Social proof is the most potent tool in a marketer’s arsenal. It is a status indicator of the company’s reputation, building trust, connection, and authority. Reviews are some of the most valuable (or potentially devastating) aspects of social proof that can literally make or break your company.
Too many negative Yelp or Google reviews can dry up your sales quicker than negative copy on your site, a weak9 sales funnel, and other complications that a company may need to contend with. In fact, according to Yelp research, even just a one-star increase in a business’s average rating has been linked to a 5 to 9 percent rise in revenue, while dropping from 4 to 3.5 stars can trigger a noticeable decline. Understanding how to properly manage your reviews is essential, especially if you are rebuilding your reputation from a long history of negative feedback. Marketers who actively manage reviews build durable trust and better conversions over time.
Reviews offer insight into the nuances of your business. Picture a hesitant shopper, frustrated by past experiences with other brands, scrolling through your reviews. They start to relax as they read recent, detailed, positive feedback from real customers. Minutes later, reassured, they click “buy” with confidence. A customer looks at reviews first to know how well they can trust you, and if you have issues with your responsiveness, customer service, or general product. Consider reviews the ultimate litmus test for your business. You won’t win over everyone, but reviews certainly impact both your search visibility and on-site conversations. For example, a brand that carries recent, positive reviews feels much safer to the buyer than a brand that doesn’t have any reviews.
Review management is simple. Ask for the review at the right moment and with the right people. While you obviously don’t want to ask a person who’s not happy with your service, if you notice a customer is enthusiastic about your product or service, ask them for a survey or a review in an email sequence, send them a text, or use a QR code to streamline the process using in-product prompts. Ensure that your requests are ethical and that you don’t coerce the customer: maintaining authenticity and compliance is of the utmost importance. Tailor the channels to your audience; you wouldn’t ask for the reviews for a local service the same way you would for an e-commerce or B2B brand.
Responsiveness is key to reviews, and you want to respond to as many reviews as possible. Stay professional, especially with negative reviews, and really make an effort to make things right. However, you want to respond to all of them if you can. For positive reviews, thank the client, reinforce key benefits of your product or service, and invite them to take the next step/upsell. For neutral reviews, clarify the problem, offer to help the customer, and try to resolve any friction that may take place. Don’t be reactive. Calm, empathic responses can turn critics into advocates and show onlookers how the brand behaves under fire.
For your shining reviews, put them at the top of landing pages, ads, emails, and sales decks as testimonials. Use star ratings and quotes to reinforce your CTA and reduce hesitation. Reviews can inform messaging: you can pull recurring phrases directly from customers to sharpen positioning for your target audience. For example, if customers often say, “The onboarding process was so easy and smooth,” consider using that specific phrase in your copy. This is the language they choose to use in relation to your product, so ensure that you use their language to help improve the social proof on your site. If prospects see that other customers who speak like them like your product, they are more likely to buy whatever you offer.
Finally, use this quick reputation management audit:
Doing these things makes reputation management easy and efficient. Ready to elevate your marketing strategy? Contact FusionTech Media today and let us help you design a masterful marketing campaign that sets your brand apart.
Our versatility and depth of knowledge about various Internet Marketing strategies allows FusionTech Media to apply best practices across multiple industries. FusionTech Media combines in-depth marketing research with creativity. We can create professional branding, a visually appealing website and an original web app specifically for your industry needs!
