extended version: how to increase your business' online testimonials, positive reviews &...
TRANSCRIPT
How to Get Chosen from the Crowd
The Problem with SEO
It’s obvious that you need to be at the top of the
Search Engines when people look for you
Problem is, getting to the top isn’t easy these days
and it’s not cheap either
It’s Time To Stop Chasing Search Results...
The Problem with SEO
But here’s the real problem, and what most
marketing companies are not telling you:
Being at the top is still not enough to guarantee
leads and sales for your business.
Even If You’re At the Top of Search Engines,
You’re Still Competing With the Other 10
There’s nothing that makes you standout
& no reason for a customer to choose you over the
other 10
The following slide illustrates the above
point & shows the power of reviews…
So, Who Would YOU choose?
1.
3.
2.
4.
Based on 3 reviews
Based on 12 reviews
Based On 16 reviews
Based On 24 reviews
4. Based On 24 reviews
Why? #4 has lots of positive reviews
Potential customers tend to chose listings with
lots of reviews (If #1 had few reviews, it might
not even be chosen)
You & Your Customers Are Likely Going to
Shortlist at Least
What Customers Are Looking For
They scan each listing for any reviews. They want
to see what other people are saying on each listing
They’re looking for what’s know as Social Signals:
What other customers are saying about your
business online
…& #4 had most Social Signals out of the listed
The Power of Positive Reviews:
A Study Showed…
Over half surveyed say that positive online reviews
make them more likely to choose a local business
Do you have a minimum of 6-10 positive reviews
to help a potential customer choose you?
Source: Brightlocal Local Consumer Survey, 2013
79% trust online reviews, where there are 6-10+
reviews, as much as personal recommendations
The Power of Reviews
Also, the more reviews you have, the more likely
your are to improve your overall search engine
rankings…
…all while increasing the chances of making
the chances of making a sale
Why? Local Search Ranking Factors
Source: http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
Importance
of reviews
Why do Search Engines Care About
How Many Reviews You Have?
They want to deliver the best results for
users…So who do you think they’re going
to favor...
…a company with no reviews?
... Or a company with dozens of glowing ones?
Also, People Are Researching
Businesses Online Before Buying
70% now research businesses online before buying
Implication?
The more positive online reviews you have,
the more potential sales for your business
88% say they are influenced by online reviews in
their buying decisions
Source: Brightlocal Local Consumer Survey, April 2011 & Dynamic Research, April 2013
More Reviews = More Money
“ “ = $$$
Bad reviews cost you money
A Harvard Business School study (Oct. 2011)
found a one star rating decrease can reduce
revenues by nearly 10%
So it literally pays you to stay on top of all
reviews that are posted about your business
As well, Smart Phone Users Are
Looking For You While About
95% of Smartphone users have
searched for local information
1/3 of all searches for a local
business are now made on a
mobile device
Source: ComScore, Nielson, Gartner, Googe and Other Reported Studies
After a Search...
61% of mobile searchers call a business
59% visit the actual location
90% of these people take action within 24 hours!
Source: ComScore, Nielson, Gartner, Googe and Other Reported Studies
Your Goal Then Is To…
Get the best reviews you can
And get as many reviews you can
Trouble is it’s Hard to Get
Positive Reviews in Practice
People more likely to post & share negative online
reviews than positive ones
Only takes a few negative reviews online to sink
your online reputation and sales
Source: Dynamic Research, April 2013
Best Ways to Deal With Negative Reviews
Catch them before they’re published & then
convert them into positive ones
Monitor for published ones, follow up with ones
you can convert into positive ones
Best Ways to Deal With Negative Reviews
Have ways to get as many positive reviews as
possible to drown out the few negative ones you’re
bound to get (can’t please everyone all the time!)
Let some negative reviews get published!
People doubt a business’ reviews authenticity
if they’re all 5 stars.
