We previously spoke about what you can do with a Google My Business profile but what do you do once you’re account is set up and some reviews start coming in? Do people actually read them, should you bother being concerned with what people are commenting? And what can you do to help people review your business for you? Here are some stats about user reviews and what you can do to answer your questions around your business being reviewed online.
Do people look at other people’s reviews?
The short answer is yes; according to BrightLocal 91% of consumers say that positive reviews makes them more likely to use a business. This is huge news for new and small businesses that haven’t already built a name for themselves; if you’re looking to build a reputation and local awareness, getting some positive reviews in will go a long way to introducing your business to new consumers considering your business. To support this, BrightLocal also tell us that 82% of consumers will read online reviews of a local business. That means that once your business has some strong and supportive reviews, you will organically start to attract more local business.
What to do with your Google reviews?
Firstly and most importantly; reply to them! A verified GMB account can reply to any reviews, a simple thank you to a 5 star review shows that your business engages and interacts with its customers. This can be particularly impressive if you can mention an element of your dealings with that user; a “good to see you again” or “hope that event goes well for you” can show that you care about your customers and your relationship with them means more than just their money. It also grants you the opportunity to respond to weaker or even negative reviews; enabling you to reach out to them to resolve any issues they may have or get an understanding of where your business may have fallen short. Be careful with how you respond to negative reviews, remember that others will see this response and it may impact how they interact with your business in the future.
Another opportunity receiving reviews grants you is the opportunity to showcase the reviews on your website and other platforms. You can import your reviews directly from Google to keep a live update of your current star rating and some of the comments to boot. You can also get some creative juices flowing and share your reviews on beautiful social media posts or testimonial sections of your website. Showcasing your best reviews helps users discover how well your business has performed even if they aren’t Googling you.
How to get people to review my business?
You may be reading this thinking “this is all well and good but I’ve just set up my GMB account and I don’t have any reviews” well fear not! Google enables you to share a link that directly goes to your business review form, so if you’re finished up with a customer and they want to help your business out you can simply send them a link and the reviews can start coming in. You can find this link on your GMB home screen, under a heading appropriately named ‘get more reviews’.
Get in touch
If you want to discuss how to best generate or deal with your reviews, or if you need any help with your Google My Business account, get in touch with the 427 team today and we’ll be happy to support you. You can reach us on 01323 400010 or email us at hello@427marketing.co.uk and we will get back to you as soon as we can.