3 Ways Customer Reviews Boost Brand Awareness (And How to Take Advantage of Them)

Brand awareness is the level of familiarity consumers have with your business. This recognition is a core component of building a successful business due to its positive ramifications. The greater the awareness, the easier it is to generate interest, convert paying customers, build loyalty, establish authority, and so much more. There are plenty of factors that contribute to a business’s brand awareness, but customer reviews are easily the most overlooked. Let’s see just how impactful testimonials can be on brand awareness.

 

1.   Customer testimonials improve SEO.

Search engine optimization (SEO) encompasses all strategies used to increase your business’s online exposure. More specifically, SEO methods are aimed at ranking a company’s websites, blogs, social media profiles, and other web-based content high on related Google searches. Generally, a business’s ranking increases in proportion to the amount of high-quality, authentic, and recent content published. Customer reviews are a perfect candidate since they demonstrate to Google that your business is well-regarded, serving real customers, and still open for business. Each testimonial acts as a boost to your business’s online exposure, making it easier for potential customers to find.

 

2.   It increases word-of-mouth advertising.

Word-of-mouth advertising might seem like an endangered species among the rapid evolution of modern marketing strategies. In reality, it’s still recognized as a highly decisive factor in a business’s overall success. In fact, 64% of marketers view word-of-mouth advertising as the most impactful marketing style. Customer reviews bridge the gap between real-world and virtual advertising because they encourage people to talk about your business. When customers leave a testimonial, they’re going to be more motivated to share that experience with others. People place a lot of stock in what their friends, family members, co-workers, and even acquaintances say about particular businesses.

 

3.   Potential customers learn about your business.

It’s tough to cultivate a sense of trust and familiarity with people who have yet to use your products or services. At the same time, establishing that confidence is essential for converting potential customers who are on the fence. Customer reviews resolve this dilemma by providing unbiased and dependable testimony to boost your business’s credibility and quality. The more reviews people have to read about your brand, the more familiar it will become. This is another foundational way customer accounts can further boost brand awareness. Although your business’s online information is important, online visitors tend to place more trust in what customers are saying.

 

How to harness the brand-boosting power of customer reviews.

At this point, it’s important to note that customer reviews can elevate brand awareness, but this benefit isn’t automatically realized. This is why so many business owners are afraid to encourage customers to share their experiences. With standard review portals such as Google and Yelp, businesses don’t have any sense of control over the impact of customer reviews. One bad review has the potential to undermine years of hard work. However, the problem isn’t customer testimonials but the poor design of the review sites. That’s where hapigood is different.

 

This one-of-a-kind review and reputation management system is redefining how businesses can leverage customer feedback to their advantage. Instead of automatically publishing reviews without your input, hapigood curates each customer testimonial individually to determine the most effective way to handle the review. Positive testimonials are published on your website, social media accounts, and other online platforms, and negative feedback is sent to your customer support team to resolve the issue. In short, hapigood reduces and responds to the negative while increasing and promoting the positive.

 

Tired of feeling like the impact of customer reviews is entirely out of your control? It’s time to get in the driver’s seat so you can take full advantage of what customer testimonials have to offer. Feel free to contact us today to learn more about hapigood and how it can help your business simplify review and reputation management.

6 Reasons Why Customers Prefer to Buy from Reviewed Businesses

Every business owner understands that customer reviews can have a positive impact on success. However, do you know the extent of that impact? Here’s a quick rundown:

 

As the numbers plainly illustrate, customers overwhelmingly prefer to buy from a reviewed business. Here, we’re going to look into the motivating factors behind this phenomenon.

 

1.   They know your business is legit.

The internet is overflowing with sketchy, scamming, and downright fraudulent businesses trying to hook unwitting customers. As a result, people are highly skeptical when searching for companies on the internet. Customer reviews are an effective way to help potential customers ease their guard. Seeing that real people have had a great experience with your business can work wonders for developing trust and legitimacy online.

 

2.   Curiosity gets the best of us.

People are naturally curious. Even customers who are already decided to spend money with your business might check out previous reviews just to see what others are saying. In this scenario, a bunch of positive reviews can work to solidify their conviction to buy your products or use your services. However, a general lack of reviews or a slew of negative customer testimonials can cause those near-customers to backtrack.

 

3.   Customers want to see businesses that care.

Long gone are the days when consumers only cared about the quality of products. On top of premium-quality goods and services, people want an excellent customer service experience too. Review can instantly tell potential customers how a business interacts with its current clientele. The content of the reviews can illustrate what it’s like to work with your business, and your company’s responses to those reviews demonstrate your willingness to engage with clients too. A gesture that might seem minor to you goes a long way when people are on the fence.

 

4.   It shows your business is alive and well.

What’s posted on the internet sticks around forever, but businesses come and go. Everyone’s had the experience of finding a company online only to find out it no longer exists in real life. Often, potential customers search for customer reviews as a lifeline to make sure a business is still kicking. It’s important to note that simply having testimonials isn’t sufficient. You need to have recent customer reviews to prove that your business is running strong.

 

5.   Customers trust customer reviews.

It’s somewhat of a truism to say potential customers trust reviews from your past clients. After all, this is one of the more foundational reasons for encouraging and curating testimonials. Still, the impact might not hit home until you crunch the numbers. One revealing survey found that 84% of customers trust reviews just as much as a personal recommendation. This is the virtual equivalent of super convincing word-of-mouth advertising. The best part is these positive online reviews are up 24/7, generating more trust and garnering more attention round the clock.

 

6.   They show the quality of your products or services.

The most compelling motivation customers have for scouring reviews of your business is to gauge the quality of what you offer. Testimonials make it easy for potential clients to determine the standard of your products or services without having to spend a penny. Plus, no matter how many times you claim your business is the best (which it probably is!), people are going to remain skeptical until they read customer reviews that echo those claims.

 

If you’ve been struggling to make the most of customer reviews, you’re in the right place! hapigood is redefining the way businesses manage, curate, and optimize client testimonials by making it possible to handle feedback from one convenient location.