Google Review Best Practices for Small Businesses
Whether you are a small business or an established enterprise, Google reviews are vital. They serve as a decision-making tool for your prospects, as it helps them know about the quality of the product or service offered by you.
Before buying something, customers nowadays search for the top recommendations online. To lead the results on search engines, a business needs good Google reviews. You can buy Google reviews from a reputed service provider, but putting some effort to collect them too, will add to the benefits.
If you want to understand how Google reviews work, keep reading. We share the best practices of collecting and managing Google reviews to make the most of it for your business.
The Significance Of Google Reviews
Google reviews are the key to ranking high for local searches. High ranking on the search engine makes it easy for your prospects to find you and know what others talk about your brand. When they see others have had a positive experience, your potential customers start developing trust.
Positive Google reviews tip the scales for your business and encourage the audience to choose your business over others. A few other benefits of collecting Google reviews include;
- Reaching new leads and converting them into paying customers.
- Building a company’s reputation and helping people understand that your business is doing the right thing.
- Good star ratings on your business profile help you stand out from the competition.
Having said that, authentic reviews on your Google profile matter for your business. The question is, how would you get people to post reviews for you? We have a solution for that, too. Below listed are some tried and tested ideas to collect Google reviews.
Practical Ways Of Asking For More Reviews
Get more reviews for your business online so that your prospects know the experience of your past customers. In addition, Google reviews help people make informed choices.
- Tip 1: Ask Through Text Or Email
The time when you ask your customers to post a review is the key. Do not hurry when asking for a review, or don’t be too late, either. Sending emails to your customers is a subtle way of asking them to post a review. If you are a service-based business, you can ask your customers for a review, either during or after the completion of a project.
Alternatively, for a product based business, ask your customers to post a review after the delivery of the product. Send them a warm message through email, thanking them for their relationship with your business, and include a link to your Google profile. By clicking on the link, they will land on the page where they can post a review.
- Tip 2: Ask Through Posters Or Cards
The tip of asking for reviews through cards or posters works great for businesses with a physical location. Generate a QR with your Google profile link, and print the same on a card or poster. By scanning this QR, your customers will directly land on the page where the review is to be posted.
You can also get the QR printed on a stack or on the shopping bag in which you give products to your customers. For your shop, get stickers printed with the QR code and put them throughout the location so that posting reviews becomes easy for your customers.
- Tip 3: Through Automation Service Or Tool
The use of automation services to collect customer reviews will save a lot of time. Software is available online that helps collect and manage Google reviews, thereby reducing redundant tasks. The tool will shoot emails asking your customers to post a review and will also manage them based on the review received.
The emails encourage your customers to post a review and also have a link included in the mail body, where they can post their experience. After collecting a review, it also sends a patronage thanking them for taking the time out. If you receive a negative review, it is mapped to the customer service department so that they can take action.
- Tip 4: Offer Exceptional Customer Service
Satisfied customers will happily review your business, and they are also your biggest supporters. Prioritize the quality of customer service, as you will then not have to put much effort into asking your customers for reviews. Train your customer service team on efficient handling of requests, and solving queries at the earliest.
It will help them repair customer relationships wherever possible and it also helps avoid escalations to higher levels.
- Tip 5: Incentives For Dropping Google Reviews
Who doesn’t love gifts? To collect more and more reviews on your business profile, start offering incentives. That said, whenever a customer leaves your business a review, offer them some discount coupons or other promotions, valid on their next purchase.
Incentivizing the act of posting reviews has helped so many collect numerous reviews for their business. Make it clear that you will appreciate all reviews, be it positive or negative. Negative reviews are also critical, as they help your business improve.
Manage Google Reviews The Right Way.
Besides just collecting reviews, it is essential to manage them to make your customers feel that they are being heard.
- Analyze the feedback received to identify areas of improvement. It will help you learn what your customers love and what aspects you will have to work on.
- Respond to all reviews. Whether positive or negative, acknowledge all the reviews received so that your customers know that you value their efforts and comments.
- Express your gratitude to the customers who leave a review for your business. A simple note thanking them will help maintain positive relationships with your customers.
The Bottom Line: Grow Your Business With Google Reviews
Google reviews are underestimated by some, but you should know that they broadly empower the presence of your brand. It helps improve the visibility of your business, and create a brand image in front of your prospects.
Avail of the growth services from BuyReviewz. Get started today by boosting your online presence and driving more success to your business.
