Welcome back to ‘Advertising Made Easy with SMA’.  Today we are going to talk about Reviews.  We all know we should be asking for them, but do you know why? 

Here is what you need to know about reviews.

1st – What exactly is a review? A review or recommendation is a rating that a customer can leave online. They can be left on multiple platforms including but not limited to Google, Facebook, Yelp, & Bing.  Some platforms include star ratings but not all. Most platforms allow the business to reply to each review individually.

2nd – Why do we need them? Here are 3 reasons.

~ Your Reputation – Having positive reviews about your business will show people that you are trustworthy and pleasant to work with.

~ Customer Relations – Sometimes we don’t know we have a problem until it’s pointed out. Being able to reply to these reviews allows people to see that you are working on the problem.

~ Search Engines – Reviews help your company’s website or landing page to show higher in search results.  Most of the major platforms will show the company that has the most & highest rating higher in search results than those that don’t have any reviews.

The bottom line is we should collect as many reviews as possible.

Since leaving reviews have become a common practice, you will likely receive a few reviews organically. But if you want more, the best thing you can do is ask!

I know this is not as easy as it sounds, so I wanted to provide a few ideas. Here are 3 things that have worked for my clients.

~ Hang up a sign in your lobby with a QR code asking your customers to leave a review while they wait. 

~ Create stickers or put notes on invoices asking people to leave a review and include a link.

~ Run a promotion. Give people a free can of window cleaner if they leave a review.

That’s all I have for today. If you would like a sign or design with a link or QR code on it, let Buzz know. We will gladly create one for you for free.  After all, we are here to help you succeed!