6 Tips and Tricks for Optimizing Your Online Reviews Results

Receiving online business reviews can seriously be a game changer for your business.

A study in 2016 by Harvard Business School showed that businesses who were able to increase their online reviews by just 1-star could possibly increase their revenue by 5% to 9%.

Think about that.

If your business is generating roughly $1 million in revenue year over year, increasing your reviews from a 3-star to a 4-star could bring in an extra $90,000… without needing to spend extra money on Google ads, SEO, or other digital marketing strategies.?

This is not to say those strategies don’t work. They have their place. But, at Anchor Wave, we believe that having a 5-star review program should be part of your 4-Step Marketing Framework.

So, our team decided to put together this simple “tips and tricks” worksheet for your business to follow.

Use it. Follow it. And… if you found value in it… leave us a 5-star review ;-)

Seize The Opportunity for Responses

Taking the time to respond to reviews is a critical piece of leveraging your online reviews -- whether they are positive or negative.

It’s best if your team has a game plan for responding to any online reviews from sites such as Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc.

1. Make sure your team all have admin access to your different review sites. This allows for the “admin” to respond to all business reviews.
2. When your business gets a review it’s always best to respond back within 24 to 48 hours of the review. This shows how engaged your brand is with your community.
3. If you receive positive reviews, try to acknowledge the reviewer by their first name to make it personal and use some ‘keywords’ your business wants to be known for.
4. Unfortunately negative reviews will happen, however, responding in a professional manner is key. In addition, if you can resolve the problem, that will show how much your company values solving problems.
5. Take screenshots of all your positive reviews and save them in a “swipe file” for your team to use them for future marketing or sales opportunities.

Run A Contest

Running an internal contest with your team is a great way to inspire your staff to reach out to clients and contacts with energy and great results in a short period of time.?

Here’s how to do it:

• Pick a prize and a time limit.? 2-3 weeks is our recommendation, it’s long enough but not so long such that people forget and lose steam.
• Give everyone a script they can follow and use in emails, social media, phone calls, or in person conversations. At the very least, a guideline of what to say and how to ask.
• Provide a link to where you want happy customers to share their positive experience. If you’re looking for more Google Reviews, simply give them the link to your Google Reviews page. Same with Facebook, Yelp and other review sites.
• Your results stack up and automatically benefit your organization. All that’s left is to tally the winner and celebrate!?

Change It Up

If you have seen great results with the top listed review sites like Google and Facebook, switch for a short time to promote a different review site. Diversity in review sites provides you with further reach to various audience groups.

Think Outside the Client List

• Strategic Alliance - If you know some businesses that serve the same clientele base but offer a different service, this is a great time to help each other out by providing reviews for each other's business.
• Vendors and Business Partners - If you have vendors or business partners that your team continuously works with, ask if they would be willing to leave a positive review for your business. And, do the same for them. It’s a win-win situation.

Link Up!

Try to leave links or buttons on your website, emails and invoices that lead to your preferred review site for customers and prospects to easily leave a positive review on your business. You can also create an insert in your information packet or as an event handout.

Turn It Around

If a review returns a less than raving tone, or a client states that they haven’t been to your business in quite some time, take the opportunity to let them know what is new, or what has changed. Offer a coupon for giving it a second try. This not only gives you the chance to make another impression, you are communicating an integrity-rich approach to anyone who reads your response.

We hope you found these tips and tricks for optimizing your online reviews amazing. If you did, leaving us a review would be super awesome too.