Why Reviews and Your Online Reputation are Crucial in 2023

The impact of online reviews on your business’s reputation cannot be underestimated because good reviews go a long way and a bad reputation is hard to overcome.  Reviews are an integral part of growth for any company that wants to thrive in the post Covid internet era. We now know that Covid pushed internet literacy forward five years in a matter of months and every consumer now has a masters in internet language.

So, if you are a small business owner you have to be able to speak to that consumer on the internet and in person.  That means there are certain things a business owner needs to do in order to survive in this “Last of Us” internet landscape for businesses. What does that mean and what does that include?  It means you need to perform some of the basics of local SEO and understand the importance reviews play in your Google Business Profile aka, Google my business.

As demonstrated by platforms like Facebook or review sites like Google and Yelp, every review plays a crucial role in shaping people’s perception of your company. We are in a Star Rating Society and people trust online reviews and positive reviews help your business influence potential customers’ buying decisions making it essential to manage your online reputation and review management effectively.

To optimize your online presence for local search results on google and other search engines is to ensure you have a solid online reputation. A good strategy for your business is to think reviews are an easy to handle management guide to building good reputation management and review management strategies.

85% of potential customers read reviews before making a buying decision.

By appearing more positive than negative, online reviews can have a significantly negative impact on your business. It’s common sense to note that not only do customer reviews affect how well your business does, but also what kind of reviews you get. If there are no reviews, your new or potential customers or clients may assume that your product or service is poor and avoid doing business with you. On the other hand, if there a lot of good reviews from multiple review websites, they may decide your company may already be proven to be trustworthy and stop looking into other companies services.

This is when a reputation management service can make a big impact your business and your online reputation. If you are a small business and may not have the time to manage reviews, take a look at your most successful competitor and you will see a reputation management strategy in place.  You may just think they are bigger and can afford to hire someone to do that for them, when in reality you can do it too.  It is not hard or expensive.

It is common sense to know that negative reviews and comments from customers could affect business performance and result in a potential loss of revenue. Negative feedback on review sites allow businesses to respond and stay on top of their business review page to make sure it is an honest review and not a competitor or unhappy customer trying to tarnish your business name.

Therefore, it’s essential to not only increase your brand exposure but also to develop a successful online reputation management strategy. This helped many small businesses during and after COVID when business owners went to social sites like Instagram and more specifically, Tik Tok. Their online presence grew tremendously and many now understand how important your online presence is and how reviews and brand reputation management can make the difference between a thriving business and a struggling one, specifically a local business.  Online reviews provide valuable insights into how to improve your product or service and contribute to positive conversations online.

Having an online review strategy is basically like having a business reputation strategy in place to make sure your brand’s name has a positive outlook on the internet.  If you are not the type of business owner that is on social media everyday talking about your business or talking to your customers than you need to have a way of keeping a positive reputation online and the easiest way to do that is with reviews. Many review or reputation management companies offer some sort of widget or code that you can add to your site to include review section on your website.  By adding an html code to your site to show your top reviews and give your site visitors the chance to click a button that encourages reviews from customers. This is a huge confidence booster to your potential customer and one of the biggest benefits to showing your reviews on your site is the boost it has on search rankings.

Asking for feedback or encouraging customers to leave a review with as many details as possible is important in developing trust with your customers. By asking your clients what they like about your service or a customer satisfaction surveys on what you could do better, you show that you are aware of how their experience was and what you can improve on.

This gives them the chance to tell you whether or not you helped make them happy, which is valuable knowledge. Reviews are an integral part of any company that wants to thrive in the internet era. One good tip is when you request reviews it is always helpful when they use a specific keyword that relates to a in the response that gives google more context of the review and gives it more juice to show up for that specific keyword.

There are many different types of reviews, and it’s important to have both good and bad reviews for your business. Positive reviews tell you what people want from your product or service and help you determine if you need to make changes or not. They also give you insight into how well you are doing with your company and your career. Negative reviews, on the other hand, can sometimes be hard to accept but they are important when it comes to evaluating your business or service and deciding whether or not to make changes to procedure, policy or people.

Regardless, the information in invaluable to your business and should be taken with a professional mindset and not from a personal perspective where you feelings get hurt. Responding to all reviews is essential to show your customers that you care about their opinions and are committed to improving your services or products. Encouraging reviews from your customers can also help you gain more exposure online as most people post a great experience and tag that business and  that is one way you start building your online reputation.

Responding to reviews, even negative ones, is essential to show your customers that you care about their opinions and are committed to improving your services. It’s important to maintain a professional and ethical approach in all your business dealings, even when responding to negative reviews. By responding to negative reviews in a positive way, you can turn a negative experience into a positive one and potentially win back the customer’s trust.

Encouraging detailed reviews from your customers is really a cheat code to show up online and gain exposure for your brand or business. If I am a shoe store owner and my customers leave a review about Ugg slippers and with every review they say: These key things- (Location, Item and business name) you will benefit.

” Every time I am in “City” I love to visit  “store name” because they always have my size in my favorite “Ugg slippers” and the staff is very sweet and helpful”.

This is rare as most reviewers are not that conscious but, since they didn’t do it, that does not mean you can’t.  That is when you take matters into your own hands and say something like.  Thank you, “name”. Next time you visit us in “location” we make sure to have the latest and cutest Ugg Slippers for you.” This is when you start to find your business showing up for certain brands or keywords because Google picked that up.

You can encourage reviews by asking your customers to share feedback on social media or you can use tools to make it easy for your customers and take away all the steps of having to go online log in to a review site and leave a review.  No one want to do that.  Make it simple, with a QR code leave behind in a bag or at the register and it takes them right to the review landing page.

Google and other search engines use consumer reviews as one of several pieces of data in their ranking systems. The better your ratings, the higher up you’ll appear in results. Many businesses have an average rating of 4.3 stars and only occasionally ask clients or customers to leave reviews and stop there, whether they get the review or not.  In a 2023 Local Consumer Review Survey- In the last year, 12% of people say they were asked to leave and left a review every time and 20% have never been prompted to leave a review.

It is not common to find customers or clients that are willing to leave a review on the first try, and most businesses stop there.   You can use any review management platform and very easily send out request reviews from customers and slowly build your business online reputation. Review-Response has an easy reminder system to ask after 3 or 7 days, this is a great way to show you care about their experience and your business.

Managing your online reputation and review management is crucial to the success of your business. By implementing effective strategies to gain positive reviews and promoting them, you can build trust in your company and increase sales. It’s also important to respond to reviews, even negative ones, in a positive and professional way to show your customers that you care about their opinions and are committed to improving your services.

Lastly, maintaining a high level of customer service and ethical business practices is essential to maintaining a positive reputation online. By following these best practices, you can improve your online reputation and gain more exposure for your business in the long run.