As they say, “The Proof is In The Pudding.” This is especially true when it comes to finding a new business on your own. In situations where a friend or family member recommends a business you may take their recommendation without any further research, but what happens when there’s no one to give that word of mouth suggestion? Your research will focus primarily on what others say about them. For example, let’s say that you are in a new city and you are really hungry. You may want to try a local spot, instead of eating the same ol’ food as back home, but how do you choose one from the list? Chances are the restaurant that has the most reviews will have your attention, especially if the overall rating is close to a perfect 5 star! But what about the restaurant that is at the bottom of your search results with no reviews? You wouldn’t even bat an eye at their information, because they don’t look too “trusting” of a place to venture into. This is the power of reviews! The restaurant without reviews could end up being the best choice within the entire city, but their chances of getting new customers decrease without having the reviews to back them up. Thousands of businesses around the world suffer from this exact fate.
Do you trust businesses without reviews?
It is very difficult trusting businesses without reviews, and they are often overlooked. It could seem as though they have something to hide or even be a scam. With so many social media platforms today, it should be a priority for businesses to have their customers share experiences about their company. If you take pride in your business and are looking to build it up, I would want everyone of my clients to tell the world about how my company was able to provide the best service for them and to anyone else that is in need of my services.
The Power of Word of Mouth
It’s human nature to want to hear about other people’s experiences. It definitely sways our decisions more if we can get positive feedback about a service, product etc. People will naturally look for a business that has a lot of reviews. Most of the time the more the better. Just as you may share experiences, good and bad, with family and friends, it helps them to make the best decision in the long run. Ultimately at the end of the day people have to make up their own minds as to what the final decision will be, but the power of persuasion does help. By having people speak about your company especially after having a great experience speaks volumes. It will bring more clients to your business if people are saying good things about you. It may also lead to your company getting media attention!
How much does that one bad review hurt?
One bad review may not always hurt you that much, unless it is your only review! As mentioned before, it can quickly become a numbers game. One bad review, out of 100 great reviews wont affect you as much as only having 2 reviews total. No one wants to spend their money on bad service so, if that is all that they see about your business it will be passed by. That one review could be a person that is hard to please no matter what anybody does. It could be that a person was having a bad day. That is why it is so important to first provide the best service to your clients. This will allow them to be more likely to tell others how good the service was when dealing with your business. At that rate when your business has several good reviews and one bad like the saying the good out weighs the bad. It also wouldn’t hurt to be a transparent as you can. If you told the companies side of the bad review in how you tried to remedy the situation people would be able to make a better decision overall about the business.
Tactics to getting more online reviews
Ask. When your clients come into your business you can ask them to write a review about their experience when dealing with your business. By you providing the best service that your company strives to do you should feel that your clients would be proud to write such reviews.
If you need help with your digital marketing strategy, or would simply love help getting more customers, please do not hesitate to contact us!