Local Business Reviews: Why Theyโre Important & How to Get Them
Have you ever gone ahead with a cleaning service, for example, or bought a microwave online because your friend did and was satisfied with it? Surely you have. Word of mouth has been a reliable marketing tool. However, as the world has advanced towards a digital world, businesses have had to alter their marketing strategies. People nowย google local business reviewsย and trust what they see.
Why are Local business reviews critical?
Local business reviewsย are crucial for any business to thrive for many reasons. Even as a consumer, you look out forย customer reviews of local businessesย before choosing any service or product. And obviously, you pick the ones with better reviews as they assure you that you would not waste money over something unworthy.
More and more people now rely on online reviews. Whenever someone is looking for a service, they turn to google for the information. According to a recent study by โBright Local,โ 90% of consumers judge a brand based on just the first ten reviews they see. Hence, it is critical to get more positive reviews than negative for any business to make a mark. Eighty-four percent of people trust online reviews as much as they trusted personal references. Moreover, good reviews impact 74% of consumers.
Furthermore, online reviews are a credible way for people to distinguish real businesses from frauds. The more reviews they see, especially the positive ones, the more they trust a brand. With all your marketing strategies, people will believe what other people say than what they can gather from the advertisements you make.
How to get local business reviews?
To maintain credibility, cultivating authentic reviews is essential. And this is more important for local businesses as they have limited target customers. But donโt worry, there are ways you can generate positive reviews, and they are not so complicated. Just follow these simple steps, or you may seek help from anyย local SEO serviceย company.
- Ask for reviews: An unsatisfied customer is more likely to leave a review than the one pleased with you. Additionally, out of 10, seven customers will give you a positive review if you ask for it. It may help if you create a template that you can send to all your customers, especially those who return multiple times. In your mail, you may also suggest to them how to write a google review for a local business. There are high chances that you would end up with a positive note in your bag of reviews.
- Respond to negative reviews: It could be good practice to respond whenever you receive a negative review promptly. Several times it has been seen that a resolution of a matter, or only an acceptance, leads to a positive response from the customer. This helps in building your online reputation.
- Consider giving incentives: If you see customers giving a positive response, you may provide them with some incentives in the form of discounts.
To get successfulย local lead generation, the importanceย of customer reviews for local businessesย canโt be emphasized enough. So, if you are not paying attention to this marketing strategy yet, you must get at it as soon as possible. You will surely see how it impacts your business positively.