Author: Troy Counselman

Building a busy and successful small business requires the ability to wear a LOT of hats. One of the most important is how we get the word out about ourselves – how we advertise and how we market.

Within the first 10 years of the onset of the internet, online review sites have come on board in a big way. Most of us know of them at least to a certain extent.

We might use reviews to find and evaluate a good restaurant but if you are one of the many other myriad of other local business owners do reviews really have much value? I mean, sure, every now and then someone says they ‘found us online and our reviews were good’ (hopefully or they wouldn’t be there) and we think to ourselves at that moment “hmmm, looks like a few people are looking at my reviews…”

Well, let me tell you, it is a lot more than a few. I was shocked to find out the reality of just how impactful reviews can be.

When I opened my latest brick and mortar business a few years ago I decided to do something I had never done.

I decided to focus 100% of my marketing efforts (not dollars) on the promotion of getting a ton of reviews.

It was definitely a test – but one that I gambled wholeheartedly on.

THE RESULTS OF MY TEST

Probably like you, I assumed I would get a few customers from the review sites here and there, but I figured once the word got out then word of mouth would take over and I could let the business somewhat ride the wave. Little did I realize the full implications of what focusing on reviews would do for my business.

It turns out people are using these sites for everything! I attribute much of this trend to what I call Cumulative Consensus which is nothing more than a prospective customer who quickly scans a certain number of reviews on their review site of choice (typically about 10) in order to come up with an overall “feel” of the business. Since these reviews are from unbiased previous customers who presumably placed them on their own accord, they must be unbiased (and most honestly are). That provides a ton of social proof!

Now, here is the EXCITING news!…

You are probably thinking “great, I got a bunch of new customers from the review sites” but you would be wrong – and this next part was a total surprise to me! Now of course, you will get customers from the review sites and if you do it right you will get a lot of them, but the collateral value is “SEO juice!”

SEO or search engine optimization is nothing more than having a web-presence that shows up high in the organic search engine searches. When someone goes to Google.com and enters in “____ (type) business in (your city),” where do you show up? If you are not 1, 2 or 3 on the organic (non-paid for ads) section then you are not getting business from the internet, period. How do you show up in positions 1-3? Well your site, and your business in general, has to do a whole lot of online factors that pleases the Google algorithms (and all other search engines) to the extent that they find you relevant for those keywords and reward you by placing you high in the rankings. That is how you get business from the internet!

Now, can you pay an SEO firm hundreds if not thousands of dollars to create back links, perform all the necessary on-site SEO friendly actions, and the myriad of other steps that they espouse as valuable? Well yes, you can do that. Or you can do what I discovered.

You can kill it on the review sites on your own and for very little cost, and by doing so generate THE BEST SEO juice on the planet!

Here is why: For brick and mortar business, search engines value relevancy above all else. In the online (non-local business) space you are expected to do so much more back-linking and many other expensive and time-consuming steps, but the search engines know local businesses are not going to all be able to do that. So, what outside source are they providing an overwhelming amount of value to? Yep, review sites!

PERFORM YOUR OWN TEST

Check it out for yourself. Go to Google.com, type in “(Your business type) in (your city)” and see what pops up on the first page. Not only will it be sites that have a lot of good reviews, but the review sites (like Yelp and Angie’s List) that are promoting your sites.

It is a triple bang for your buck, but your only cost is in effort – not a huge ongoing monthly investment like you have with traditional SEO efforts. So yes, you will get customers from the review sites, that alone is worth the effort, but the side effect of all the SEO value you get that will propel you to the top of the search engine is equally, if not more valuable! Awesome huh!

So, back to my original subject line. “Think Online Reviews Might Be Important?” When it comes to marketing I KNOW they are the most important new customer acquisition method in today’s marketplace!

So, I urge you, delve into this review landscape and make it work for you like I have. In my healthcare business am getting between 5-10 new patients per day from review sites alone. And THAT is valuable!

Google released a really simple tool that allows small business that have a Google My Business listing to auto-generate well designed signage to place anywhere in your office or store.

It’s probably obvious why we at ReviewerPro.com love this tool. It takes your positive Google reviews and makes them so everyone can see them!

You can access the free tool here:

https://smallthanks.withgoogle.com/

Here is how it works.

Step 1. Find your business

The tool is almost too simple. First, start typing in the name of your business. A drop down will appear for you to find yours.

