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When a restaurant pops up in search with images of its dining area, popular dishes, special events, and discounts, customers are very likely to be more engaged. Reviews and star ratings might seem like a minor thing, but they aren’t. Take off your business hat for a second and think like a consumer — Don’t you automatically choose products and establishments with a higher rating? Don’t you think twice about retailers, service providers, and other local businesses that have a low star rating and/ or negative reviews?
Statistics support the notion that reviews have an impact on business: 75.5% of consumers put their trust in online reviews when making a purchase decision. Moreover, 45% of users won’t purchase a product if there aren’t any reviews.
In this blog, we discuss the importance of positive online reviews. We also suggest tips on how you can pursue positive Google Business Reviews strategically and successfully.
Positive Google reviews do so much more than deliver visibility to your offering, decor, location, or other brand element that you’re most proud of. They also contribute more to your business than the most obvious benefit of delivering social proof of why a prospect should choose your business from others on the Google Local Pack list. Here are 5 compelling reasons to invest time, effort, and resources in improving your Google review presence.
Everyone’s trying to get Google’s complex, frequently updated algorithm on their side. And while every update throws new wild cards into the game, some rules stay the same. Like this one: When someone searches for a multi location or local business on Google, the factors that impact the ranking of businesses that show up are proximity, relevance, and reviews.
In addition, the number and variety of reviews, significantly affect local search rankings. And, as one might expect, a high volume of positive reviews improves your ranking.
Reviews also contribute to building your Google Business Profile, that in turn contributes to better visibility and the other benefits on this list.
When a customer hasn’t used your brand or dined at your local establishment before, what cues should they go by? Should they use the norms from the ‘90s and go to the place that’s more crowded? Or the Gen Z norm of choosing the spot with the serpentine queue outside? If yes, how do new establishments, new branches of multi-location brands and local businesses that aren’t trending, ever carve a market for themselves? With online reviews, of course! By witnessing what other happy patrons and customers have to say about you, your prospect develops interest and trust in your name.
You might think you’re above Google Business Reviews if you’ve developed a name for your brand or local business. However, people unfamiliar with a particular location or outlet might still pit you against your competitors. By showing reviews for each location—which can be fairly easy with a platform like SingleInterface—you can cover all your bases, cement your brand promise, and draw the prospect into your local outlet.
Google reviews improve visibility and trust and also get you more clicks from Google Local Pack. Of course, the better your reviews, and the more 5-star ratings you have, the better your chances. Ultimately, by improving factors like visibility and trust in your business, reviews can impact positively.
Pro tip: If you can showcase both text and star ratings, you improve your chances.
Reviews can help customers understand your service style, offering, and other aspects that might contribute to you facing fewer negative reviews in the long run.
Let’s say there’s a customer who likes high-end, high-quality products and unobtrusive service. They find your local business on Google and read tons of positive customer feedback about your warm, intuitive service. When they visit your store or restaurant, they might understand that although it isn’t their favorite, this is your service style. They might even grow to appreciate it. Without that context, however, there was always a chance for them to mistake enthusiasm for pushiness.
Picture this: Customers find several local and multi-location businesses through a Google search. They’re all nearby, so what do they do next? They pick one with the maximum positive customer feedback. Especially if they haven’t experienced your brand or local business on a prior occasion.
With all the benefits we described in the previous section, why don’t all businesses have reviews and star ratings? Why would anyone forgo business wins that Google reviews and star ratings deliver?
Simple. Because it’s not what one might call effortless. It takes sustained effort, time investment, and an organized approach.
However, you can easily make progress if you make a habit of the following moves
Be organized and active when it comes to asking for Google reviews. Tap into email, SMS, and social media to encourage them to tell you what they think of your product or service.
Sometimes it helps to be upfront about the importance of reviews for your small or new local business or branch. You might try stating things like, “Doing this would not only help us maintain the best service levels but would help others find our business” or even “If you do this, it not only motivates the team (and keeps them on their toes!) but helps the algorithm show us to the right people”. Influencers on YouTube have been doing this fairly regularly in recent months while asking people to subscribe to their channel, so you probably won’t be surprising or offending anyone. Be clear you’re asking for honest feedback, and not a hand-out in the form of a review.
Not everyone has time to write a whole review, and many struggle to put their thoughts into words (it reminds some of essay writing back in school). That’s where star ratings help. Star-ratings also work for customers who want an overview of whether your brand or local business is trusted, before they get into the details of why you are trusted.
Would you ignore a friend paying you a compliment? Respond to every review and even to star ratings with grace and gratitude. A simple thank you for your kind words; you’ve motivated the team with your appreciation goes a long way! And keeps positive customer feedback coming.
Far less easy, but as crucial, is responding to negative comments. This is valuable feedback! At least this customer is taking time out to tell you what went wrong, rather than silently taking their business elsewhere. Make amends immediately. (And also ensure the information travels to wherever necessary so that an appropriate fix is made—if 5 reviews have the same criticism, you’re playing with fire!). For all you know, the customer will give you another chance and return with a more positive review.
By now, you’re very likely extremely keen to have Google reviews that can help cement your reputation and translate to improved customer sentiments and, even better: increased sales! That said, soliciting, managing, and responding to Google reviews might seem too much to add to your already overflowing to-do list. Fortunately, you can streamline this process and ensure that every location of your business shines online, with SingleInterface. Our platform makes it easy to manage reviews across multiple locations. Take charge of your online reputation today.
Digital Transformation Marketing Stack for Physical Retail Enterprises.
