For local trade businesses, customer reviews are essential for building their brand and growing their customer base.
- Reviews provide potential customers an opportunity to read honest feedback about a business’s service before they commit to making an enquiry and using it to work in their home or business.
- Reviews also help businesses build trust with customers as they can see that others have had positive experiences working with them.
- Reviews appearing on search engine results pages alongside your contact details, location, and opening hours can also make it easier for customers to find your business online.
Using reviews to improve your Google traffic
Google reviews provide useful information and help local trade businesses stand out in the search engine, they add weight to the keywords used in Google Ads campaigns making them more effective, while also serving as social proof allowing small local trade businesses to compete with bigger companies who may otherwise dominate search results.
Create customer conversations with reviews
Additionally, reviews also create conversations between businesses and their customers which allows for addressing any issues that may arise after purchase or during the course of offering a service or product.
Finally, reviews encourage customer loyalty by giving people a platform to show appreciation for good service that has been given by a specific business or tradesperson, helping build relationships between customers and trade businesses long-term.
Here are some tips on how you can gain more reviews:
• Ask all your happy customers if they wouldn’t mind leaving you a review
• Share positive reviews on your website, social media profiles, and other platforms like Linkedin
• Respond positively and promptly to both positive & negative reviews
• Make sure you follow up with those who promise you’ll write a review – often people just need a reminder!
• Run contests & giveaways that reward customers for leaving comments & reviews
• Use SMS messages & emails to remind people who might have forgotten about leaving you one
Ultimately, customer reviews are essential for any local trade business in order to build its reputation and reach new potential clients, therefore it is important you take advantage of gaining more of them so you can benefit from the rewards provided by doing so!
