WHAT IS GOOGLE REVIEWS?
Google Reviews is a public online platform that lists personalized customer reviews and star ratings for businesses. Customers are free to post reviews for companies that they have made purchases from in the past to highlight their experiences with them. They can post written comments about the businesses and give them star ratings from 1 to 5, with 1 being a poor consumer experience and 5 being an excellent consumer experience.
WHY REVIEWS ARE IMPORTANT
Customer reviews allow other consumers to research businesses to determine if they have satisfied other customers in the past. If a company has mostly positive reviews and an average star rating of between 4 and 5 stars, then it is most likely a trustworthy business in the minds of consumers. From there, people will tell their friends and family about the company, which will drive more traffic to it.
HOW GOOGLE REVIEWS CAN BENEFIT YOUR BUSINESS
Some businesses view Google Reviews as a setback to their success because of the potential of receiving negative reviews posted about them online. However, if you run a business that prioritizes customer satisfaction, then Google Reviews can become an asset rather than a liability for your business.
ASK CUSTOMERS TO POST REVIEWS
The first step is to get several customers to post reviews about your business on Google Reviews. After that happens, the Google search engine will start to list your company and its reviews at the top of the search engine results pages when consumers search for businesses like yours.
It is a great way to get free organic traffic to your company’s website or local business listing.Below are the different ways in which you can use Google Reviews to build trust and drive traffic to your business.
CREATE A GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE
As you may have guessed, Google Reviews is associated with the Google search engine company. So, if you want to allow customers to post reviews about your business on Google Reviews, then you need to create a Google Business profile so that it can show up on the platform.
It is free to create a Google Business profile. Just visit the Google Business Profile page and enter your business name. Next, it will ask you to choose the business category that best matches the type of business you have. Once you do that, you will proceed to enter the contact information about your company and mark its location on the geographical map presented to you. Submit the information when you finish filling out the form.
Provide the following information with as much accuracy as possible:
· Business name
· Description
· Address
· Daily hours of operation
· Phone number
· Website URL address
· High-quality photos
· Relevant keywords
VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT
The last step is to select a verification option to ensure you are the only one who can edit your Google Business profile. If you want to verify the profile later, you can choose the “Verify Later” option. But make sure you eventually select a verification option for security purposes.
Now, customers will have the ability to leave reviews for your business on Google Reviews. The trick is motivating them to take the time to leave these reviews for your business.
ENCOURAGE CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Don’t assume that every one of your customers is going to automatically leave reviews about your business on Google Reviews, especially the satisfied customers. In fact, the average customer is more motivated to leave a review when they have something negative to say rather than something positive to say.
Therefore, you need to go out of your way to encourage customers to leave reviews about your business after every transaction. Perhaps you could include a link to your Google Business Profile page with each invoice that you email to your customers. Next to the link, you could encourage customers to leave a review for your business if they are satisfied with their order.
HOW TO HANDLE UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS
If customers are unsatisfied, encourage them to email you instead to resolve whatever issues they have. That way, you can avoid receiving negative reviews publicly posted about your business online. The idea is to be strategic about requesting reviews without forcibly asking for positive reviews.
ALTERNATIVE WAYS
Another way to encourage customer reviews is to include a dynamic QR code in an email or on your product’s packaging that links directly to your Google Review page. Look for QR code generators online to assist you with this effort.
SHOWCASE YOUR REVIEWS
You will probably want to showcase your customer reviews on your website after receiving enough positive ones on Google Reviews. Here are some of the ways you can showcase these reviews:
· Quote the exact reviews word for word on your website and include a direct link to your Google Review page.
· Install a third-party Google Reviews widget to embed the actual customer reviews on your website.
When people see positive customer reviews from Google Reviews on your website, they will feel more motivated to make a direct purchase without leaving your website.
RESPONDS TO REVIEWS
Google gives businesses the ability to respond to the customer reviews left for them on the Google Reviews platform. Make sure you take the time to respond to as many customer reviews as possible, especially the negative reviews.
Never act angry or combative when responding to a negative review. Remain respectful and professional while attempting to understand the customer’s problem with your product or service. After gaining an understanding of their issue, make suggestions on how you can fix the problem.
The objective is to turn a negative review into a positive review by helping the customer resolve their problem or issue with your business. The more positive reviews you can receive for your business, the more trust you can build with future potential customers.
CONCLUSION
Continuously monitor your customer reviews on Google Reviews to ensure you are receiving positive reviews and responding to negative reviews. Meanwhile, monitor the number of impressions and clicks for your Google Business profile to see if they are increasing or decreasing. As you receive more customer reviews, you should see more impressions and clicks rather than fewer ones.
Overall, building a positive reputation on Google Reviews will build more trust in your business and drive more organic traffic to your business listing and website. The result is more profits and loyal customers for your company.