When it comes to marketing your business, it can be challenging to figure out the right ways to get people talking about you. After all, if they’re not talking about you then who will? So how do you get people talking?
You could always ask the Google search bar or maybe even ask a friend but what if you could ask everyone that comes across your business instead? Sounds like a great idea and now there are more ways than ever to get people talking about you.
That said, many businesses struggle with how best to market their business. In this article, we’ll cover some of the top reasons why you should start incorporating online reviews into your marketing strategy today and explore some of the different types of online reviews that will help you promote your business.
Quick Online Reviews Background
Online reviews are incredibly popular right now. In fact, according to a recent study, 97% of consumers have read, or are reading, online reviews. While the study did note a significant drop-off between the ages of 18-34, nearly all consumers are interested in reading reviews.
More and more consumers are also turning to online reviews to make purchase decisions. Approximately 79% of American adults use online reviews to help them decide whether or not to make a purchase. Over half of the consumers will even ignore advertisements if a product has many positive online reviews.
Beyond being useful for deciding if a product is right for you, online reviews are also great for boosting brand recognition. And leveraging those reviews to promote your business can be a great way to do this.
Benefits of Online Reviews
Build Customer Trust and Confidence
Fast-forward a few years and you might find that your business has gained quite the reputation. But, how did this happen? It could be that you acquired enough customers who tell their friends and colleagues about their experience with your business. Or, it might be that your employees are leaving positive reviews about their experience working for your company.
Regardless of the reason, the more online reviews you have the better. With more online reviews, you’ll have a better chance of building trust and confidence with your customers.
That said, you should also keep in mind that these reviews don’t necessarily have to be positive. A few negative reviews might help create further trust and confidence among your customers.
Increase Sales and Boost Revenue
The best online reviews can help increase sales and boost revenue, especially when done right. For example, if you provide a service, like cleaning or lawn care, then you can ask your current customers to leave you a review on sites like Yelp.
You can do the same on Google, Facebook, Angie’s List, and other review sites. When you ask your customers to leave reviews on sites like these, you’re also allowing them to shop for you. That means that they have a higher chance of making a purchase.
Why? Because now, they have firsthand experience with the quality of your service and know that you’re offering a high-quality product or service.
Grow Brand Awareness
A great online review can help build brand awareness and drive traffic to your site. That’s because these reviews are especially helpful if they include your company name and logo.
With a little work, you can even make the review look like it was written by your customers. This will help to associate your business with positive feelings, like trust and confidence.
That means that a greater number of potential customers will be exposed to your business. As a result, you might see a spike in sales and a boost in revenue as well.
Build a Local Presence
As you begin to build a library of reviews, you can also consider using them to build a local presence and strengthen your ties to your community. That’s because a few key online reviews can help you become more well-known in your local area.
That means that you’ll have a higher chance of being discovered by a potential customer. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to find work in your community because online reviews can prove that you’re a person, not just a business.
Stay Updated
With more and more of your time spent online, you’ve got to stay aware of the latest current events. That said, online reviews can help you stay up-to-date and provide valuable, timely content. That’s because you can ask your customers for reviews on sites like Yelp, Google, and Angie’s List. You can also use Hubspot’s content marketing tool to ask your customers to provide reviews on your blog. With content marketing and reviews in place, you can increase your chances of staying informed and providing valuable, timely content.
Help Drive Employee Engagement and Cultivate Company Culture
You can help drive employee engagement and cultivate a company culture with more online reviews. That’s because these reviews can help build positive feelings among your employees.
That means that they’ll be more willing to share their thoughts on the company overall and are more likely to offer their services to your company. That can help boost productivity and increase sales, among other benefits.
Types of Online Reviews
There are several types of online reviews. Business reviews are the most valuable type of review in terms of driving sales because they are from actual customers. There are also types of online reviews, such as product reviews, service reviews, and more. Each type of review has its purpose and can be used to different effects depending on the business.
To harness the full power of online reviews, you need to understand which type of reviews will work best for your business. Here’s a more detailed guide:
First-Party Reviews
First-party reviews are when customers review their own experiences with a product or service. These types of reviews are helpful because they are usually from the same person that you are trying to get to review your business. This can make it easier to get the person to review your business since they know the experience personally.
Third-party Reviews
Third-party reviews are when a friend or someone else reviews a business that isn’t the same person as the customer. These reviews can be helpful because the person you’re looking to get to review your business isn’t the person that is writing the review.
Additionally, if the person reviewing your business doesn’t have a lot of experience with businesses, then they might have a better idea of what to look for in a business. Third-party reviews are typically considered a more “authoritative” type of review.
This means that third-party reviews are typically more trusted than other types of reviews.
Business Reviews
Business reviews are the most valuable type of review in terms of driving sales because they are from actual customers. These reviews are helpful because they are coming from people that have bought a product or used a service.
Additionally, business reviews are usually positive and helpful in pointing out any flaws in the product or service. Business reviews can be a great type of marketing because they are from real people that have experience with the product or service.
These are people that are most likely to share their experiences with their friends and family.
Product Reviews
Product reviews are when current customers give their opinions on the quality of a product or service. These types of reviews are typically positive and helpful in pointing out any flaws in the product or service.
You can also use these types of reviews to offer suggestions for improvements to the product or service. Product reviews are typically considered a more “authoritative” type of review. This means that product reviews are typically more trusted than other types of reviews.
Service Reviews
Similar to product reviews, service reviews are when customers give their opinions on the quality of a specific service. These types of reviews are typically positive and helpful in pointing out any flaws in the service. Like product reviews, there are two ways to categorize service reviews. You can categorize them based on the type of service you provide or based on the company that provides the service.
Tip: Value All Types of Reviews
When you first start marketing your business, it’s easy to only focus on the type of reviews that are the most helpful. However, it’s important to remember that many types of reviews can all be used to help you promote your business.
As you continue to market your business and expand your efforts, it’s important to remember that you should still consider all types of online reviews. It’s important to remember that online reviews are essentially a conversation.
The type of conversation you want to have, however, will depend on your goals and marketing strategy.
Conclusion
Online reviews are a great way to get your name out there as a business. They provide a great opportunity to highlight your product and service and give potential customers a chance to explain why they like the company.
Through online reviews, you can help build a positive reputation for your brand and attract new customers through word-of-mouth marketing. When it comes to online reviews, it’s important to choose the right strategy.
Many types of online reviews can help you boost your business. This article covers the top types of online reviews, including customer reviews on Yelp and Google, employee reviews on Glassdoor, and blog reviews on Hubspot.
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