[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Did you know business reviews are becoming a key factor in customers’ decision-making process? This means that building up an online reputation for your company has never been more important. The good news is we have a few tips for building a positive reputation for your business by encouraging customers to leave reviews.

1. Reward Reviews

One way to start building reviews is to hold a review contest. This is a creative and novel idea that will make your customers want to leave a review. It is important that you don’t appear to be incentivizing positive or negative reviews so you’ll have to enter everyone who leaves a review into the contest. Contests like this can help encourage submitted reviews if you have a sustainable prize and run it for a couple of months. You can always use social media to help gain awareness of the contest.

2. Make Reviews Easy

You should always make reviews easy for your customers. Having somewhere on your website that prompts comments or ratings can sometimes be all the incentive required. If a customer is completing a transaction with your company then a follow-up survey could also be an easy way to ask for consumer feedback.

3. Use Multiple Review Sites

How many review sites is your business currently focused on? One? Two? None at all?

Reviews are crucial for a business but if you’re currently relying upon just one review channel, you could be missing out on this opportunity for success.

There are so many review platforms on the internet, and your customers don’t hang around in just one place. Finding out exactly where your customers are leaving reviews is essential to your marketing efforts, regardless of what industry you may be in.

Google and Yelp are both extremely popular for local business reviews. However, there are a plethora of other review sites out there that could drastically help your business. FourSquare, Urban Spoon, Local.com, Bing, and Angie’s List are just a few sites that are largely used for reviews.

Besides the generic review sites, your industry probably has its own local authority review sites. If so, you should be highly focused on those. Social media sites, such as Facebook, also have strong review sections and have the added benefit of customer engagement on your own account, enhancing communication.

There are tons of platforms available for customers to potentially comment on and rate your company. Keeping track of your web presence and where your reviews are can help you manage and respond to your business reputation. Besides, once you identify exactly where your customers are, it’s easier to get them to start leaving more reviews and to direct future customers to your positive reviews.

4. Follow Up!

Don’t let the customer’s interaction with your website be their last! Reach out to customers to see how they liked their product or service, provide promotional materials, or exclusive discounts. Include a link in your follow-up email where they can leave a review or contact you with questions or comments. This is not only a way to gain reviews but can help customers gain trust in your company, feel appreciated, and return to your business. Emails can also be personalized, showing your customers how appreciated they are at your company.

There are tons of ways to gain a reputation by cultivating reviews that showcase your business! Want more inspiration? Contact us and find out how we can help your company get the reviews it deserves.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]