The Importance of Customer Reviews for Your Google Business Profile

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Transcript

Google reviews are great for a few reasons.

First, Google reviews level the playing field for businesses. A business that does not have as much to spend on marketing campaigns as a large, well-funded business can still compete nicely in this space. Any business with multiple customers can ask for, and also receive, Google reviews. They’re free to get, they’re free to leave.

The only barriers to entry are having a Google profile set up, set up correctly, the Toto way, asking for reviews, and actually having customers come and leave a review. Now, this all costs. Nothing. And so, therefore, like we said, it levels the playing field for businesses.

Second, Google reviews create transparency because there’s a real feedback loop.

A company cannot claim that they’re the best at X, Y, and Z and have that simply be true because they said it. Right? Not anymore. Regular people like you and I are able to add their thoughts and their impressions of a business and those thoughts and impressions may reinforce. The marketing message from a business, or they may refute those messages.

You may have heard, for example, the phrase show don’t tell. And we love that phrase here at Toto coaching. But what does that mean exactly? In short show, don’t tell showing illustrates while telling. merely states it. It’s just saying something. So with regards to reviews, reviews help you show the world how great you are instead of just telling the world.

A potential customer reading your reviews can deduce the same positive information that they get from the business who is telling the world how great they are, but in a much more compelling and a much more believable, again, transparent way.

Third, Google reviews also serve as what is called social proof.

Meaning that this is word of mouth proof, right? It’s real. And social proof is also a psychology concept that states that people are more likely to engage in an action if other people are doing it or speak positively about it. So if you have positive things said about your company then others will want to be a part of that group of cheerleaders as well.

Fourth, and this is so important, solid Google reviews can help to develop your business. as a trusted authority. And a trusted authority is just what it sounds like. They’re trusted, meaning that people will consider this person or this business to be reliable or truthful. And an authority on a subject, meaning that they know a lot about this subject and are an expert in this field.

Wouldn’t you like to be considered the trusted authority in your field? Well, Google Reviews are one avenue that will get you there.

Now for your customers, reviews are pretty easy to leave. A person is able to post a review without downloading. Downloading an app or any special software. They simply need to have a Gmail account or an email associated with a Google account.

Let’s go over this a little more in detail

The Importance of Customer Reviews for Your Google Business Profile

In today’s digital world, customer reviews have become make-or-break factors for the success of local businesses on platforms like Google. Positive online reviews on your Google Business Profile act like word-of-mouth referrals, building credibility and trust that you are a quality, reputable company worth purchasing from. But negative reviews or no reviews at all can cripple your visibility. That’s why cultivating great customer reviews should be a top priority for your small business marketing strategy.

Why Google Reviews Are Critical

Google reviews carry tremendous weight in determining your local search rankings and visibility. Here’s why:

• They indicate customers had a positive experience using your business. This signals to Google your business provides good products/services.
• They provide “social proof” that your business offers high quality services/products. Lots of reviews show you have happy customers.
• They show you have an established reputation in the local community. More reviews mean you have been around longer earning trust.

Essentially, lots of great reviews act as votes of confidence in your business, according to other customers. Google wants to surface the best, most reputable businesses to searchers – so tons of 5-star ratings signal you meet that criteria over competitors with less reviews.

Positive testimonials in the form of online reviews help build authority and trustworthiness for small businesses in Google’s eyes. By cultivating more and more happy customer reviews over time, Google will gain confidence that your business provides a consistently positive experience.

Reviews Influence Consumer Decisions

It’s not just Google – customer reviews heavily sway the decision making of consumers searching for local businesses. In fact, studies show:

– 88% of consumers read online reviews before visiting or purchasing from a business.
– 72% of consumers will only visit businesses with a 4-star rating or higher.

When customers see competitors with way more reviews and higher star ratings than your business, it immediately makes them skeptical to purchase from you. Having a robust set of positive Google reviews is critical for convincing potential new customers your business is worth choosing.

Recommended Number of Reviews

A good minimum goal is aiming for at least 20-30, 4+ star Google reviews. This gives customers enough data points to determine you provide a positive customer experience. Be sure to maintain a high overall average rating of at least a 4-star score. If your average dips below 2-3 stars, it can seriously damage your rankings and reputation.

How to Get More Google Reviews

When you ask for a Google Review, you want to make it as easy as possible for someone to leave you that review. In order to do this, you want to send someone to the screen where they can leave the review period it looks like this:

You do not want to ask someone to Google your business or your name, then find the correct Google business profile, then find the area where they can Click to leave a new review. If you do that you’re asking them to do work and you don’t want to ask someone who is doing you a favor to do work. You want to send them the link that goes to the exact place where they can leave a review.

How do you get your Google Review link? 

There are a few ways that you can get your Google review link. One of the easiest way is to use Bright Local’s free Google Review Link & Place ID Generator.

Here on this screen what you do is type the name of your company into the search box and when bright local finds your listing you go ahead and click the Fetch Links and IDs button. On the following page you will see three links.

