Aim For Regular Stream of Quality Reviews To Boost Your Brand
User reviews are the modern word-of-mouth. They can provide powerful social proof of your type of service and customer relations if managed and curated properly.
Customers are likely to give positive feedback when you consistently go above and beyond what's expected of you. When your clients do so in the form of reviews on Google and Yelp, you achieve a star rating that rises with every new comment from a satisfied customer. Your rating can even eventually land you on the first page of a local search, that is, depending on how many positive reviews you receive.
Why Reviews Are a Big Deal
You'll need all the favorable comments you can get from your clients and followers. Survey results show that 68% of consumers depend on positive reviews before transacting with a business. Moreover, at least 47% of them say that they would only consider using a company's products or services with four stars or more.
You may have read blogs stating that you need at least five reviews to show up in a Google search. This is no longer the case—businesses appear in Google My Business or Google Maps even if they haven't reached that minimum. Your star rating and reviews will show up even if you only have one or two reviews.
How Many Reviews Does My Business Need?
Consumers are likely to believe that your company's star rating is authentic if you have at least 40 reviews. During a typical Google search, consumers go through an average of 10 reviews before determining whether they could trust a brand or not.
Moreover, you also have to invest in generating, reading, and replying appropriately to reviews daily, as 48% of consumers equate your credibility and relevance to the number of reviews posted by other customers within the past two weeks. Three-month-old reviews are already deemed old. Therefore, your business needs 10 or more new reviews every three months.
Getting More Reviews: Quality Matters over Quantity
Although reviews only account for 15.44% of how Google ranks a local business, you can't take customer reviews lightly, as other players in your field compete for the same clients. Imagine how one comment from a disappointed customer might affect your company image if you have only a handful of reviews. But a dozen or so positive recently posted feedback can minimize the impact of that one bad review.
You'll have to know your star rating and look into the current volume and quality of your clients' reviews. The more negative comments you have, the more you'll have to work on review management and check on client relations. Find a system that will make it easy for customers to leave reviews and for you to respond to them, especially for potentially reputation-damaging feedback.
Reviews911 Can Help You Manage Your Reviews
Reviews911 can help you maximize your online presence by monitoring, prompting, and engaging effectively and efficiently with clients or visitors who post comments on online maps, review sites, and social media. Check out Reviews911 packages and get in touch now for more information about turning reviews into strategic marketing content that will get your business noticed.