You are good at what you do, and you know it. Does the world? It comes down to sorting out just how the world perceives you. A lot of that is going to be through word of mouth and also online reviews, though many don’t know just how one impacts the other!
What do online reviews do for your business?
Reviews are just comments from previous customers that help let other potential customers know what to expect, right? That’s correct, but there is a lot more than that going on when it comes to your business. Some of the most important ones are below!
Interested customers check out reviews first (and trust them)
The first stop for most interested customers or clients is on a review or testimonial page on your website or industry listing. This could be found through search engines, or they could head directly to your website or social media pages. Customers are always going to check out reviews when they are looking for products or services. They will trust what they read, for the most part, so it will help them see that you are as worthwhile as you know that you are.
Reviews, especially good ones, can earn you sales and trust
When there are positive reviews for people to see, it helps customers see that you are someone that they can trust. It can even boost your sales since positive ratings and reviews let people know that you are the real deal. It’s added value and confirmation that they want to do business with you.
Reviews help boost your search engine optimization (SEO)
Determining how you show up in search rankings, SEO is going to be crucial to prioritize. What a lot of people don’t realize, though, is that having reviews, hopefully good ones, will actually boost your rankings on search engines! After all, search engines want to show their users useful results, and having reviews on Google or more pages that show positive results help show added value and customer engagement, which is important to search engines.
Negative reviews count against you
If you have negative reviews on your profile, though, you’ll find that it can drive customers away. Even if those reviews are just representing all of the positive experiences that you’ve had, they’re still representing you. This means that your customer is going to use those to judge you and your services. If you have a handful of negative reviews, then it will most likely lose you potential clients and sales.
If you’re panicking, take a breath. Every business out there is going to have at least a few negative reviews. We all understand that ex employees may leave these or even customers who you just never can please. Of course, not all reviews are because of the customer, but maybe one of your employees wasn’t up to par or maybe there was an issue with your product or service. It happens! Plus, it’s actually a sign that you’re a legitimate business rather than a front. Negative reviews will not end your business. But, managing them and working to help improve your reputation in spite of them is going to be important for your professional image.
Which is why it is important to make sure you respond to your reviews, especially the negative ones to try to smooth things over and/or state the facts, without feelings. Additionally, you should always work on getting reviews so when that one bad one comes around, there are so many great ones that it essentially buries that bad one.
Want some help with your reviews? Hire a coach
If you aren’t entirely sure how your reviews look, or you think you need some help boosting your ratings, then hire a business coach to come in and give you a helping hand that you deserve. A business coach can provide thorough guidance and understanding of your business, the review profile and how to improve it authentically. It’s all possible with a business coach to give you some dedicated support and outside eyes looking in approach.
It turns out that online reviews did more than you thought, right? Pretty neat when you think about it! Let TeamRXC help you manage your business and reviews with a fresh set of eyes and perspective you might not have thought about. We offer various types of services from individual and group coaching services to executive coaching, education training and more. Contact Team Stetzel today at (281) 217-4951.
