How Collecting & Sharing Client Testimonials Can Help You Get More Sales

Google reviews can give businesses a significant boost in credibility without the need to spend any money. The reviews allow good businesses to prove themselves to potential customers.

Positive Google reviews are highly desired since they have unprecedented power. The power to influence local SEO, brand trust, feedback, and they ultimately push potential customers towards conversion.

Here Are the Top 5 Benefits of Google Reviews

Bill Loller, Vice President of Mobile at IBM, describes this as a ‘mobile mind shift’ in customers, who now expect to get what they want where and when they need it. He explains that mobile is becoming the customer’s problem solver, which dramatically increases customer expectations.

He says his company’s research has found that 75 percent of adults believe there is no reason why a mobile transaction cannot be completed on the first try.

1. Increasing Brand Trust

Transparency is growing increasingly relevant for customers. The relevance placed on transparency can mostly be accredited to the accessibility to vast amounts of information on any business.

Today, it is actually quite common for consumers to research businesses before purchasing services or products. Consumers now regularly read reviews to determine the reputation of a local business. A significant portion of this research is usually done via Google reviews.

2. Increasing Online Exposure & Boosting Local SEO

Google reviews have an impact on Google’s local search. Moz actually estimates that about 9 percent of Google’s entire search algorithm is driven by review signals such as those found in Google reviews.

If executed the right way, Google reviews can be an incredibly successful marketing tactic since they help your business get found much more easily and quickly compared to using just traditional SEO tactics such as keyword research and blogging.

3. Gaining Customer Intelligence

One of the greatest benefits of Google reviews is the customer intelligence and feedback loop you can gain. Each Google review collected should ideally serve as a customer survey response for both your business and staff. Google reviews also alert you to the areas that you need to improve upon and areas where you have got it right.

Google reviews ultimately help you optimise different areas of your business to offer a better customer experience and be found more easily on Google.

4. Improving Click-Through-Rates

Smart businesses understand that it is critical to get customer to click on your link when it appears in a search engine. Google reviews are an effective, inexpensive, and excellent way to increase the click-through-rate when you appear in the search engines.

Your Google review rating appears next to your business name in Google, which means that a collection of mostly positive ratings is likely to increase clicks through to your website.

5. Converting More customers

Once customers click through to your website, you are about to reach the end goal. Customers that visit your website should be encouraged to buy something from your business. Having a smartly designed website and offering a great customer experience is obviously important, but Google reviews can be powerful enough to convert on their own.

It is due to this reason that all businesses with a strong Google rating should advertise it all over their website. The rating increases consumer trust even if they never actually read the reviews.

How Do I Ask Customers for a Google Review?

 
Now that you have a better understanding of the benefits of Google Reviews and how important they are, you are probably wondering how to get them. Fortunately, getting Google reviews is much easier than you might think.

1. Ask

It is that simple. If you want Google reviews ask your customers to leave them. 70 percent of people will actually leave a review when asked.

Take all opportunities available to ask your customers to review your business. Obviously, you should not be annoying and pressure people since nobody likes that. Just ask and you will get reviews.

2. Timing is Key

Asking customers to leave reviews is the most effective way to get reviews but you need to ask at the right time. It might seem like a no-brainer, but customers are more likely to praise your business when they are still very happy with the experience.

Even happy customers may not leave glowing reviews weeks after the service is done.

3. Ask for Feedback, Not 5 Stars

Nobody likes being told what to you, and if you beg for a 5-star review, you may leave a bad taste in your customer’s mouth.

A better idea would be to tell customers that you would appreciate it if they would leave some feedback on their experience.

4. Explain the Benefits of Reviews

Reviews obviously benefit you as a business, but they also benefit customers. Tell your customers how the review can help improve their experience the next time they visit.

5. Show them How to Leave a Review

Show your customers how to leave reviews. Some will know how to do it, but others have no idea.

The process involves signing into Google, searching for your business, clicking to leave a review, selecting a star rating, writing the review, and clicking submit.

Final Thoughts

Google reviews can drive three important areas of your business: feedback, local SEO, and brand trust. If you are not currently making use of Google reviews, you are potentially missing out on the benefits that your competitors are utilising.

Start utilising Google reviews today and you will learn that it is one of the best ways to drive leads to your business and gain trust in your area.