Reviews for Professional services
Businesses operating in the professional services sector must maintain an impeccable reputation to be successful. In the age of the Internet, the best way to do so is by providing “social proof” in the form of online reviews and testimonials.
Online reviews help lawyers, mortgage brokers, accountants, financial advisers, and other professionals “prove” they are reliable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. Using this approach helps your business increase the number of clients it receives and helps you become a leader within your chosen industry.
Unfortunately, review building is hard. Businesses need to find innovative ways to encourage clients to leave reviews. In this post, I’ll share more detail about the importance of online reviews and how to obtain more reviews.
Why Are Online Reviews Essential For Professional Services?
Reviews Establish Credibility
A consumer looking for professional advice will only be interested in contacting businesses that are reputable and trustworthy. How do they determine which business meet this criteria? Well, traditionally they would use word of mouth. Nowadays, it’s the Internet.
It’s estimated that 90% of consumers will read at least one online review before deciding if they should visit a business. They also place a lot of trust in what they read, with 88% of people trusting online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
If your business has strong online reviews, prospective clients will see it as a credible enterprise and will be far more likely to make contact.
Reviews Are Great For Brand Building
Branding has never been more important in the professional services sector. Businesses need to develop strong brands that achieve market differentiation and convey the business’ value proposition.
Online reviews help by increasing brand awareness. Whenever your brand appears on a third party review website like Yelp, Yell, Facebook, or Google, it becomes more widely known and easily recognised.
Reviews Improve Your Position In Local Search
Local search refers to search engine queries with a geographical component like “Lawyers in London” or “Lawyers near me”. When search engines receive these types of queries, they display a list of businesses in that particular geographical area. These kinds of searches are increasingly popular with consumers who often use local search terms when looking for professional services like lawyers, accountants, doctors, and financial advisors.
Search engines use the number of positive online reviews that a business has as a “ranking factor” that determines where the business should rank in a local search. Essentially, the more reviews you have, the more prominently your business will appear when a user performs a local search.
Performing well in local search can dramatically increase the number of enquiries that your business receives and boosts brand awareness even more.
Reviews Can Showcase Your Services
Clients often create detailed online reviews that describe the kinds of services your business provides and how well you provide them. This information is useful for prospective clients who may be interested in working with you in the future.
Reviews Give You An Opportunity to Interact with Clients
When a client posts a review online, your business has the opportunity to reply and thank them for their input. It is the perfect way to to demonstrate how much client relationships matter to your company. This kind of positive public interaction can help you attract even more clients and improve your online reputation.
How Do You Get More Online Reviews?
There are many strategies available for increasing the number of reviews your business receives including:
- Creating incentives for leaving reviews
- Making is easier for customers to leave reviews
- Creating profiles on third party review websites like Google, Yelp, Yell, and Facebook
- Allowing clients to leave reviews on your own website
- Optimising your content to include opportunities for leaving reviews
- Asking for reviews at the right time
- Monitoring and respond to reviews
- Incorporating reviews into your marketing efforts
Most professional services providers find it easier to hire a professional online reputation management specialist like We Love These Guys to handle these kinds of tasks. Our company uses several innovative techniques to generate positive reviews for your business. We can also interact with clients on your behalf to improve your online reputation and build your brand. To learn more, contact We Love These Guys on 0207 018 1949 or via info@welovetheseguys.com.
