Business report websites are an integral part of the customer buying journey today. Buyers make quick decisions about a business simply by reading annual reports – without ever calling your company, setting foot in your store, or visiting your website.
How is your presence on review sites? Have you found all of the websites that have customers reviewing your business? Are the reviews mostly positive?
Managing your presence is known as online reputation management and should be done on business reviews websites. Reputation management includes identifying, monitoring and influencing the credibility and reputation of your company online. And central to review sites are customer ratings.
A customer review is when a customer posts a review of a product, service, or brand online based on first-hand knowledge. Customer reviews are not professional reviews and are never paid for. Approximately 72% of US consumers have posted a review for a local business.
Customer ratings are a form of customer feedback. They usually contain text and a star rating of 1 to 5 stars, with 1 being bad and 5 being excellent. While there are many places you can find business listings online, the following websites go beyond listings and are popular places for customers to leave reviews.
The following 26 websites include the Best B2C review sites important for businesses selling to consumers (examples: Yelp and HomeAdvisor). We also identify the best B2B review sites for companies selling to other companies (example: G2). Focus on the websites that apply to your industry so you can reap the benefits when shoppers use them to make purchasing decisions.
Google My Business (GMB) is the premier review and listing tool for local businesses. It's one of the top review sites, replacing what was previously called Google Local. It's an essential tool in building a credible reputation online. It can also help rank your business on different types of search results. Use this Google My Business cheat sheet to get started.
Bing Places for Business is the version of Google My Business of the Bing search engine. Consumers can submit ratings and reviews of a company. Local businesses, including those with multiple locations, can request their listing and fill out a profile to add their listings to Bing Places for free. Once verified, information will appear in Bing Local's search and map results.
Facebook is much more than a social media portal for sharing posts. The hugely popular social media website allows followers to leave reviews, reviews, and recommendations on a business's page through the Facebook ratings and reviews platform. Companies can turn off ratings and reviews in their Facebook page settings.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) prides itself on being an ethical marketplace for individuals to recommend companies. The BBB is one of the oldest and most trustworthy websites and reviews all customer reviews. Companies can also become a BBB accredited company and the Better Business Bureau assigns its own A to F ratings, but these ratings are separate from public ratings.
Amazon has allowed consumers to post reviews of products since 1995. A number of 4 or 5 star reviews on this leading online retailer's website can help businesses generate lots of new sales and build solid reputations. Business reviews also apply to any listing in Amazon's Handmade section and service providers in the Amazon HomeServices section.
Some small business owners and marketing managers have a love-hate relationship with Yelp because they believe that positive reviews are sometimes less visible than negative ones on the website. However, you can Do not deny the importance of Yelp Pages are often displayed when searching the Internet. It's also a consumer goal, and it trains businesses to respond to reviews. A Yelp listing can help businesses manage their online credibility and reputation. Yelp is one of the top review sites and is an important place to encourage potential customers to do business with you.
The Swarm and CityGuides apps allow users to check in and rate the venues they visit with Foursquare. Users can also leave “tips” for other people visiting the facilities. Companies that sign up for Foursquare for Business can take advantage of user analytics. Businesses can also add their own tips to Foursquare and make customer reward offers. Foursquare data is often found on other websites and maps.
If you run a home improvement store or provide homeowner services, listing your services on local business review sites like HomeAdvisor and collecting business reviews can make a positive difference to your business and help you to attract new customers. All reviews posted on HomeAdvisor go through a comprehensive review process and are reviewed by the website's moderators.
The Yellow Pages provide you with a free business entry that companies can use to manage the reviews of their company published on the website. The Yellow Pages have switched from paper to digital and are now supporting businesses online with local marketing and reviews. While the yellow pages are no longer the heavyweight driver for new customers as they were decades ago when print books ruled, this is where you should claim your business.
If you own or operate a restaurant, customers can make reservations and write reviews by registering with OpenTable. Restaurants are given a star rating on OpenTable based on the number of reviews and the percentage of people who recommend the restaurant. Of course, the higher the rating, the better the credibility and online reputation of a restaurant.
