Zak Parker
Every local business knows that customer reviews on sites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook are important. But many local business owners are surprised to find out that customer reviews make or break all other marketing efforts. A business with great reviews gets better local SEO (and more search traffic), lower PPC advertising costs and better conversion rates for all marketing programs, including offline programs…since over 90% of consumers check online reviews before choosing a business. In short, the overall cost of acquiring new customers rises or falls based on the quality of online customer reviews.
Local business owners are also often surprised to find out how easy it is to get great online reviews with this one simple technique: pre-screening. Instead of asking every customer for a review, pre-screen customers first. Ask every customer to rate your business privately. If the customer gives a high rating, ask for a public review. Otherwise, ask for private constructive feedback, so you learn how to earn that 5-star review in the future. Pre-screening not only boosts your average star rating. It also gives you critical feedback on how to make even more customers happy and earn their 5 stars.
Contributors: Chas Cooper from Rising Star Reviews
That is a good idea. Many businesses have been hurt by fake reviews.