say thank you for a review.
Benefits:
Reviews affect your business. They affect both your store and your website traffic. And they affect sales. It’s imperative that you have good reviews. Follow our steps and you will reap the benefits that come with good reviews. Please let us know what your increased success looks like.
We hope you’ve found this information helpful. Please connect with us on Twitter @DirectiveGroup or on LinkedIn. Let us know what you think and what you’d like to hear about next. And if you like our podcasts please share with your networks using hashtag #actionablemarketing.
Join us next time as we discuss Do or Don’t? Content Gating Examined.
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