Did you know:
85% of consumers say they read online reviews for local businesses
65% are more likely to use a business which has positive online review
79% say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
Data taken from BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey 2013.
Picture the scene – you require a website designer, so you go to Google, where over 90% of online searches are done and search for “web design in Epsom”. The search results then appear like the screen grab below.
As you can see the listing for Indigo Marmoset stands out over and above the other Local results and also arguably more the the paid listings in the yellow box and the right column. There are two reasons for this: The listing has a photo of Murray (when he was young and handsome) next to it and also we have more than five reviews that gives us the five gold star rating. If “8 Google reviews” is clicked then you can read reviews that happy customers have left on our Google page, which is a totally separate entity from our website.
I think it is clear that our five star reputation gives our listing a very high chance of being clicked over the competition.
Problem: How to get good reviews?
Taking the time to search for a review site online, find the listing for your particular business and leave a review is more likely to be done by an unhappy customer rather than a happy one. In the absence of any positive reviews, it only takes a couple of negative reviews to ruin your reputation online and spoil your chances of attracting new customers.
Luckily there is now a good solution!
We have found a new review system that not only takes the hassle out of requesting your customers review you (and makes it easy for them to do so) but also alerts you to customers who have had a negative experience so you can try and rectify the situation before they leave you a bad review online.
Using the system, people can leave reviews on your website (once they have been vetted by you) and if they leave a positive review it gives them the option to also review you via a link to your business profile on a third party site such as Google, Yelp, Facebook etc so you can build reviews not only on Google but also on a diverse range of online sources.
Another powerful benefit of this system is it is particularly useful if you have a list of customer email addresses. This can be added to the system as a CSV file and then the system will automatically email these customers with a request for them to leave a review, followed up by a reminder email if they don’t do it. You can login to your account online to see who has been sent review requests and who has responded and then select whether you want the review on your website or not. The system staggers the email review requests so you don’t have lots of people leaving reviews all at once. This is important because if lots of people leave reviews all at once Google and other review sites may interpret this as an attempt to game the system by purchasing fake reviews. Purchasing fake reviews is a big non-no as not only is it dishonest it can damage your business if discovered.
We have always stressed the importance of getting good reviews online and this system is the best way we have found of doing it. We will setup the system for you for only £80 if you host your site with us. If you do not host with us ask us for a quote. There is an on-going monthly running fee of $29.95 paid directly to the system provider. If building a five star reputation and positioning yourself as the market leader only gets you 1 new customer a month, this system should more than pay for itself. Most businesses are not doing this so there is a great opportunity to stand out in a really positive way!
Alternatively for just £140 we can provide x50 printed handouts personalised to your business that explain to your customers how they can leave you a review on Google.
Email hello@indigomarmoset.co.uk if you want to build a five star reputation with online reviews and position yourself as the market leader!