Month: June 2022

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The Importance of Continuously Curating Reviews

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Business owners understand perfectly well that customers care about reviews. But do you know how many testimonials your clients are looking for? Is it 5 or 10? Maybe even a few dozen? According to one survey, customers needed to see around 40 reviews before they could trust a company’s star rating! While this number is relative to the niche and size of your business, it does highlight one important point: customers prefer companies who attract a lot of feedback. Let’s take a look at some other important reasons to continuously curate reviews.

More likely to gain customer trust.

Everyone’s seen those sketchy sites trying to get by with just a few generic reviews from anonymous users. This lack of transparency and authenticity is instantly off-putting to customers who are looking for companies they can trust. Even if you rely on a small number of authentic reviews, online visitors are still going to tread lightly. There’s a certain amount of social proof that comes along with a higher number of client testimonials. People feel more comfortable working with a company that’s experienced. Regularly curating your client feedback can provide you with that higher level of credibility that potential customers are looking for.

A better understanding of customer sentiments.

Potential clients aren’t the only people who benefit from recent customer feedback. This information is also an invaluable resource for owners to get a better idea of how customers perceive their business. After all, customer sentiments are the most direct form of market research available. These testimonials can help you refine services and products to better fit the needs of your clientele and create a tailored customer service experience that gives customers exactly what they’re looking for. This feedback can be viewed as the pulse of customer satisfaction which is a reliable metric for gauging the financial stability of your company.

Up-to-date reviews are more impactful.

Timing is a key factor for customers when judging the relevance of online comments. In fact, 85% of customers don’t consider reviews older than 3 months as relevant. More specifically, 40% claimed that they only cared about those submitted within the past two weeks, an increase of 32% from the previous year. People understand that up-to-date feedback will provide a more accurate reflection of a company’s current state. It’s not that those older comments are meaningless. Rather, these findings stress the importance of curating new reviews to make customers feel more informed and up-to-date.

Improved search engine ranking.

Optimizing search engine ranking is a highly effective method for generating leads. While link-building, meta descriptions, and other complicated strategies are often used to boost SEO, business owners might be surprised to hear that customer feedback falls under this umbrella as well. Search engines gauge the authenticity of a company partially based on the amount of related content found online. Every time a customer leaves a comment, your company gains another piece of searchable content. This positive relationship between reviews and search engine ranking is enhanced the more active you are in curating feedback.

Customers feel valued.

Customer testimonials open up more than one avenue of conversation. Consumers have the opportunity to talk with each other, but companies also have the chance to reach out to past and potential clients. Staying up-to-date on your company’s reviews shows customers that you’re active and listening. This may seem like a small gesture to owners with a lot on their plate, but it can mean a world of difference for customers who want to be heard. In an environment where trust is paramount, customer feedback is a great way to establish a dialogue with clients.

If you’re a small business struggling to stay up-to-date on customer testimonials or receiving feedback in general, check out hapigood for a comprehensive and streamlined alternative. hapigood gives businesses the ability to manage and optimize client feedback from one convenient location. No more jumping between review sites and blogs to curate the latest comments.

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Advantages of Having All of Your Company’s Reviews in One Place

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Customer feedback is one area of business that some owners wouldn’t even approach with a ten-foot pole. What should be a constructive way for customers to review and learn about businesses is too often clouded with false statements and disorganization. Companies who feel compelled to leave this aspect of their business alone often see negative repercussions. The real solution to this disorder is a single place where feedback can be housed and organized properly. Instead of having to rely on multiple sources, customers could be directed to a single page. Here are some advantages of having all of your company’s reviews in one place.

Quells all of the noise.

There’s a good reason that business owners and customers alike have become disillusioned with standard review boards. With little oversight and lackluster quality control, people are free to post whatever they want. It doesn’t have to be true, and they don’t even have to be an actual customer. Companies feel like giant targets, and earnest customers don’t know what to believe. hapigood does away with this destructive noise while leaving intact the benefits of review boards. It’s a place to handle customer feedback proactively where companies can feel protected and customers can feel understood.

Offers a more holistic view.

Contrary to popular belief, customer feedback can’t be boiled down to what’s found on Yelp or Google. In reality, customer testimonials can be found in a variety of places including emails, phone calls, and local news stories among others. When companies or potential customers are informed from only one of these sources, they’re not getting a complete picture of what’s being reviewed. Having a single source to collect and curate customer feedback offers your clients a more holistic view of your business which can lead to more informed decisions and accurate conclusions.

Boosts your company’s SEO.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the holy grail of internet marketing. The higher your company’s name ranks on Google, the more leads you’ll acquire through increased traffic. hapigood taps into this resource as an independent blog hosting all of your company’s testimonials. As searchable content, this collected feedback boosts your SEO scoring by making your company more prevalent and searchable online. The quality of such content also improves Google’s evaluation of your company as an authentic entity.

