There’s no getting away from it: “What other people say about your business is at least 20 times more valuable than what you say about your own business”.
The 2012 Local Consumer Review Survey reported that:
72% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations
More local consumers are now taking notice of online reviews and online reviews are an important factor in deciding which local business to use.
The availability of clear and easy to consume review / star-rating content will become even more important to consumers and extremely valuable to local business owners.
The key point of the survey is that more and more people are using reviews to form an opinion when deciding which local business to use!
You need to start using reviews and NOT testimonials!
Testimonial = A comment posted by the business on its own website from one of its customers.
Testimonials about a business on the businesses own website typically represent a no-win scenario. Readers assume that positive reviews are not representative of customer sentiment and that negative reviews are being censored and therefore not published.
Review = A comment posted on an independent third party website.
Reviews about businesses on an independent website typically represent a win – win scenario. Readers see them as more reliable, trustworthy and informative and are seen as ‘independent’ and the true sentiment of ‘real’ customers.
Reviews posted on third party websites are also aggregated by search engines such as Google to determine on-line star ratings!
With the New Best of Coventry Review Widget API getting on-line reviews directly from your own website has never been easier.
You simply add a snippet of code to your own website; people can then read all your reviews, add a review and even share your reviews on Facebook.
All reviews added are fully moderated to ensure they are genuine; you’ll have a ‘talk back’ facility so you can reply to the comment which increases engagement and you will also have the facility to send emails promoting your offers and latest news to everyone who has submitted a review.
Review sites such as Trust Pilot would charge over £70.00 per month for this level of functionality - And that’s without the email facility!
The Best of Coventry Review Widget is Free (for our business members or £30.00 per month as a stand alone product), we host your reviews for FREE and if you need any printed customer comment cards, we provide these for FREE and will even send out your emails for FREE too!
It’s crucial for local businesses to have a positive online reputation so you can convert ‘searchers’ into customers.
If you are a great local business with lots of happy customers The Best of Coventry Review Widget API will help you Collect reviews effortlessly, Engage with your customers, Share your credibility and Increase sales.
Why not get in touch to find out more?
Tel: 024 7696 0732 – Email us HERE
You can read the full survey by visiting Search Engine Land– Here!
