Did you know various research studies on consumer behaviour suggest that 90% of consumers refer to online reviews before making their purchase from a smaller business? And did you also know that nature of online reviews impact close to 70% of their purchasing decisions? Running a small business is challenging, especially in this day and age, and business owners can no longer afford to ignore their online reputation. A positive online reputation can be a business’s greatest asset.
All kinds of people use search engines such as Google.com to help them make their everyday decisions, and hence, ranking well on the search results can make the difference. In this article, we have listed five such tricks that can help you improve your business’s online reputation –
- Search Google for Yourself – In order to estimate your web presence, it is important to do a bit of a reality check. Search for your business on Google and figure out how well you rank and how well you fare on those reviews and ratings. This will give you a baseline to get started and frame out your strategies.
- Produce Good Quality Content – Featuring some useful blogs, engaging and relevant social media posts, professional profile blurbs, regular tweets, and other types of positive content will help you outshine on the internet. The idea is to create quality content that is perceived well by your target audience and encourage a two-way engagement.
- Show what you are – It is natural for business owners to be tempted to indulge in getting some fake reviews online. After all, reviews and ratings are the foremost factors that define your online reputation. But, if you are able to resist this urge and only speak up the truth about your products and or services, it is the best way to move forward. The fact of the matter is that businesses attempting to produce fake reviews tend to lose business. It’s best to not sabotage yourself & resist the temptation. Generating a genuine feedback, creating a positive content, and playing by the rules will help you in being transparent and trust us, consumers love that!
- Respond to Reviews – Responding to your consumers via their reviews inculcates a culture of cross communication and consumers always prefer that. They like it when their views & voices are heard and acknowledged. This helps in fostering brand loyalty.
- Be Open to Feedback – Yes! Don’t take any review/ rating emotionally and take them as positive feedback and respond likewise. Try to make your products or services better and work on the vital response generated from the consumers directly. This only helps you serve your target audience better, it also sends out a message that you are ready to go the extra mile for your clients.