In today’s world, almost no one makes a purchasing decision without first consulting the internet. Consider this: when you need an answer to a question, what do you usually do? Or if there’s something you’d like to know about a fact? Isn’t it something you looked up on Google?
So, what do you suppose your potential customers do when they’re thinking about trying out a new product or business? They’re also going to look it up on the internet. They’ll also want to check at review platforms to learn about other people’s experiences.
Did you know that 90% of customers read internet reviews before going to a store or making a purchase? Reviews may help your business not only build its reputation but also support its marketing efforts, impact its campaigns, and contribute significantly to its total success.
What is the definition of a review platform?
Customers can give feedback about items or services on review platforms for others to read.
The more people you attract, the more word will spread about how great your corporation is, so you want these reviews to be as honest and pleasant as possible. While the reviews themselves are the draw for new consumers, presenting them in the most appropriate location is a critical step in the correct path for your company. As a result, it’s a good idea to include reviews on your website and social media profiles.
How do you gather feedback from customers?
Simply asking for customer reviews is the greatest approach to encourage them. Customers are frequently willing to provide feedback on their experiences with your products or services, particularly if those experiences were favorable.
There are a few approaches you could take:
- Post signs, stickers, or badges for online review sites in your business or on your website. This not only encourages consumers to provide reviews, but it also encourages people to read them, perhaps bringing in new customers. Furthermore, badges immediately build trust in the customer.
- On the back of your menu, receipt, invoice, or coupon code, include a CTA (call-to-action) requesting the customer to leave a review.
- Create an email campaign that is triggered when a customer purchases something from your store or utilizes your services. This way, only consumers who have had a positive experience with your brand will be asked to post a review.
- Alternatively, the simplest method is to ask the buyer verbally. After you’ve made a sale, served a delicious meal, or provided exceptional service, ask your customers what they thought and if they’d be prepared to submit a review. You don’t get it unless you ask!
Customer reviews have a lot of advantages.
What is it about customer reviews that make them so powerful?
A better search engine ranking
To begin with, reviews assist your business in ranking better on search engines such as Google or Bing. The more customers trust you, the more Google trusts you, and you’ll attract even more customers as a result. According to a Moz study, reviews account for about 15% of a website’s ranking factor. This can make a big difference for small firms.
A higher rate of click-through
Not only will you rank better in the search results, but if you have positive reviews and add star ratings to your website, Google will display them on the results page. Which option would you select? Isn’t it the one with the most stars? These stars are known as Google Seller Ratings, and they can have a considerable impact on your click-through rate (click-through rate).
Assist with the purchase choice
Even more crucially, reviews are advantageous because they affect your customers’ decisions. Reviews foster trust and confidence in your company, and a few positive reviews could be the deciding factor in whether a customer stays with you or goes elsewhere.
The most widely used review sites
Let’s examine some of the sure-fire ways to get started before we get into the nitty-gritty of which online review sites match a given specialty best.
Ratings and Reviews on Facebook
Facebook may be used as a review site in addition to being a place to meet up with friends and laugh at cat videos. It is the world’s largest social network, with over 2.7 billion monthly visitors, and one of the top ten most popular websites for worldwide online engagement. Right away, Facebook reviews will give you a significant advantage.
Having a Facebook page for your company also provides you with the most possibilities of any of the online review sites mentioned in this article. Customers can not only leave evaluations and read others’ reviews, but they can also like and remark on other people’s comments as well as ask questions.
Yelp
Yelp is obviously old school, but millions of people still use it. It began by focusing on restaurants and quickly established a solid reputation before expanding into practically every other business. If you’re on Yelp, be sure to claim your business profile as soon as possible so you can stay on top of what’s being said about your company.
Like many other review platforms, you can’t change reviews on Yelp, but you can respond to them, so try to be polite and helpful. Furthermore, Yelp assists small companies in learning how to manage customer evaluations and host social events for Yelpers (a.k.a. Yelp reviewers).
Angie’s List
Angie’s List, which began as a review platform for small businesses, has evolved into a high-end, reputable web. It’s a paid platform, but that’s all the better because you won’t get the typical garbage that comes with free sites. Instead, reviews are much more thoughtful and valuable as a result.
The reviews are sorted into categories and then rated from A to F. They also can’t be anonymous, which aids in the prevention of spam and phony responses. Angie’s List also functions as a mediator between parties in a dispute, which means they can wind up siding with you over a shady customer. Setting up a page for your business is free, but two paid plans have extra features.
GlassDoor
Unless you’re a one-man band, your employees will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to growing your firm. As your company expands, so will your workforce. GlassDoor, a workplace review platform, comes in handy here.
With over 540,000 company reviews, you can expect that many potential employees will want to read about other people’s experiences before accepting a job offer or even applying for one.
Employees are able to rate a company on everything from hiring to day-to-day operations. GlassDoor has the potential to dramatically improve your employer brand if you receive a large number of positive reviews from satisfied employees. This can assist you in identifying the top individuals for future employment opportunities as well as gathering feedback on areas where your company may improve.
Conclusion
There you have it: a great, thorough list of the best review platforms, divided into categories, ready for you to select and choose your favorites! But what happens after that? Then you can figure out how to put the positive comments you’ve received on these sites to good use. I have written several other articles about review sites and how to manage your online reputation. Use them to help increase your business.