Consumers are getting more and more savvy. What do they find when they research you?

Genuine quality and customer service are values that many customers seek out before they make a purchase. The challenge, though, is that plenty of businesses say they offer a great experience, while far fewer deliver on that promise. How is a smart, sophisticated consumer to tell the difference between those two types of companies? They trust other people who have purchased from those businesses in the past, which is why online reviews are an increasingly important factor in how consumers’ purchase habits.

SEE ALSO: What is Review Champ and does it really work? [VIDEO]

As we’ve written before, a recent survey in Inc. Magazine found that 84 percent of consumers said they believed online reviews as much as personal recommendations. What does this mean for you and your business? Put simply, you can’t afford to ignore online reviews, as much as you might like to.

The Basics Of Online Reviews

Your first step should be to see what reviews are available online for your business, if any. Start with a quick Google search for your business and the services you offer.

Hopefully, you’ll find lots of people ranting and raving about how great you are and how they’d gladly recommend your services. More likely, however, you’ll find a mix of good and bad reviews, or no reviews at all.

A mix of good and bad reviews isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world, particularly if the good reviews outweigh the bad. It’s easier to leave a bad review than a positive one because we’re more likely to act in response to a negative experience than a positive one.
As long as you’re not swamped with negative reviews, what you want to avoid is a dearth of reviews altogether. A lack of reviews may indicate your online presence may not be strong enough to let customers find you, so you’ll want to step up your content marketing. On the consumer side, a lack of reviews may signal that nobody has used your services, which makes it less likely they will do business with you. Uncharted waters are often perceived as risky.

How Your Business Can Harness Online Reviews

Online reviews aren’t going anywhere – the Internet is a resource that will only grow. So how do you make them work for you? The answer is deceptively simple: Get more positive reviews!

This is, of course, much easier said than done, but one easy step is to simply ask for more reviews. Train your technicians and other employees to ask your customers for reviews at the successful completion of a project.

It’s important to make it easy for clients to leave reviews, especially positive ones. You want the process to be as simple as possible and involve a minimal number of steps.

If you’re interested in learning more about harnessing online reviews for your business, One Firefly has a lot to offer. Our Review Champ service is great for aggregating positive reviews to help your business grow. To learn more, contact us or call us at 877.334.1144.