Mellonaid

Are online reviews as important as your marketing firm is telling you? Before you second-guess their weight in worth, take a look at these startling statistics from research provided by Vendasta:

• 92% of consumers now read online reviews.
• 40% of consumers form an opinion by reading just one to three reviews.
• Star rating is the number one factor used by consumers to judge a business.
• 44% say a review must be written within one month to be relevant.
• 68% say positive reviews make them trust a local business more.
• Only 9% of consumers never search for a business online.
• 30% of consumers assume online reviews are fake if there are no negative reviews.
• 73% of consumers form an opinion from reading six online reviews.
• 80% trust reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

Okay, let’s digest this data and talk about how it applies to your company. With 92% of consumers reading online reviews, the overwhelming majority of customers are checking your online reputation before they commit to your services or products. In fact, a recent survey shows that 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and this percentage in today’s digital age only continues to rise. Further research by brightlocal shows that “the average consumer expects to see 34 reviews before being able to trust the accuracy of a star rating.”

Taking a close look at this evidence proves you can’t afford to not pay attention to online reviews. As social media expert Brian Solis said, “Welcome to a new era of marketing and service in which your brand is defined by those who experience it.”

So how do you respond to this data? Do you sit passively by and let people do their thing when it comes to your online reputation? How can you steer your loyal customers to participate in leaving you a review?

Eight Tips for Getting Stellar Online Reviews:

1. Understand that online reviews are important to your reputation. So be active about it. Don’t let that one dissatisfied customer with a bark, sink your ship. Did you know that: According to Cone Communications, 4 in 5 consumers will reverse a purchase decision after reading negative reviews. Online reviews count. So ask your fans to get involved in the conversation. Start with your loyal customers. Personally ask them and send them an email or a text with links. You’d be surprised at how willing many people will be to invest two minutes into a review for a company they love if you let them know how important it is to you.
2. Continue to be the best. Seek to be the leader in your industry by idea sharing with your team, scouting the competition, learning from mistakes and investing all your passion into your brand. The fact is, passion is contagious. And the ideal experience is in the details. Invest in the details. And people will notice. Give them a reason to write something spectacular. Earn it.
3. Ask for customer feedback. A practical way to do this is to simply ask for an evaluation of your brand. You can ask your clients/customers for their permission to send them an email in which they can provide written feedback. Let your clients be your teachers. How can you provide the best customer service experience and be the best in your industry if you don’t ask for consumers to give their feedback? Let them tell you how. Listen to them and learn from them.
4. Ask for honest reviews from loyal customers. Let’s face it, call it human nature, but people don’t tend to talk about the amazing time they had as much as they feel prompted to let everyone know about the time they had a horrible experience. So go ahead and ask your loyal customers to give an honest review. Ask them in person and send them an email where they can simply click and get to the review page. People are busy, so the easier you make it for them, the more likely they are to write a review.
5. Make giving reviews easy by providing hyperlinks. You can put hyperlinks to your review page on the bottom signature of emails and also place it on your social media sites. Again, the easier you make it and have it out there that you care, the more likely people will be to post their experiences.
6. Respond to reviews online. Reviews don’t have to be a monologue. Join the conversation. Thank people for positive reviews and acknowledge reviews that show a less than stellar experience. By recognizing the negative review and apologizing for any bad experiences, you are showing that you, as a company, care. If there are wrongs, try to make it right. And most of all, remember, mistakes are learning opportunities. Criticism, while difficult to digest, can be constructive if you look at it as a way to learn and grow.
7. Don’t let the negative reviews destroy your confidence. Research shows that in any given audience, 33% will be your lovers and fan group, 33% will be on the fence, and 33% will be haters. Of course you will work hard to raise the love level for your business. But in any given room, the adage that you can’t please everyone, no matter how hard you try, is true. So focus on what’s most important and don’t let the few bad reviews turn your world upside down. However, take an honest look at those less than shining reviews and ask yourself and your team if there is any truth in them, and explore how you can change that customer’s experience in the future.
8. Finally, focus on the most influential online review sites in your industry. With so many, it can be difficult for businesses to know which ones are most important. The top three to consider are Google, Yelp and Facebook, since they are the most popular. Be sure to also check out the niche sites in your specific industry.

So there you have it! Online reviews matter. In this digital age, they can be used as a powerful tool to expand your reputation. But like everything else in marketing, it requires tending to. So invite your fans to participate in the discussion and continue to strive for being the best, and your online reputation will show it.