One of the links is “Get more reviews”. This is what you will send to people. Copy that link and put it into a note on your computer or a document on your computer or somewhere where you can save that link. You want to save this link so that you can send it to more people in the future or maybe you’ll use it in a different way.

Test this link as well. Don’t just send over the link make sure you test it and verify that it opens right up to the screen or someone can leave a review directly.

Add review in signature section add this:

Putting a link in your signature does not need to be complicated.  It can be very straightforward and simple.  Recently I received an email from someone who worked at an accounting firm and they had a request for reviews in their signature that looked like this:

Share on Social Media :
Ask followers on social channels like Facebook to review your business on your Google Business Profile.

Request at Point of Purchase:
Politely ask satisfied customers in-person or post-purchase to review you. Provide them with specific instructions how to leave a Google review. Clear guidance gets more reviews.

Place Review Stickers In-Store:
Use stickers with QR codes to make leaving reviews very convenient. When customers scan the code after a positive experience, they can easily leave a rating then and there.

The more frictionless you can make your review gathering process across touchpoints, the more new 5-star ratings you will earn over time. Meet customers wherever they are already engaged to drive review volume.

Responding to Reviews

Getting more reviews is just the first step. You then need to demonstrate great customer service by professionally replying to them. Reply to all reviews that you get, positive and negative. If you have not been responding to reviews and you are just reading this article now, go ahead and respond to past reviews.

To reply to Google Reviews, you simply find the area where you can read your reviews, and you will see the option to reply to any reviews that do not have a reply yet.

Some review response tips:

• Thank happy customers for taking the time to review you positively. This encourages more reviews.

• Apologize for mistakes called out by unsatisfied customers, and try turning complaints into opportunities to provide better service in the future. Recently I had a client who received a negative review which was probably warranted. Service was slow when the Google reviewer came into the practice. What the reviewer did not know was that there had been a medical emergency in the back room of the office. The staff at the front desk did not want to alarm the others who were in the waiting room, so they did not mention the emergency at the time to those in the waiting room. Of course, the situation could have been handled a little bit differently so they didn’t receive a negative review, but the owner of the business took the opportunity to reply to the negative Google review and explain the situation. For other people who are checking out this practice and are reading the Google reviews, and they see that sometimes there is a wait to be seen, and in this case they can understand that the wait was warranted. This shows the practice in a more positive light. The practice took a negative review and turned it into as positive a reply as that they could.
• Remain calm and constructive with negative reviewers. Try not to argue or combat their criticism. Instead, kill them with kindness and outline how you can make it right. Their experience matters. Also, negative reviews can be a wake up call for you as a business owner.  Are the bathrooms really dirty? Maybe you need to hire a new cleaning crew or set up a new process for your staff.  Are customers getting bad customer service? Maybe you have an employee who has talents but being in a customer-facing role is not their strong point.  Read the negative reviews and think about what was said and maybe you can improve some things in your business. Going back to the bathroom example, maybe you find out that yes, sometimes the bathrooms are dirty. Then go online, reply to the customer and tell them thank you for alerting you to this situation and that you have made changes! This shows that you listen to your customers and are willing to change. Not everyone is perfect, and we all understand that.
• Proactively answer recurring issues brought up across multiple reviews and be specific about what you will be changing. This shows you closely listen to collective feedback and are taking action to continually get better. Recently my husband and I we’re celebrating our anniversary. We decided to start the day by going to this very special restaurant that made amazing bagels with lox and cream cheese. It was a special treat. We went there and things seemed different. When our bagel came it tasted like it had been made yesterday and there was hardly any lox or cream cheese on the bagel; not like it used to be at all. We were very, very disappointed. Then I looked at their Google reviews, I realized that they had only received one star reviews for the past few months. The business had changed ownership and apparently the new owners were not doing the same amazing job as the old owners. I also left a negative review in this case and the reason that I did was so that the new owners would listen to what we are saying and make changes and go back to the way that it was. This restaurant had such a huge following for many years, and they were losing it. The reasons they were losing their following were because of things they could easily change!!  The bathrooms were dirty. They could put the same amount of cream cheese and lox that they used to on the bagels. I’m not sure if they were serving day old bagels, but if they were, then they should go back to serving bagels cooked that day. My point is that I would like to see the business thrive the way that it was before, so I left a negative review. These are recurring issues you can see over and over again on this businesses listing and hopefully they will listen to the collective feedback and take action. They did reply to me and asked me to come back and try it again and told me that they were making a lot of changes in the coming year – but they did not say what! They did not address my concerns. So I don’t believe them. If they addressed each of my concerns and told me what they are doing about these things, I might try them again.

Responding publicly to reviews builds goodwill and gives potential new customers increased assurance that you care about each and every client. It signals you will work hard to resolve any problems they may encounter as well. This reputation management drives more conversions over the long run.

Replying to customer feedback also further optimizes your Google Business Profile. It shows authentic engagement – establishing your responsiveness in Google’s eyes. This can help inch up your local search rankings.

Reviews Are an Ongoing Effort

Keep these review generation strategies top-of-mind as part of your regular customer follow-up process. The more great reviews you can cultivate, the more high-quality website traffic you’ll earn from Google long-term.