Step 2. Choose the poster template that most appeals to you.

Google provides three well designed posters that feature a choice quote from one of your positive Google reviews.

Step 3. Download the high-resolution PDF of the poster ready for print, or share on social media

However, you don’t have to accept it as is, you can customize it. You can use Google’s customization to choose the layout, the font color of the quote, and the quote itself.

Click on the “or customize your own” link below the posters, as seen here:

Step 1. Choose from one of the two basic layouts

Step 2. Choose the review from the list provided (which are from your reviews)

Step 3. Choose the color and style

By clicking one of the options, you will also see a color palette below the photo.

Mission complete! Now all you have to do is download and print your poster

Pretty awesome huh!? Google obviously recognizes the need to connect the digital experience with the offline world, and this little tool does just that, by highlighting the value of online reviews as social proof.

I know this may be a bit counterintuitive, but please hear me out. As common convention, or common sense, would have it; there is no better “pre-sold” new customer than one that is referred by a friend or family member, right?

I beg to differ.

Historically yes, the customer that is referred by a friend, co-worker or relative is better than any type of general marketing customer easily. But offer a free-this or free-that to just the average person you market to and you get a certain percentage of tire kickers. This remains true when you offer a Groupon, or do TV, radio, or any other common advertising medium. In every one of these instances, you need to weed through the customers who are just out for a cheap deal to try and reach those good long-term customers that appreciate what you offer and are willing to pay you for it.

So, you have a great customer, Mary and she is sending her brother Jim to see you. And since Jim’s sister has been extolling the virtues of your miraculous products or services for years, he comes in already prepared that he will be just as pleased with your products or services.

Or, does he?

The skeptical mind, like mine and probably many of yours, is often overly skeptical of the personal referral, especially in situations like this. Why? Because after years of playing this game one thing all too often becomes obvious, people refer you to people they “like” but not those that are necessarily the best. Also by referring brother Jim to “my blank who is the best” it psychologically gives Mary some sort of minor pat-on-the-back-cause-I-helped-someone-with-my-unique-knowledge kind of feeling. That’s great and all, but does it really suit Jim’s needs and best interest? Maybe, but maybe not. Therein lies the reason for skepticism, the partial degree of doubt that is inherently there.

I have a good friend who exemplifies this completely. Any chance he gets he is telling every acquaintance he can that they should go to so and so for this or that, covering the complete spectrum of businesses. It doesn’t take one long to realize there is no way this guy knows “the best” in every single trade or profession out there. When I hear these recommendations from him, I cringe. Not because he is trying to help, his heart is in the right place for the most part, but because he most often is not really helping.

What then do I think is the best source of truly good customers? In the last couple of years, I have become an absolute convert to getting customers who are referred by review sites and review ratings. Sites such as Yelp, Google My Business, Facebook reviews, HealthGrades, AngiesList, and So on.

“Well, okay,” you say, “I can see getting customers from review sites is great, but are they really the ‘best’ customers I can be getting?” My simple answer is yes, and I will tell you why. People trust unsolicited online recommendations, the statistics say up to 90%, because recommendations are basically an upgraded form of social proof. But, therein lies the secret, why is it “upgraded”? Think about it, put a testimonial up on your website or any sales website, and sure, it does have value. Now, have that same testimonial placed without any provocation by the business at all (so most people assume), on a third-party website like Yelp? Believe it or not (and I get it if you are not a Yelper or a review site person – I wasn’t either) but to a vast majority of prospective customers, these recommendations scream of non-bias! That is what every prospective customer is looking for!

When a prospect goes to your Yelp page and performs what I call a ‘conceptual consensus’, meaning they scan 10 or more reviews to get what their brain will perceive as a very straightforward and honest assessment of your business (one that your sister Mary could never provide in such an objective manner) then that prospect becomes truly pre-sold on you and your products or services!

What do you think?

In my profession, I receive 5-10 new patients every day just from the review sites and what I love most about it is that a good majority come in a saying something to the effect of “I don’t know if you realize, but you have amazing reviews!” – which is exactly why they those chose me over everyone else. (And of course, I know it; I designed it to be that way.) So, if that is not valuable information for the health of your new customer flow – I honestly don’t know what is. I guarantee you this though; it is certainly a better and much more frequent occurrence for me, rather than waiting and hoping that Mary will send her brother Jim in someday soon.