The consumer mentality when searching for businesses online
The customer voice can be defined as the in-depth process of capturing customer’s expectations, preferences and aversions to a business/brand experience. In essence, this is the process through which you will gauge your customer’s needs in relation to your business’s services or products. We take for granted the value of a customer and don’t take into consideration the impact that a single review can have on our business’s online reputation.
Where are they looking for your business?
Did you know that nearly 90% of consumers will only consider using a business if they have an average rating of three to five stars? How does your business rank in star ratings online? Consumers go through the internet to get public feedback on a local restaurant or hotel to help gauge their decision on a service. If your business has less than three stars on any listing site you are likely to be overlooked by a potential customer.
There are four different types of listing sites that your customers are on and this is where the conversation around your brand begins. There are search engine sites that are designed to search for information on the World Wide Web, this is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes into play. The next type of listing site is a review site which is where reviews can be posted about people, businesses, products, or services.
Another listing site is a directory website or link directory which is an online list or catalog of websites. The final of the four listing sites is social websites which serve as an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relations with other people. You can read in more detail on these four listing sites in our, Reputation Management Part 3.
What do they look for?
Think about how you normally search online for a service. Do you go to Google or Yelp to read about other customers experiences? What do you look for in a review? Do you immediately read negative or positive reviews to determine your decision? Answer these questions from your perspective, then from a consumers perspective. You have the same answers across the board, don’t you?
Consider the word-of-mouth approach to advertising. Create a positive conversation around your brand and they will come. People that hear about your brand via word-of-mouth may have the same experience when looking for online reviews about your business.
I don’t have time to manage reviews
It’s easy to overlook your online reputation when your attention is needed in the office, at the register or managing the books. An online review can be that next selling point that you would normally overlook.
Reaching potential customers at the forefront of any listing site is crucial to maintaining your online reputation and maintaining your online community. Our Customer Voice tools are perfect for maintaining your online reputation with your client’s/customers via email or text messaging. You can learn more through our Digital Services page.
Posted: Dec 10, 2018