How to Outrank Your Competition and Stand Out as the Leader in Your Industry

Most small business owners ignore their ratings and reviews. That's as crazy as walking across a busy highway and hoping not to be made a hood ornament. The time to worry about your online reputation is before any negative stuff happens.

I get it. There is nothing worse than pouring your efforts into your business only to be publicly bad-mouthed by a disgruntled customer. However, the monetary loss of negative reviews is far greater than the cost of controlling them. Whether you are a law firm, medical practice, restaurant or another small business it’s hard to overstate the influence customer reviews have on others. 

95% of the population searches for local businesses online. Before making a buying decision, half consult at least two review sites. That is why online ratings and reviews can be the single most effective marketing channel for small businesses, especially local ones.  

A Harvard Business School Study demonstrated that restaurants with an extra half-star rating on Yelp causes them to sell out, as much as 49% more frequently, at peak hours!

Trust is a Key Factor

84% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Customers trust each others’ opinions even more than expert opinions or any other form of advertising. Everyone turns to customer reviews to help them with their purchasing decisions from purchasing products and services to choosing a restaurant or salon. For companies, online opinion-sharing is more than just about influence, it creates visibility for their business as well. 

Fake Reviews Can Destroy trust

Writing fake reviews may seem like an easy fix, but misleading your customers erodes trust. For a short term gain, your company's brand and reputation could permanently suffer. People are already dubious of online reviews that seem fake. So if your reviews look "too good to be true," people will choose your competition instead of you. You also run the risk of being penalized by Google in local search engine results if they detect you're padding your reviews. 

Why don't customers write reviews?

Customers aren't intrinsically motivated to write reviews. For customers, it’s not about doing the business a favor or about reciprocity, it’s about helping other people. People want to help other people by sharing their opinion. According to my research, I have found that about 10% of clients will leave reviews, if asked. Here are the 3 typical excuses for not leaving reviews: 

1. I didn't have time
2. I forgot 
3. I don't know how

Get More Reviews For Your Business and Stand Out

In the age of the Internet, good customer service is the “new” marketing. You should be handsomely rewarded for providing good customer service to your customers. In return, your customers will leave you 5-Star reviews... if you ask for them.

1. Thank your clients and ask for feedback

Don't just sit around after a good customer interaction, ask your customers for honest feedback. Say something like, “Thanks for choosing us. Please take a moment to review your experience with us. Your feedback not only helps us, it helps other potential customers.”

2. Guide your customers through the review process

Explain how to create an account in order to leave a review on the sites that matter most.

3. Send gentle reminders

Periodically remind clients to leave reviews so they can do it when it is convenient for them.

4. Monitor and respond to reviews

Respond to every review in a positive manner.

Don’ Be Defensive

One of the biggest mistakes that businesses make is not creating a proper customer feedback loop. When they receive negative feedback online, they tend to try to either cover it up or not look deeply enough into the issue. Critical comments on review sites and social media offer valuable insights on how your business can improve as well as bolstering your online brand reputation with a measure of authenticity and transparency. Making yourself accessible to the public in a friendly and transparent manner goes a long way.

I’m Bobby Lipton, I help companies manage their online reputation. We have a service that puts reviews on auto-pilot and all but eliminates negative reviews. Reach out to me when you're ready to start managing your online reputation.

Proactively managing your online reputation is the on-ramp to any good marketing plan.