Businesses boom off the back of a great reputation. And how can you help prove your reputation? By gaining five-star ratings and glowing reviews online. If you're doing business and want to attract more customers, then upping your ratings and reviews online can help achieve this goal.
All businesses are the same, regardless of industry, size, or location. You can be among the best no deposit casinos in South Africa or any other jurisdiction – or business for that matter – it just takes that ONE bad review to tarnish your reputation.
Your Online Reputation Matters
How much more likely are you to purchase a coffee maker with 10,000 4.7* detailed reviews than one that has just three 5* reviews that don't say much? Are you more likely to pick a restaurant that is above 4.5* to dine out with friends from within the radius of both your houses on Google Maps?
Ratings and reviews guide where customers take their business, whether it's a restaurant, a coffee machine, or an online casino. This means that they are extremely important to keep an eye on, build, and maintain, regardless of what type of business you're running. If you're a service-based business with a few glowing testimonials on your website but no presence or ratings elsewhere online, you will struggle to attract clients beyond word of mouth.
Your online reputation matters. No ratings or reviews are almost as damning as a series of bad reviews, and a series of bad reviews can be difficult to recover from. Likewise, reviews or ratings that seem fishy and inauthentic can deter the discerning customer, who may suspect you've purchased or encouraged the review on strange terms.
Ratings vs Reviews
Both ratings and reviews make up a big part of your online reputation. Ratings are typically out of five stars and represent how well the customer thought you did. A review, either alongside the rating or not attached to a rating is a text write-up of the customer's experiences.
For ratings, people typically give five stars if they liked you or one star if they had a bad experience. You might get a few two-star ratings or four-star ratings if people are really thinking about your brand and being honest. However, this five-star and one-star default mode that people usually use skews data. If you wind up with a bunch of one-star reviews you could be in for trouble. Ratings are typically anonymous; you won't be able to figure out who gave the review just based on their username unless you've hardly had any customers.
For reviews, a review is only as customer-attracting as the quality of the content. For instance, let's take two reviews. One says “Great service!” while another says “Had a pretty good experience. Lara, at the desk was super welcoming. Everything ran on time and they pinpointed my issues and told me what the next steps are.” Review two is going to be seen in higher regard to potential customers than review one.
How to Ask for Ratings and Reviews
Asking for ratings and reviews can feel a little bit icky. But many businesses do it, so why shouldn't you? Businesses often have a QR-code set up at point of payment that might say something like “5% off your next bill for a Google Review!” This is a way to quickly get some good reviews. A dissatisfied customer isn't likely to want to come back and so doesn't care about that extra off the bill (unless they're really dissatisfied, then they'll probably review you later).
Other businesses mention the review system at the end of appointments, or in newsletters. Since it's never a forced rating or review, it's always up to your customers whether they'd like to contribute.
Know Your Biggest Impact Review Site
Different businesses will have different rating and review sites where customers are most likely to visit to scope you out. For lots of businesses, this is Google Maps, but other ratings places like Yelp. Facebook, GlassDoor, Trust Pilot, and industry-specific sites can be a bigger contributor for some businesses. By understanding which website or platform you need to focus on most, that's where you can place your energy, while still keeping an eye on the others.
Removing Bad Reviews
Sometimes there will be bad reviews given that either aren't accurate or seem to be made up. Under these reviews, it's recommended practice to reply in a friendly way with an attempt to make it up to the customer. Going a step further, you can reply to all good reviews with a thank you. If you seriously suspect a bad review was made up, then you can get in contact with the website or platform and try and have it taken down.
Interesting Related Article: “How Online Reviews Impact Your Local SEO”
