What is the first thing you do when you are looking into a new service, searching for a restaurant, or even applying for a job? You look at reviews, more specifically you look at Google Reviews. As a business owner, this is something you should be taking into consideration because you’re going to want to be the first name that pops up when potential clients search for you, and it will prove to be beneficial if you have an impressive number of 5-star reviews backing up your reputation! 

So, whether you’re just starting out or you’re a 25-year veteran in your industry, realizing the importance of your Google reputation should be a priority. Here are four steps to ensure that your business is being found, getting noticed, and generating leads. 

Step #1: Make sure that you are providing your clients with good and consistent work 

The first step to generate good reviews for your business is by ensuring that you and your employees are delivering both good and consistent products and services. But your business is about so much more than what you’re selling. These days, making an impression on customers means being personable, staying reachable, and communicating transparently. This will ensure long-term loyal customers, which   

Step #2: Set up your Google profiles and claim ownership of your business 

Is there already a Google Business profile that’s associated with your business, but you had nothing to do with creating it? Well, don’t worry, this happens a lot. People often do this to help businesses in their area, but it can often lead to inaccuracies on your business profile. So, the first step to reclaiming your business is to search for your business on Google and click “Claim this business.” From there, click “Manage now” and then “I own or manage another business.” It will then ask you to choose a verification option, and once you do follow the on-screen steps. Nowadays this usually involves submitting photos of your business’ physical location and receiving verification codes through the mail from Google. 

This may seem like a lengthy process, but it is a crucial step in ensuring your business is not only an accurate representation of you but also successful! 

Step #3: Identify you best and most loyal customers and ask them to leave you a review 

With Google reviews, you must remind yourself that even when doing your best not everyone you’ve done business with will be the best candidate to give you a 5-star review. So be selective about who you ask because it’s better to have 5 really good reviews than 10 average reviews. Also try to focus on those who not only had a good experience with you and your business, but those who’ll remember your name! 

For some of you reading this, you may be in a more transactional business such as salons, spas, or auto repair shops where you talk face-to-face with your clients all day. This gives you the luxury of being able to ask for a review more casually because you’re likely already engaging in conversation. But for those of you in businesses with longer sales cycles, such as real estate, mortgage, and insurance, you may have to be a bit more strategic in your approach asking for reviews. This may include cold calling, emailing, or briefly asking at the end of a sales call, all of which are acceptable practices if you’re asking the right people and explaining that great clients like them are what help you grow! The best advice is to not be scared and just ask! 

Step #4: From there, take control of your Google Reviews 

The reality of our current business atmosphere is that potential customers are going to decide whether to do business with you based on current customer testimonials that they see online. With this being said, learning how to generate reviews and then taking control of them is crucial. The good news is that YPC Media can walk you through every step of the process!