Information travels incredibly quickly in 2020. In the past, you may have been able to provide subpar services without future potential customers knowing what you were doing; those days are gone. Now, any time a customer has an amazing experience or a poor one, they will write about it all over the internet, and your business will acquire positive reviews.
It is extremely important that you maintain a positive online presence; your reviews will absolutely make or break your business. There are different strategies to acquire positive reviews, but the most important thing you can do is provide excellent service to all of your customers.
Why Do Reviews Matter?
Understanding the importance of reviews can be done by looking at the biggest online retailer in the world: Amazon. If you’ve ever shopped at Amazon, you know that the first thing that catches your eye are the reviews. There are hundreds of people who sell the same products, so you will search for the ones with the best reviews.
Likewise, there are probably hundreds of companies that compete with you; consumers have instant access to many different options when looking for services and will compare them side by side before making purchases. If you have the highest reviews in the industry, you will get sales over your competitors.
Getting More Positive Reviews
The most important thing you can do to acquire positive reviews is to provide stellar services. People feel incentivized to leave a review when they have a great experience, or when someone in particular makes them feel good while getting the service. Still, there are certainly other things you should try when searching to acquire positive reviews.
One common business idea is to provide some sort of benefit to the consumer in exchange for a review. For example, many restaurants may give free drinks or appetizers in exchange for positive reviews. Find a way to do something equivalent in your industry while staying ethical; if you pay for reviews, people will see through the fake reviews and your business will not be seen in a positive light.
Addressing Negative Reviews
Negative reviews don’t have to have a huge impact on your business. The most important thing is that you answer the negative reviews. You need to make sure everyone knows your side of the story, but you also need to respect the fact that the review didn’t have a great experience with you. Answer to the reviewer publicly by apologizing for the experience they had.
Afterward, explain why you provided the service that you did and what went wrong on your side. Remember not to be condescending or arrogant; people reading reviews hate to see a company that always thinks they’re right.
Final Thoughts
Getting positive reviews is essential to getting customers in your industry. If you can have more positive reviews than your competitors, you will have much more success. Make sure you get your reviews from real customers; unethical practices will destroy credibility in your business.
