How to Get Top-Notch Ratings…and Rule the Online World
Online ratings are becoming increasingly important for businesses in the digital age. A high rating can help your business establish credibility, attract new customers, and increase sales.
You have to be careful though. A low rating can harm your business’s reputation and cause potential customers to look elsewhere. Let's look at some of the pros and cons of seeking online ratings.
Pros
Credibility: A high rating can help establish your business as credible and trustworthy. A large number of high ratings demonstrates that you’ve helped many customers, which can be a powerful tool for attracting new customers.
Visibility: Online ratings are often displayed prominently on search pages, helping you stand out! This also can increase how often and how highly ranked your website appears and increases the size of the audience you might be displayed to.
Increased Sales: Studies have shown that businesses with high ratings are more likely to generate increased sales. This is because customers are more likely to trust a business with a high rating and are more likely to make a purchase.
Cons
Negative Feedback: One of the biggest drawbacks of online ratings is that you are open to negative public feedback from customers. This can be damaging to your business’s reputation and can lead to lost customers.
Difficulty in Controlling Ratings: It can be difficult to control online ratings, as they are often influenced by factors beyond your control, such as your customer’s personal experiences or preferences.
Cost: Maintaining and improving your online ratings can be expensive and time-consuming. You may need to invest in marketing and customer service strategies to ensure a high rating, which can be a financial burden.
Things to Consider
Maintaining a solid online presence and ensuring your ratings are an asset, not a liability takes work. To successfully nurture your ratings you should be considering a few things:
Reputation Management: Actively manage your online reputation by monitoring your ratings and responding to customer feedback. This will help you maintain a high rating and address any negative feedback before it harms your business.
Customer Service: Providing excellent customer service is key to maintaining a high rating. You should make sure your customer service is fast, friendly, and effective.
Marketing: Marketing strategies can help your business increase your online visibility and attract new customers. This can include search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and content marketing. Having a strong online rating can help make your online marketing that much more effective.
Need a Little Boost
At PinPoint, we know how important online ratings are and that is why it is a core feature that we support. With our custom messaging system, we are able to ask your customers for ratings where it makes most sense for your business, whether that’s Google, Yelp, or anywhere else.
We also know that bad experiences happen—to other businesses, not yours of course—which is why we have a built-in system to notify you when something goes wrong. You are able to swiftly deal with the problem before it ever shows up publicly!
Check out our demo video, it walks through the day-to-day experience of PinPoint Status, including gathering internal and public reviews.