Regular word-of-mouth marketing has shifted towards digital customer reviews that stick around for much longer. Customers have opinions and quickly express their feelings towards your company after interacting with you.
Today, Facebook and Google make very accessible options for customers who want to share their experience with your company publicly. That’s why building a positive reputation for your business is more important than ever before. Let’s look at reasons why customer reviews matter so much.
SEO Exposure
SEO is one of the most essential parts of digital marketing today. It’s what makes your company page visible to potential customers who are searching for related content on search engines such as Google and Bing.
Customers can quickly post a public review on Google rating their experience with your company on a scale of one to five stars. They can also write their feelings along with a recommendation or statement of disapproval. Search engines like Google are far more likely to show consumers companies with great reviews first.
It’s a huge advantage for any company that delivers an outstanding experience to customers. It’s also a passive form of marketing because the company isn’t directly focusing on SEO. They simply do a great job and customers boost SEO visibility for them. Positive reviews remove the uncertainty of visiting an establishment and are one of the first things customers consider.
Using Reviews as a Marketing Tactic
On the other hand, companies can market their positive reviews and use it to their advantage. It’s easy to post a feed of testimonials and reviews for potential customers and assure them that your business already has a solid reputation.
If your company has a large focus on social media accounts, reviews make for awesome content. Your followers on social media may not always be your most loyal customers. They could be people interested in your content or people who haven’t interacted with your company’s services or products. Furthermore, social media content reaches out to people who may not even follow your page.
You have the opportunity to post positive customer reviews directly as social media content. It shows how happy consumers are with your company while demonstrating excellent performance. For anybody interested in your company, this could be the point where they take action and reach out to you. Tie in a call to action such as “swipe up to learn about what we do” or “contact us today here”.
You can even incorporate your product designs into garnering reviews. With full wrap hot paper cups, dimpled coffee sleeves, and even custom safety seals for carryout orders, you can include QR codes that take your customers to review pages on your website or social media accounts. You can also offer discounts and other perks that encourage them to provide their feedback.
Build Trust
How important is trust to consumers? Many of them trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Think about how you would browse products on Amazon. Amazon has thousands of different sellers and brands (many that we’ve never even heard of). Looking for reviews might be the first thing that buyers do. Why? Because we take the word of somebody else who has had an experience with the seller.
It can be a risk trying out any business for the first time without any established reputation. It’s an inconvenience if things don’t work out because you have to go through the hassle of returns, customer service, or reversing the process if you aren’t satisfied. Additionally, consumers want to know that your product or service actually suits them well based on how it worked for somebody else. Customers would prefer to trust a brand before they take any action rather than take a leap of faith with an unfamiliar company.
Stand Out from Competition
Customer purchasing decisions happen faster and faster in the modern world. We click on the first few search results on Google and look for checkout options that handle orders in only a few clicks. A positive review is going to help a customer take action quickly because they don’t have to do any extensive research. Negative reviews, on the other hand, are going to keep potential customers scrolling to your competition.
Customer reviews give a quick snapshot of whether your work is worthy or not. You could have identical services and pricing, but a consumer is likely to use reviews as a tiebreaker. Customer reviews help you stand out from competition without any additional marketing. Some companies even use customer reviews to their advantage by charging more because it proves their work is high quality.
Opens Communication with Customers
It’s important to incorporate feedback from your customers as much as you can. Public reviews are a great indicator of your company’s overall performance. Customers are also helpful for adding suggestions, corrections, and determining the accuracy of your service descriptions. Use reviews to your advantage by actually reading them from time to time. They offer a look into the customer experience that can be hard to see from a management perspective.
This also opens the door for communication with customers. Once a customer posts a review, you have the option of responding to them. For negative reviews, this allows you to address the issues and solve problems. You can also ask for suggestions and figure out what went wrong in greater detail. For positive reviews, you can show gratitude towards customers and engage with them in order to develop customer loyalty in the future.
Your Customers Build Your Business
Customer reviews matter now more than ever before. Word-of-mouth marketing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Customers continue to talk about their experiences with businesses that they care about. Focus on your customer reviews so you can establish a positive brand reputation later on.
“The customer always comes first” is a popular business motto adopted by companies worldwide. It’s for good reason, too. They help you become a trusted brand, lift sales, and boost your exposure on the Internet.
Kyle Spearin
Kyle is a Boston native with a knack for SEO, writing, and editing content. Over the past three years, he's worked with venture backed startups and small businesses to expand their online presence. When he's not working on content, he enjoys hiking, football, and traveling with his wife.
