Word of Mouth is a powerful thing— it’s what gets you to buy a ticket to that summer blockbuster, or into that new Italian Restaurant with the meatballs that will change your life. The more you hear about that movie, or those world famous meatballs, the greater the likelihood that you’ll actually get up off the couch and out into the world to find out what all the buzz is about. Such is the purchasing power of your online reviews. Let’s discuss why review quantity matters, and explore an effective strategy to get more reviews onto your online business listings.
Research shows that consumers read an average of 10 online reviews before feeling confident to trust a local business. Our human tendencies require social proof in order to weigh any decision regarding our hard-earned cash. The same study determined that when evaluating a business based on customer feedback, 49% of people considered the quantity of reviews. That’s a large pool of potential customers you risk losing if you aren’t proactive about generating more reviews to your online business listings. While there are straightforward approaches to getting more reviews— asking your customers upfront to leave a review, improving your products and services to warrant better feedback— there are also other more strategic ways to boost your numbers.
A proven method for increasing review quantity is to send review requests via email or SMS. Although the simple act of asking a customer in person to leave a review is a great start, it can take an extra nudge to encourage them to follow through. By sending your customers a reminder through email or text message, you eliminate the steps of first having to remember to leave your business a review; and second, having to find your business listings online.
Just as important as it is to generate more positive content onto your business listings is to make an effort to prevent negative reviews from appearing online. Through the same platform you use to send review requests, you can also direct unhappy customers to an online survey. This will provide your customers with a safe place to vent and provide negative feedback about your business, without letting it affect your business rating online.
Review generation is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many different facets to your online reputation that greatly affect your customers’ perception of your business, and ultimately influence their purchasing decisions. Sign up for a free demo to learn not only about our solution for review generation, but also your online reputation strategy as a whole.