Skip to main content

Boost Online Reviews to Drive Profitable Consumer Action

How do you grab a lifeline on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"


You ask the audience!


While experts tend to get a trivia question right two-thirds of the time, the audience gets that answer right 91 percent of the time. Why? Because individually we are limited, but collectively we are genius.


In today's global economy, buyers understand the importance of collective intelligence. People rely on other consumers to help them decide what movies to see, which vet to use for their pets, or the best software to buy.


Recent studies show more than half of adults under age 50 consult online reviews before making a purchase decision. People trust and rely on these reviews, and products or companies that receive positive reviews increase the quality and quantity of their website traffic.


Gather and Manage Your Own Online Reviews


Customer reviews are an incredibly valuable asset in today's world, and businesses have more power over these reviews than they may think.


Don't leave your reputation in the hands of third-party sites like Google, Facebook, or Yelp! As you seek to generate leads and engage prospects, work to:



  • Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews. Can you interview a brand loyalist personally? Have you launched an e-mail campaign to ask customers for reviews on recent purchases? Have you tried incentives to prompt greater response?

  • Get notified of new customer reviews and efficiently respond. Reply directly online or send a personal message to the reviewer to express gratitude or interest in their concern.

  • Aggregate and embed reviews on your business website. This increases the chance of positive reviews showing up in online searches by interested prospects.

  • Learn from reviews and improve service. Even negative feedback can signal customer engagement. The more you listen and respond to your customers, the more relevant and successful you will be.

As you flush out and manage reviews, don't assume that search engines and review sites aren't important. According to Mike Bluementhal, online marketing co-founder of GatherUp, Google is crucial:


"We advise small businesses to think of Google as your new Home page. Your Google brand result is one of your most important pages on the internet. That is not to say it can replace your website. It can't. But your Google presence should reflect the best your business has to offer. People searching will see how you appear in Google and make immediate judgments."


A Winning Formula


Bluemental says that 70 percent of new leads start at Google.


While traditionally word-of-mouth marketing the most powerful referral option, online reviews now hold tremendous influence. From phone calls, driving directions, or contact form fills, Google is the number one spot for new users to take action to connect with a business. And this behavior is strongly influenced by the customer reviews Google posts from the business website or social media pages.


In other words, manage your content and take great care of your customers! Care about what they think and streamline your service to their needs. Encourage them to share compliments. And when they do, give that content a boost so it appears far and wide online. Bluementhal says this will help entrepreneurs to improve weak areas while simultaneously growing areas of strength:


"It's a winning formula in today's landscape."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Affordable Offline Marketing for Your Small Business

Do you have a small business that could use a revenue boost? Most marketing strategies are crafted around costly advertising campaigns, but there are many free or affordable tactics you can use to grow your business at any stage. Here are a few offline marketing fundamentals to get you started, no matter how small your budget! 1. Take part in local events. Sales are based on relationships, and relationships require connection. Network in proactive ways by attending or taking part in local events. Get to know other small business owners and have your business card or flyer ready; you never know when the opportunity will present itself! 2. Create customized stickers or labels. It's not just a kid thing – people truly enjoy stickers! Create a colorful custom sticker and pass them out anywhere your target users might be. Stickers and labels can be used on car windows, water bottles, notebooks, and more. 3. Start a simple rewards system. One of th
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Custom Notepads are a Perfect Promotional Tool

Want to give your business a gift that keeps giving? You can do this by giving gifts to other people. According to the ACI 2019 Impressions study , promotional products bring some of the highest rates of return on advertising, trumping all other forms of media. Consumers surveyed said they were nearly 2.5 times more likely to have a favorable opinion of promotional products compared to online advertising, and consumers under 55 preferred a promotional product message over EVERY other advertising medium (including print, online, or traditional mass media). Data shows the average household in the U.S. owns 30 promotional items, which means if there are 120 million households in America, over three billion company logos are floating around at any moment! Looking for a fun but practical promo gift for your clients and prospects? Custom printed notepads are a great, economical option. Notepads are designed for utility and flexibility, meaning people can take them anywhere and will cer
Post a Comment
Read more

4 Mistakes that Make Your Ads Fall Flat

Have you ever seen someone make a pitch without clearly selling their product? In business, sometimes we get so close to our product that it's easy to assume every reader "gets it." Marketers spend big bucks to grab attention but fail to craft a message that truly connects. Take this example: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is a technology company offering innovative computing and graphic solutions for work, home, and play. AMD has begun partnering with a famous auto company to significantly reduce design time on new electric vehicles. AMD recently ran a 2-page BusinessWeek ad with this headline: "AMD Makes It Possible." The problem? People have no idea what AMD is. So what would cause people to keep reading? In this ad's copy section, AMD mentioned that they were able to cut design time on electric cars by over eight months. By burying this information under an obscure headline, AMD confused the reader and probably lost many sales. A better
Post a Comment
Read more