They say that the proof is in the pudding and if this is the case, online reviews for your website are an absolute must.
To give people the power to comment on your business can be scary but tell that to Trip Advisor. Who books a holiday without checking it first? In fact, as many as 92% of people read reviews before making a purchase online so the power of a good review cannot be underestimated.
Not only are you letting potential clients know how great you are, it helps with search engine optimisation (regardless of whether the review is good or bad). Whilst, we are talking about negative reviews, they do happen. One bad review is not going to break your business but of course you should never allow them to build up. The best thing you can do with a negative review is respond to it. Give context to the reader so they can understand your side of the story, transparency and honestly is always the best solution here.
If you are a small business here are 3 places you should have reviews:
Your business Facebook page gives people the option to leave reviews for your business. It goes without saying that when people visit your Facebook page if there are some favourable reviews of your business it is going to help to convert those potential clients into actual customers.
Having several reviews on your Google My Business page is a no brainer. When people find you on Google if they can automatically see positive results about your business how much impact do you think that makes? Lots!
If you don’t have a Google My Business page, then you need to get one open and you need to do it now. If you do have one, get more reviews added. It’s simple and it’s free to do. When your potential customer finds you on Google and sees you you have more positive 5 star reviews than any of your competitors that can make a huge difference - you know what to do!
Every website should contain client testimonials or case studies. If people are on your website, they are there for a reason and the chances are they have an interest in your product or service.
Convince them to buy through the power of reviews. Add some powerful testimonials from previous customers and make them easy to see. Don’t hide them on an inside page or in your footer, make them clear on the home page so they cannot be avoided. Also, why not really give your competitors something to worry about and add some video testimonials too. There is nothing more powerful than high quality videos of your happy customers saying how great you are.
You can also have links to your Google and Facebook reviews direct from your website. There are simply but effective plugins that will do this and it really can help you win that all important business.
If you are not making the most of client reviews, then start today. Send a polite email to some of your recent customers and ask them to leave a review for you. Include a link to your Facebook and Google My Business page and ask them if you can also include them on your website.
An email that takes you a few minutes to type out and send can have a real positive impact on your marketing. Don’t delay and get those reviews in…. you can thank me later.
If you need help with your website then our team would love to chat with you - get in touch here. We work with clients across the UK to create and design websites that achieve remarkable results.