Tells a story about your business.

In the 21st century, customers react much more positively to companies that have a compelling story rather than just a generic list of advantages. When used properly, customer feedback has the potential to act as a narrative device that conveys a story to potential clients. Stand-alone comments are better than nothing, but compiling all of your company’s testimonials in one place is much more powerful. It can tell a much broader story about what it’s like to interact with your company, what it represents, and the kind of atmosphere that’s created when working together. The best part is that your customers are doing all the work in piecing together this narrative. All you have to do is manage the feedback.

Convenient place to direct potential customers.

A polished sales pitch and friendly customer service are no longer enough to win over the trust of a client. Today, people are accustomed to having testimonials from prior clients to inform their decisions. This could even be the deciding factor for those still on the fence. As a company, you’re at an advantage when you have a convenient and reliable place to direct potential clients who are interested in seeing what others have to say. You don’t have to shy away from any untruths which may be lurking on more standard review boards. Instead, you can confidently show people all of the positive thoughts customers share about your business.

If your company is frustrated with the chaotic nature of current review boards, consider working with hapigood for a more comprehensive and proactive way to manage customer feedback. You’ll appreciate the greater level of control and transparency while potential clients benefit from the convenience and simplicity.

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How Customer Chatter Can Affect Your Bottom Line (Good and Bad Ways)

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As a business owner, you instinctively know that customer feedback has an impact on your bottom line. The real question is to what degree these testimonials are affecting profit and if it’s severe enough to warrant your attention. Will that one negative review on Yelp really cost you any customers? Do positive comments do anything to actually drive up sales and demand? With so much idle chit-chat online, it can be difficult to know what requires your attention and what can be ignored. To help provide some clarity, let’s explore how customer chatter can affect your bottom line. We’ll tackle the good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly.

What do the numbers say?

The rise of review sites and an increase in internet usage together have transformed the way consumers interact with each other and with businesses. According to one BrightLocal survey, 93% of consumers use reviews to determine whether a local company is good or bad. When comparing older and younger cohorts, it’s clear how this attitude has solidified over time. While only 41% of consumers aged 55 and older leave online reviews, this number nearly doubles to 80% for those between 18 and 34. No matter how you slice it, the numbers certainly suggest that customer feedback is worth your attention.

How does online chatter benefit your bottom line?

Improved search engine ranking.

One of the surprising advantages of customer feedback is its positive impact on your company’s search engine ranking. Google decides where to list your website for related searches depending on a variety of factors. Every time your business name is mentioned online by a customer, your site gains a little more credibility in the eyes of the ranking algorithm. More feedback leads to a higher ranking which directly correlates to more leads and a steadier bottom line.

An increase in demand.

A revealing study from the Harvard School of Business found that restaurants gained a 5-9% boost in revenue after their Yelp ratings increase by one star. This relationship between positive customer feedback and increased demand was echoed in a similar analysis in the hotel industry. According to the Boston University study, hotels with a one-star higher rating across established review sites saw a 25% higher demand even with a 9% increase in prices.

How can customer reviews hurt your bottom line?

A decrease in brand loyalty.

Much to the dismay of business owners, customer feedback isn’t always positive. Clients won’t be satisfied 100% of the time, and companies will make the occasional mistake. While some negative feedback here and there is no issue, problems start to arise when these bad comments become more apparent and commonplace. In fact, 42% of customers say that negative reviews are enough to make them consider using another company. A major drop like that in your clientele base would have a considerable impact on profits.

Damaged reputation.

A decrease in sales isn’t the only way customer chatter can affect your bottom line. Companies that suffer from a poor reputation also deal with employment issues. A CareerBuilder survey found that 71% of workers wouldn’t apply to a business with negative press. This leads to increased hiring costs which end up eating away at your bottom line from the other side. You don’t have to make front-page news to suffer a damaged reputation either. The right number of negative reviews has the same effect.

Can you do anything about it?

As eye-opening as this information may be, it doesn’t seem very useful to owners who feel like this online chatter is out of their control. This is a common misconception that leaves many businesses vulnerable to the unpredictable nature of online discussion. To avoid being a sitting duck, companies need to proactively manage feedback to improve their online image and steer clear of avoidable damage. When you’re present in the discussion, you have greater sway over the tone and direction it takes.

If you’re finding it difficult to establish any solid footing in the quagmire of current online review sites, consider using hapigood for a simpler and more constructive solution. hapigood takes the struggle and frustration out of managing customer feedback by providing businesses with a dedicated place to organize and oversee all of this content.