You have a friend that’s a business owner. You use her products/services as much as you can and recommend her products/services to everyone. This is amazing and you are a great friend. That’s all you can do, right? Wrong. There is something else. It will take you less than 5 minutes, cost nothing, and help your friend win business from people you’ve never even met. She needs your online reviews.
According to a recent study I read, 89% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase. That’s a whole lot of prescreening online before they even meet your fabulous entrepreneur friend. And 79% of consumers trust the reviews they read. This is your chance to tell people you’ve never met how wonderful your friend’s business is.
To give your friend the absolute best review possible, think for a minute what questions you’d have about that business as an outsider. At a restaurant, I’d want to know if the food is fresh and the service is great. For a pest control company, I’d want to know that they were effective and also if the technicians were trustworthy. At a web design company, you’ll want to know if they were creative, listened to your ideas, and executed with excellence. Answer these questions for potential new customers with your review and it will help your friend the most.
Also, reviews are important to Google, Facebook, etc for helping decide which business to recommend. Never write with Google or Facebook as your intended audience, but it specifically helps with these services when you’re specific. Instead of a review for a pest control company that says “Great Service. 5 Stars” You can instead say “I called Tupelo Pest Control for armyworms. They came out right away and were professional and courteous. They fixed my armyworm issue and I’m using them for everything from now on!” This both tells readers that they were amazing, answers their questions they would have about a pest control service, and tells Google that they are relevant for armyworms.
I’ll also mention that negative reviews can be just as impactful (negatively) as positive ones – so make sure you feel it is truly warranted before firing off. And one other tidbit: if you only have time to leave a review on a single platform, I recommend choosing Google for the most impact. Thanks for reading, and happy reviewing.
