Here I am, at a little local cafe. It’s right near an area of town I’m typically in, so I usually stop for a cup of coffee. It wasn’t until one day when I looked up the cafe to give them a review, that I realized their reviews weren’t too good and extremely outdated. They have always given me excellent service and it seems they operate pretty efficiently. Why are their reviews lacking so badly then? The simple answer is that they’ve been in business for a bit and have not kept up on requesting reviews from their customers. Maybe service wasn’t as good then as it is now or they’re under new management? Either way, I see a business like this and know that all they need is a little information and maybe a suggestion or two to get them going again. Businesses, especially small ones, truly do live and die by reviews in today’s world. Consumers prefer to listen to other non-biased people and friends when deciding where to take their business. To expand, one of the most powerful types of marketing is actually word of mouth, or the sharing of opinions on a business between family, friends, co-workers, etc. Now, the real question to answer becomes- how do I create this talk between past and future customers to create more business for me?
The more positive reviews a potential customer/client sees, the more inclined they are to trust in your business. Reviews are a selling tool that aids in your google ranking and can be extremely valuable to your business if utilized correctly. Once you have a Google My Business page set up, you can email customers a link to have them leave a review there. If you really want to amp-up said reviews and own a business in which you see people there daily face-to-face, try offering a promotion to those who leave a review on your page.
Some may be scared off by us saying to request a review from a customer, but there’s no shame in it at all. Most customers realize how important these reviews are and are more than willing to contribute to this network. It is crucial that all business owners realize this and utilize their Google My Business reviews section to its fullest potential. Now get to work on those promotions and emails….no business ever has enough reviews to post!
