3 Simple Steps To Build A 5 Star Online Reputation.
The purpose of this post is to help you build your online reputation. This is a huge subject, but I’ll try to break it down and make it real simple for you.
In this digital economy that we are living in, it is extremely important that you are consistently building a 5-star reputation online. There are many reasons why. But here are a couple:
“More than 92% of adult buyers regularly check reviews online before making a purchase.”
and…“9 out 10 consumers will trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation.”
Also, I might add that reviews help your search engine ranking. The more reviews that you get online, the more visible you will become in the search engines. That means more traffic and more sales for you. But how do you do it?
Here are my 3 simple steps for building your online reputation.
#1. Ask For Online Reviews.
Come up with a list of folks that you would like to ask for a review. Most likely this will be previous or current customers. You could even ask your friends and family if you don’t yet have any customers.
Choose A Platform For Your Reviews
I recommend that you start with your Google+ Page, since it will help your search engine rankings. But if you have another review site you’d rather use, then go for it.
Here’s a quick list of other review sites:
- Your Own “Branded” Review Site (ask me if you don’t know what this is)
- Yelp
- Bing
- Yahoo Local
- Insider Pages
- City Search
Create A Simple Tutorial For Them To Follow
Most folks wont know how to leave a review. So you need to show them how to do it. Just make a simple little tutorial that shows them step-by-step how to leave a review.
(*NOTE. I list 3 different ways to do this, with screenshots, in my free online reputation cheatsheet.)
Offer An Incentive
Most happy customers feel indebted to you anyway for the great service you provided for them. Right? And they probably want to leave you a raving review just because you served them so well. But guess what. They paid you for that service. The exchange has already been made.
For them to take some time and leave you a review is giving them the ball and asking them to serve you. So, you may want to consider giving them something in exchange for leaving you a review.
Like a coupon, gift card, or free drink. Something that will show your appreciation for them doing this for you.
#2. Respond to Your Reviewers
You should show your appreciation by saying thank you to them. They took time out of their day to leave you a review. The least that you can do is give them a word of your appreciation.
The success of your business rises and falls on your customer service. The more you show your appreciation to those you serve the better it will be.
You may want to send them a little gift or a discount or something like that. If you promised them a gift as an incentive, then by all means you must follow through with that.
But the point I want to make is that you respond to your reviewers with a word of appreciation.
#3. Make Growing Your Online Reputation Part of Your Schedule
This is where so many small business owners miss it. So often, once you make your initial attempt at getting reviews, you forget about it.
I know that you are overwhelmed with all the other things that you have going on in your business. But your online reputation is one of the most important things that will bring you more business. You have to put some time and effort into it. Or else outsource it.
Here are some quick tips for you to do this:
- Work it into your schedule.
Just schedule 1 – 2 hours per week to work on your online reputation. That’s all. It doesn’t have to take much time. You just need to do it consistently. - Make it part of your sales process.
When you complete a job or transaction, design a very simple process of asking your customer for a review. Tell your technicians to never leave a job without first asking the homeowner for a review. Or, if you have a local storefront, don’t let a customer leave your door without asking them for a review. - Automate the process
It’s so easy to do with software these days. But you have to put some thought into it, and set up the systems. The more thought you put into it now, the easier it will be down the road.
Well, there you have it.
Those are my 3 simple steps to begin building your rock-solid online reputation this week. The future success of your business is not necessarily the quality of your product. But rather, the quality of your reputation. People talk about people.
I know that you want your business to grow via. word-of-mouth. And I do too. But it starts with your online reputation. You can begin growing your rock-solid online reputation by getting started this week. I hope you do.
Until next time,
Martin Holsinger
Time For Response.
- What is your key takeaway?
- What are you going to work on right away in order to get more reviews this week?
- Would you like more training on growing your Online Reputation?