Build Your Online Presence With Stellar Work & Happy Customers

You do great work. Your customers like the projects you’ve completed for them and tell their friends about your great work, too. According to HubSpot, 90% of people believe brand recommendations from their friends, so word of mouth is undoubtedly an effective trust indicator for your potential customers. But how can you further encourage your customer prospects to trust in your brand and move through the buyer journey from awareness to consideration and finally to deciding to purchase your services or products? It’s simple – online reviews!

So, why do reviews matter? Because online reviews are part of the modern decision-making process. In a recent Pew Research Center survey, 61% of Americans divulged they sometimes or nearly always post an online review of a product, service or restaurant. 8 in 10 Americans consult those online reviews and ratings before making a purchase.

Keep reading to learn how online reviews can influence customers you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet and how to establish your business as an authority in your service region. 

SEE ALSO: 3 Simple Tips to Expand Your Business’ Reach Online 

 

Reviews Influence Future Buyer Behavior

If potential buyers don’t see your company mentioned when they’re searching for local dealers and integration specialists, they won’t know to add you to the list of companies to consider during this valuable step in the buyer journey.

A company with no reviews is nearly as bad as a company with a string of negative reviews. Make your business stand out with a plethora of online reviews that potential buyers can browse to help them determine if you’re the right company for them – and we all know that you are the best choice!

 

Increase Awareness of Your Brand

Online reviews serve as fresh content for your brand, and what’s better than fresh content that’s positively talking about your business? New content can boost your SEO efforts, and search engine algorithms, as well as potential customers, value that content.

 

Establishes Brand Reputation

After customers become aware of your business, what you do - and most importantly - what you can do for them, they’ll learn you’re a reliable expert in the industry because previous customers have told them so! Online reviews from prior customers help move future customers through that buyer journey.

As potential customers learn about your products and service solutions, they’ll simmer in that consideration stage, and they’ll discover certain trust indicators to lead them towards one of your products. Then, they’ll move along the journey to form the decision to purchase from you.

 

How to Get Online Reviews

Now that you know why online reviews are important, it’s critical to receive online reviews. Encourage your customers to leave online reviews by following up after an installation or service implementation - phone calls, emails, and text messages are all successful methods. When you reach out, don’t only ask customers to fill out an online review, but ask if there’s anything you can do to improve or further continue their good experiences.

If you don’t open a feedback opportunity to your customer soon after a job’s completion, unresolved issues may potentially rear their ugly heads in an online review instead of easily being resolved by a member of your team. All it takes is one bad mention via word-of-mouth or a bad online review to lose not just one customer, but anyone that reads or hears that bad review.

To help you gather online reviews, and filter negative reviews from immediately reaching major online review websites, One Firefly offers integrators a text message-based service called Review Champ. Negative responses are automatically filtered to dealers, so you have a chance to right any wrongs with customer projects. The positive user-generated content is showcased on your website, improving your SEO even further.

 

If you’d like more information on how to manage and filter your company’s online reviews, call us today at 877.334.1144 to speak with one of the One Firefly digital marketing pros or fill out our contact form to get started. We can’t wait to hear from you!