IIn the world of business, generating new customers is essential to keeping the doors open. 

In this blog post, we discuss how online reviews can impact your business and generate new leads. 

Why Reviews are Important:

Nowadays, the power of online reviews from customers should not be underestimated. They have created a new field in marketing and communication, becoming just as strong of a marketing force as word-of-mouth. When customers leave reviews, they are essentially giving feedback about their experience with your business. This feedback can be positive or negative, but either way, these reviews have the ability to sway the opinions of potential customers. "According to BrightLocal, 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations -- the single most trustworthy and credible source of advertising out there." Furthermore, 7 out of 10 consumers will not use a business if it has negative reviews. As a business owner, you should be already on board, collecting customer reviews about the level of service you provide. 

Not only is it important to collect reviews, but also to take action based on the feedback you receive. If customers are unhappy with something, make sure to change it. Their opinion can make or break your business - so don’t take any chances! As a business owner, it is important to monitor what people are saying about your business online. 

Let's take a look at how reviews can affect your business! 

Good Reviews are Essential for Generating New Business. Here's Why:

1. Good reviews show that you're a reputable business. When potential customers see positive reviews, they're more likely to trust your business and choose to do business with you.

2. Good reviews can help improve your search engine ranking. That means when people are searching for businesses like yours, your business is more likely to come up first in the results. And we all know that people are more likely to choose businesses that appear higher up in the search results.

3. Good reviews give you social proof. Social proof is basically when other people's opinions influence our own decision-making. So when potential customers see that others have had positive experiences with your business, they're more likely to want to have a positive experience themselves.

What You Can Learn from Poor Reviews:

If you're a business owner, bad reviews can be tough to swallow. But it's important to remember that every customer is different, and what one person didn't like about your product or service may not be a deal-breaker for someone else. Instead of getting defensive, use bad reviews as an opportunity to learn where you can improve.

Here are Three Ways to Turn a Negative Review into a Positive Learning Experience:

1. Listen to feedback with an open mind.

2. Use customer feedback to pinpoint areas for improvement.

3. Take action based on what you've learned.

By taking the time to listen to customers' feedback and using it to improve your business, you can turn even the worst review into a positive learning experience.

How to Encourage Customers to Write Reviews:

There are a few key ways that you can encourage customers to write reviews for your business. 

1. First, start by asking them! However, you want to identify the right moments to ask. Timing is everything. If you ask for a review at the wrong moment, it can result in no review or even a bad review. According to their buyer's journey, there are three key moments when customers are most likely to write reviews: after they've made a purchase, after they've used the product or service, and after they've had a positive experience. Asking customers to write reviews at these key moments will help you collect the most accurate and helpful reviews.  

2.  Leverage moments of customer satisfaction. Sending follow-up emails or push notifications after they've had a positive experience with your business is a great way to remind them to leave a review. Thanking them for their business and gently reminding them to leave a review can go a long way in getting those coveted online reviews!

3. Make it easy for them. The easier you make it for customers to leave reviews, the more likely they'll be to do so. That means having a clear and concise process for them to follow. With the GTR app, you can utilize the “leave a review” feature, making it easy for your customers to find all links. They leave a review all through the app, and won’t have to take extra time searching for different review platforms. 

How Reviews Generate More Referrals: 

When someone leaves a positive review, they’re effectively giving their stamp of approval and telling others that they should try the product or service too. This is why reviews are so important. Not only do they give you an idea of what others think about a product or service, but they can also generate referrals. And as we all know, word-of-mouth is one of the best forms of marketing. It’s personal and it’s trusted. So if you’re looking to generate more referrals, encourage your customers to leave reviews.

GTR Review Portal: 

If you're looking for a way to get more reviews from your customers, the GTR app is a great solution. With the GTR app, customers can write a review directly through the app to the various review platforms online. This makes it easy and convenient for customers to leave a review, and it's a great way to get more honest feedback. Plus, the more reviews you have, the more likely potential customers are to choose your business.