Ways to Get Many Positive Online Reviews
Provide excellent customer service and specials
List your business on as many social media,
directories, & review sites as possible so people can
review you
Monitor your sites for negative reviews & follow up
with ones you can convert into positive ones
Make it easy for customers to leave you reviews on
the above sites and on your website
Specific Ways to Achieve This
List your business/create a page on key sites like
Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, Hotfrog, etc.
Have a feedback form & links to key sites on your
website for customers to leave you reviews
Place links to your feedback form & key sites on
your marketing materials & get customers to visit
these links to leave reviews
(Note: achieving a 10%+ review rate is considered very good)
Specific Ways to Achieve This
Use tools like Google Alerts, Whostalkin.com to
monitor mentions/reviews of your business
Ask every customers after each sale to leave a
review on your site or via your marketing materials
Consider offering discounts on next purchase if
customers show proof left you a review---good or
bad---to maximize customers leaving you reviews
(Note: achieving a 10%+ review rate is considered very good)
It automates
getting more positive reviews &
thus more sales for you!
5 Star “App” Solution
What is 5 Star?
It’s also software for your website that enables
customers to submit reviews onto your website
It’s a website you login to manage your reviews
(you do not have to have a website to use 5 Star)
It collects customer emails & emails them asking for
reviews for your website & online review sites
Continued….
What is 5 Star?
It tells you when you receive a bad review for you
to follow up to convert into a good one
It only “asks” happy customers to leave reviews on
online review sites that you selected
It creates a link to your feedback page. Add this
link to your marketing materials for customers to
later leave you reviews
It’s feature rich, e.g. has a report feature, etc.
5 Star is Easy to UseIt’s customizable, can run automatically or manually
Just point and click options, enter text to operate:
See how the following businesses use 5 Star
to get more customer ratings, online reviews
& sales, too….
5 Star in Action
They offer incentives to get customer emails to
maximize customer feedback & repeat business.
1. SawbucksPub.com Uses 5 Star
- They enter emails & 5 Star emails customers asking for feedback.
- TIP: Consider offering an incentive like 10% off next visit for good
and bad feedback to maximize your customer feedback rate.
Customer clicks to
provide feedback
Customers Provide Feedback Screen
The Positive Feedback Thank You Page
5 Star prompts happy customers to leave reviews on online review
sites like Google+, Yelp, Urban Spoon, etc. that you choose.
E.g. their 2014 Super Bowl party collected 217 emails
to email future specials to & 10 testimonials for their site.
Result? More testimonials
& potential repeat business
2. KiteboardingCairns.com.au Uses 5 Star to Get a
“Feed” of Customers Reviews on Their Site…
Result? KiteboardingCairns is #1 in Google with
5 Star’s Help!
Popular local search term
Why? Local Search Ranking Factors
Source: http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
Importance
of reviews
5 Star Benefits Your Business
Catch Negative Reviews
Get More Positive Reviews
Capture & Publish Testimonials
More Repeat Business and Referrals
Better Search Rankings
85% of consumers say they read online reviews for local businesses &
79% trust online reviews, where there are 6-10+ reviews, as much as
personal recommendations. Source: Brightlocal Local Consumer Survey 2013
(As shown in these business examples)
What KiteBoardingCairns.com.auSaid About Having a Feed of Reviews on Their Site
Thank You for
Watching
This Presentation
For Any Questions of This Presentation
Please Contact:
Facebook.com/noticedwebsites
Twitter.com/noticedwebsites
NoticedWebsites.com
Box 413, 8060 Jones Rd
Richmond, BC V6Y 4K5 Canada
(604) 417-1020
Copyright 2014, NoticedWebsites.com
The 5 Star “App” Solution
To find out more go to:
http://noticedwebsites.com > 5 Star Presentation
It takes the work out of getting
more positive reviews for you!
Try 5 Star for free & enter your membership at signup
& also get a free QR code that links & markets your new
testimonial feedback page to your customers.