A comprehensive breakdown of review generation and how online reviews impact your bottom line.
Thanks to companies such as Amazon, Apple, and the long list of customer-centric businesses, providing exceptional customer experience is no longer a nice thing to have, but rather the single most important component of your business.
A positive online reputation goes a long way in boosting business online and offline. A Harvard Business School study finds that when companies increase their Yelp rating by one star, they increase their revenue by 5 percent to 9 percent. Similarly, XAmplifier finds a direct correlation between the average online ratings of our clients and the number of inquiries they receive.
Often, when companies are looking for a surefire way to increase revenue and overall brand perception, enhancing customer experience will be the first step.
Many businesses are taking that approach today, however, it’s a massive undertaking that can be overwhelming for a company to effectively launch and manage from within. Unfortunately, this generally leads to a customer experience that feels inconsistent, thus diminishing the expected impact on revenue.
Online reputation is undeniably important for any company with its eye on the bottom line. Luckily, there are a few things every company can do to get better online reviews:
There are a number of ways to generate online reviews, whether it's asking your customers to leave a review after their visit, sending out invitations to reviews via email or SMS, or adding a call-to-action such as “How would you rate your experience today?” on your transactional emails.
Regardless of how the survey invitations are sent, making sure customers are receiving these requests is by far the most important aspect of review generation. Studies have shown that 86% of consumers would be willing to write an online review and simply displaying reviews on your website and various review platforms can increase conversion rates by roughly 270%.
When companies are proactively managing their online review generation, the likelihood of receiving positive feedback increases tremendously. Alternatively, when companies do not provide a clear path for generating online reviews, the customers who take the time to leave a review are, typically, those who want to bring an issue to your attention or to warn others about their negative experience.
It might be tough to swallow negative reviews from customers about your company, but the truth is they are a great source of opportunity. Of course, you don’t want to have several online reviews from unhappy customers, but these types of interactions can actually help your business.
First, it’s important to understand what a proper engagement with your customers should look like, especially when it comes to negative reviews.
A satisfactory response to negative reviews should include all of the following attributes:
Negative reviews can contribute to your online reputation by boosting authenticity and building trust with consumers. According to the Spiegel Research Center, the likelihood of purchase peaks at a star-rating of 4.0 - 4.7, and then decreases as the rating nears a 5.0 rating. Rather than disregarding negative online reviews, respond to them promptly and professionally.
Additionally, a study conducted by Marketing Charts concluded that 7 out of 10 consumers changed their opinion about a brand after the company replied to a review.
On the flip side, when you take the time to show each customer how much you appreciate the positive review, you build brand loyalty. This helps to generate a community of brand evangelists who feel a deep connection with your brand and will go out of their way to express their positive feelings about the products and/or services you provided.
As the saying goes, being proactive is always better than being reactive. This statement especially holds true when it comes to online review generation. While it’s not always possible to know what a customer will need, proactively solving your customer’s problems has proven to pay big dividends.
Online reviews provide an honest assessment of how well businesses are performing, the quality of their products & services, and the level of customer experience they deliver. Additionally, the information you collect from online reviews can be used to develop a foundation of compelling content to share with your customers and potential leads.
For example, if you are noticing a number of similar complaints in your online reviews, you can write an article about the issue explaining the reason for the problem and offer a step-by-step guide detailing the recommended solution. This not only addresses the customers who wrote about their negative experience but also helps to proactively prevent the issue in the future.
All of the above (and more) fall under the umbrella of online reputation management. To improve your online reputation and boost revenue quickly, hand over the reins to the experts at XAmplifier. Get started by filling out a contact form!