A business’s reputation for its customers, prospects, and the community plays a significant role in its success. But when you are focused on day-to-day operations, you can miss what people say about your business, resulting in missed opportunities. There is a straightforward way to keep a pulse on your company’s reputation that allows you to address any potential issues and show your appreciation for your satisfied customers.
We are talking about Google Reviews. Google Reviews can provide insight into what it is like to work with you. People can leave helpful suggestions as to what you can do better. Your clients can also tell you what you do well. Each review is important.
Acquiring reviews
Getting people to leave a review can be tricky. Not everyone wants to take the time to write out their thoughts, but you can do a few things to make it easy. You can share a link from your Google My Business page in a few ways:
- Include it in a thank you email
- Implement a social media campaign with the link and request reviews
- Add a call to action to your website
Services available online, like Birdeye, can also help increase your business’s number of reviews.
Monitor and respond
Getting Google Reviews is only half the battle. You need to regularly monitor and respond to all positive and negative reviews to show that you care. Thanking people for leaving positive reviews is just as important as taking the time to respond to negative reviews. When responding to a negative review, acknowledge the reviewer’s concern and apologize for their negative experience. Provide them with options to make things right offline by including a contact name, phone number, and/or email. The goal is to show people looking through your reviews that you care about everyone’s individual experience and are committed to ensuring everyone has a positive experience.
Reputation management
Google Reviews are important for businesses as they can help you foster a positive reputation in your community. This reputation allows you to build trust and credibility with current clients and relationships with prospects and new clients.
Another way these reviews help your clients is by letting them know what services you offer. People will often comment on what you helped them accomplish in reviews. These insights can give potential clients a better understanding of what your company does and can do for them. It can also tell you what services are most utilized and what people seek your company for.
Garnering positive reviews also impacts search engine optimization (SEO). Positive reviews increase local search rankings. The higher your rankings, the more visible your business is in search results.
Businesses with more positive reviews also become serious contenders when someone is looking to invest money. People will be looking to you for contract work. Consumers will be searching through your products to buy something. There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to investing money, so use your Google reviews to assuage peoples’ nerves and show them they are well cared for by your company.
Google Reviews can shed light on how your business is doing, providing you with invaluable information that puts you in control of your reputation. Not only do reviews tell you what your company does well, but they can also tell where you need to grow. Your response to these reviews also matters and gives your clients a better impression of you. Whether negative or positive, Google Reviews can help your company learn and improve.