Do you use customer reviews as social proof of consumer satisfaction with your products or services? Social proof is a tremendous driver of consumer purchases, making “Review Marketing” a valuable part of many organizations’ sales strategies.
Review marketing is a relatively new term that is gaining traction amongst the digital marketing community. Like all marketing initiatives, review marketing management consists of employing a powerful strategy. The first step centers around taking action to grow reviews on your business pages. The second step is to utilize those reviews to develop brand awareness, build trust, and gain clients.
Facebook Reviews
Facebook reviews matter. Now more than ever, people are scouring Facebook to discover new products and services. Furthermore, those same consumers use Facebook search features to connect with popular or up-and-coming brands.
The quality and quantity of business reviews are impacting the buying decisions of those consumers. So how does your business encourage customers to submit a Facebook review so that you can gain more trust with your audience? Suggestions would be to:
- Ask industry partners or vendors to submit a review regarding your working relationship
- Include a Call to Action on social posts asking for client reviews
- After completion of a sale, follow up with clients to assess their level of satisfaction with your product or service. Ask for reviews from highly-satisfied clients.
- Include a review link in emails and on other marketing communications
PRO TIP: Encourage customers to “Check-in” to your business. A check-in on Facebook is considered an endorsement of your business. Note that even if you sell a service, people can still “Check-in” to your business while you’re doing work for them.
Google Reviews
The majority of people will leave a Google review for your business if you ask. Reviews create many opportunities from an SEO standpoint, as Google analytics cater to organizations with high-quality reviews. A Google review communicates to the search engine that your business is a trustworthy brand.
When it comes to local Google searches, reviews play a large part in your business rank compared to similar businesses in your area. Google trusts reviews and utilizes the content and keywords used to rate your business. Incidentally, Google views each review as a piece of content. Therefore, your customers are bolstering your organization’s SEO value on Google by leaving a review!
Furthermore, online reviews provide additional details about your products and services that may not be populated thoroughly on your website. An example of a content gap may be that your construction company takes care of all the permits and resident notices for paving projects. By covering that gap in keywords, the next time a consumer performs a local search for “permits,” Google may show your organization on the first page of those search results.
Use Reviews in Social Ads
Knowing the fine details regarding what your target audience does and does not want relating to your products and services is the key to converting with online ads. The best part about an online review is that consumers give you this exact information. Additionally, the language they use to describe your product or service can help you fine-tune future ads to relate better to that segment of people
Furthermore, reviews offer specific insight into what clients love about your product or service. For instance, possibly they speak to how quickly they received a quote or how clean your crews left their paving project. Using those specific comments in your ads will increase your business’s relevancy in the eyes of potential consumers.
PRO TIP: It is okay to publicize that your organization doesn’t have all 5-star reviews. Many consumers feel an abundance of exceedingly positive reviews may be overinflated and are less likely to trust them.
Include Reviews on Marketing Materials and Sales Pages
One of the most efficient ways to use a customer review is to repurpose those that address common concerns about your product or service. Strategically placing a review on your website that speaks to your organization’s history in the industry, proficiency with customer service, or how your team handled project delays or unexpected issues builds trust with the consumer. That trust is incredibly impactful when they are deep in the sales funnel and ready to make a purchase or submit a bid request.
Conclusion
Reviews are important. To gauge whether they want to do business with you, consumers critic everything from your business rating to the quantity and quality of reviews.
Managing each review is just as important as receiving the review. Providing an authentic response to reviews and utilizing them for marketing and sales efforts is critical to building brand awareness and trust with your following. Having a thorough understanding of how to manage all the intricacies of reviews can be time-consuming, however. Our team at Lead Revenue has years of experience working with businesses to implement review marketing practices as part of their digital marketing strategy. Let us help you turn reviews into leads! Contact us today: www.leadrevenue.com.
