Did you know that an increase by one star in ratings for your business can build revenue by 5% to 9%? Review marketing remains an underutilized but crucial aspect of any local business’s digital marketing efforts. While it may seem like a complex task to manage, there are some easy-to-use, affordable solutions that make customer reviews management as simple as a few clicks.

Customer reviews are the digital equivalent to word-of-mouth. In an era when everything is a simple click away, businesses must actively maintain their digital presence including managing reviews. According to the Local Consumer Review Survey published by marketing software maker BrightLocal, approximately 80% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

The foundation for an effective customer reviews management campaign is your ability to capture as many positive reviews as possible. More positive customer reviews helps you gain more stars, which improves your business listing ranking, which, in turn, helps you achieve better visibility on Google.

We recently published a case study, “Power of Review Requests,” that explores the role played by requesting customer reviews toward boosting business revenues. A few years ago, Pizza Pirates was struggling to increase sales and build a loyal customer base. Due to previous ownership, the restaurant needed to overcome negative perceptions among local area consumers despite now boasting quality ingredients and affordable prices under new owners.

After coming to understand the importance of customer reviews and its relationship with SEO, Google ranking, and online brand recognition, Pizza Pirates launched a reviews acquisition campaign with three main goals:

  1. Improve the local pizza shop’s online reputation
  2. Boost its star rating by capturing consistent positive online reviews
  3. Increase the volume of online orders and foot traffic to the store

Using The Mike Agency’s Reputation and Marketing Platform (RAMP) and contact information from its online ordering platform, Pizza Pirates began to engage with satisfied customers and drive a critical mass of positive reviews. Using RAMP’s Customer Voice tool, they were able to:

  1. Send review requests to customer right when they were most likely to respond positively (shortly after ordering a pizza)
  2. Increase the outlet’s online visibility by being present where potential customers were most likely to be searching (linking to most popular listings and review sites)
  3. Establish a connection of trust with customers by sending customized SMS messages

After using the Customer Voice tool for over a month, Pizza Pirates was able to see some dramatic and tangible positive results. A few of the major highlights were:

  1. There was a sharp increase in customer reviews (35+ new reviews in a month)
  2. They were able to accumulate a higher number of positive reviews consistently, which helped boost their star rating (4.9 stars – Average monthly star rating)
  3. There was an increase in sales by approximately 20%

Benefits of managing online business listings and customer reviews

By using RAMP, Pizza Pirates was also able to claim its business listing on Google and ensure the accuracy of the information across dozens of relevant listings, as well as monitor online reviews and engage with customers thanking them for positive reviews and addressing the negative ones to help build brand trust.

If you wish to gauge the online presence of your business, including how your customer reviews are performing, we offer a complimentary Snapshot Report to help you identify areas that need improvement and how you stack up against your competition. Click here to generate the free Snapshot Report.