Answer this question for us…
How important is your personal reputation?
Probably pretty important.
Many people would rather throw themselves into a volcano than have their reputation tarnished.
Okay, not literally, but you get our point.
Everyone wants their reputation to be positive, accurate, and be associated with their hard work.
It works the exact same way for your business and its online reputation.
So how do you spread the word about your company’s reputation online?
One word…reviews.
Without online reviews, your hard-earned reputation is not being seen by potential customers.
And with most consumers researching and shopping online, you could potentially be missing out on a whole lot of business.
Do you want to miss out on new customers?
No!
So how do you get more online reviews and make sure potential customers see those reviews?
This time it’s two words…
Reputation Management.
Sit back and relax because we are about to school you on why you should care about online review management.
Oh and we are also going to show you some pretty convincing stats from one of our very own clients.
Don’t Just Take Our Word For It
Did you know…
82% of consumers read local business reviews as part of their online searching
Mind blown, right!?
Well it sure blew the mind of our client Braden Insurance Agency Inc..
Spoiler Alert!
This client saw a 7x increase in reviews…in just 7 months!
Braden Insurance Agency provides auto, homeowners, health, and life insurance to folks in and around Louisville, KY and has been for over 50 years.
It’s safe to say that the world of marketing (and everything else) has changed a great deal in 50 years.
Faced with change, they adapted pretty well to most things.
One area they needed some extra help in was the digital side of marketing.
Once they partnered with our online marketing company, we started from the ground up.
We built them a website, added some SEO, Local SEO, and then continued their project with Content Marketing.
One area that Braden still hadn’t worked on…getting online reviews.
Why was getting more reviews so hard for them?
- They struggled to get their employees to ask clients for reviews.
- When the employees did ask, the client wouldn’t follow through and actually leave the review.
- They just didn’t have the time to sit down and figure out a “getting more reviews” strategy.
Potential customers were passing them up because there was no first-hand account of their quality of work.
In the beginning, Braden Insurance Agency only had 3 online reviews and their Google star rating was an unappealing 3.7.
How did we help them remedy this problem…Reputation Management!
We showed them how to quickly and easily manage client contact information, ask for reviews, and then later respond to those reviews.
After just 7 months, Braden Insurance Agency saw an increase in online reviews by 7x and their average Google star rating shot to 4.8.
Wow, right!
You are probably thinking, “That’s great, but how does getting more online reviews actually help my business?”
Glad you asked!
What is Business Reputation Management?
Let’s start with a brief synopsis.
Reputation management is the effort to influence what and how people think of a company, brand, or person.
In simple terms, it means managing your online reputation by getting more reviews on Google and other industry-relevant sites.
And obviously you want as many of these reviews as possible to be positive.
If you have none or few reviews, but your competitor has 50, then you can bet that prospective customers are going to call your competitor over you (even if you are ranking higher on the search results page).
Our client Braden Insurance faced this very problem!
3 UNBELIEVABLE Benefits of Reputation Management
We helped Braden Insurance Agency increase their number of online reviews and Google star rating.
So what benefits did they gain from it?
The answer is 3-fold.
1. Reviews Build Credibility
We live in a digital age and consumers are doing more online research before purchasing a product or hiring a business to do a service.
And while they are searching, they are checking out online business reviews. On average, a consumer reads 10 reviews before feeling able to trust a business. They turn to review sites like Google, the Better Business Bureau, Facebook, HomeAdvisor, etc. to get a better understanding of the business.
So the more reviews you have, and ideally more positive reviews, the better your business will look in the eyes of those consumers. You will gain their trust and be seen as an authority leader in your industry.
2. Reviews Help You To Connect With Your Customers
When your customers leave online reviews, this gives you the chance to interact with them – be social.
By responding to reviews, you build trust among your customers and it gives you a chance to see any flaws and kinks in your business.
3. Reviews Can Help Your SEO
Review signals are becoming even more important to Local SEO rankings.
When you have many online reviews, especially positive ones, people are more likely to click on your listing in the search results. This tells Google that people trust your business and your website content.
So?
What do you think?
Pretty nice benefits.
You will get these same benefits if you invest in Reputation Management!
Now let’s dive into what you need to do to start managing the reputation of your business.
How to Use Reviews to Get More Leads in 4 Easy Steps
1. Reach Out & Get Reviews
It would be nice to assume all your customers will naturally leave reviews. That’s not always the case.
That’s why you need to engage with your customers with proactive requests, via in-person, text messages, and emails, to generate feedback and new online reviews.
Depending on your industry, there are certain review sites that are more important than others. You should focus on Google, but these would be secondary places to consider.
For example,
-
- Health Industry: HealthGrades
- Home Trades: HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, Houzz
- Restaurants: Yelp, Trip Advisor
2. Monitor, Listen, and Respond
Monitor all incoming reviews, both good and bad, and respond to each one. If someone leaves a positive review, thank them for their business and the review.
If someone leaves a negative review, let them know you are sorry they had a less than ideal experience and that you are open to talk to them to resolve any issues.
Responding to your reviews is pure gold.
In fact, among consumers that read reviews,
97% of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews
The more responsive you are, the better your reputation will be.
3. Market Your Customer’s Experience
You worked hard for these reviews, so show them off!
Showcase your reviews on your website and on your social profiles. Marketing reviews of current customers will help bring in new customers.
For example, you could post something like this to your Facebook page
4.Grow Your Business Through Customers
The work doesn’t stop there.
You will need to continually reach out and ask for reviews and feedback, which you can use to convert even more customers in the future.
Trust us, you follow these steps and you will be well on your way to a better reputation and attracting more leads.
But we understand that you may not have the time to manage all this.
So how does a “done for you” offer sound?
At One Thing Marketing, we have a fully automated Reputation Management Service that can do all of this for you.
Intrigued?
Schedule a FREE strategy session where we will chat with you and find out how to get you more online reviews and more leads!
Shoot For The Stars
If you haven’t realized it by now, we will reiterate it one last time…
Reputation Management and getting more online reviews is EXTREMELY beneficial to your business.
Just ask Braden Insurance Agency.
Since they started managing their reviews, they have seen a continual flow of reviews and this has helped bring in more leads.
We want this to be the case for every business, big and small.
If you want to build your credibility, be seen as an authority in your industry, and grow your business, then there is no time to waste!
Start investing in Reputation Management today!
You never know, this could be the “one thing” that takes your business to the next level.
