How to sell more products and services without spending a fortune on ads
Local businesses today face a big challenge, how to leverage the online sphere to increase sales without breaking the bank on costly ad campaigns. What if I told you there was a way to sell more products and services without constantly pumping money into ads or fancy sales agencies? What if there was a way to use what you already have as leverage to drive up sales for free?
Welcome back beloved blog readers, and if you’re new then I’m glad you found me! My goal is to help local businesses gain an unfair advantage over their competitors and level the playing field with big brands through the power of unlimited leverage that is websites. I strongly believe that websites have the power to transform your business… and your life!
Today we’re going to discuss the importance of online reviews and how to use them to convert more users on your site into lifelong customers and ultimately, make more sales.
Have you ever visited a random website you saw online because it had an image of a cool product you liked? Then when you scrolled to look at the reviews there were none? They maybe only have one or two images of their products? Maybe they did have reviews but each one was vastly different and gave you mixed feelings? If you answered yes to any of these, did you buy that cool product? Or did you go look somewhere else? Probably the latter.
Unsurprisingly enough, you are not the only one. According to Power Reviews, 99% of consumers read product reviews and 45% of them do not purchase a product if there are no reviews.
“Online reviews are the modern-day equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing.” -Paul Meijer
I think from that statistic we can all agree here that reviews are very important but unfortunately, most small businesses still overlook the power of credibility. They don’t respond to customer reviews, or showcase their work, and some don’t even show any awards/qualifications to demonstrate their expertise. They then wonder why the traffic they paid thousands in ads for doesn’t convert into customers. Of course not! That lead is probably feeling shaky about buying your product and instead goes to the brand with 5-star reviews, video testimonials, case studies, etc; As a result, you lose tons of conversions, and ultimately, your annual revenue takes a hit from decreased sales.
In a nutshell, reviews are the key to increasing brand awareness and boosting sales. They frame your product/service positively, making people feel confident and secure in their purchasing decisions. Also, higher-rated businesses get ranked better locally for SEO by Google in favor of those with poor or low reviews.
Reviews are not going away anytime soon so learn to leverage them! The better reviews you have, the more your brand stands out amongst your competitors “But Abel, my brand is small and I don’t have a lot of customers to give me reviews.” Don't worry, even if you're just starting out or have a smaller customer base, there are still ways to leverage reviews effectively.
Quantity in reviews isn’t the only way to make your business look good because 1,000 1-star reviews or even 10,000 still hurts credibility, instead, I recommend focusing on the customers you already have and getting the best reviews possible from them. If you could get one good review a day, then you would already have over 300 reviews annually! With that many reviews, your credibility is bound to rise! How can we do this?
Nothing gets people to take action like a little extrinsic motivation. When customers interact with your business, offer some kind of reward if they leave a review. This can be a discount on future purchases, a free item, or anything else cool you can think of.
You don’t have to be the stereotypical spammer here, if you have a newsletter of sorts, just add a small section at the bottom with a call to action sentence and button enticing customers to leave a review. If you sell digital products, you can also send scheduled follow-up emails after some appropriate amount of time asking your customers for their thoughts on the product.
The traditional 5-star rating system isn’t the only type of review you can get. A better and higher-quality type of review is a testimonial which is a more in-depth review where the customer shares exactly how your business helped them. Testimonials can often be tailored to include key metrics that highlight the benefits your products and services have to offer and are often the best kinds of reviews.
Unlike a star rating system, testimonials can take different formats like text or video, and contain significantly more emotion and credibility. If a customer was pleased after interacting with your business and got measurable results, consider asking them to leave you a testimonial.
Whether you are an established small business serving 1,000+ customers per month or starting with just 10, anyone can showcase their work and do so pretty easily too! This is a great way to increase credibility in addition to your reviews and testimonials because a showcase tells customers that you are a real business making a real impact. Here’s how any business can build a great portfolio of past projects:
Galleries are often a simple way to showcase past work and you can get creative with them. If you are a pool-building company, you can have beautiful images of luxury pools. If you are a cafe, you can display aesthetic closeups of coffee and food. The possibilities are endless! Galleries are also a great way to add some flare to your site’s design since you can match the colors of the pictures you use to your brand and lay out the photos in all sorts of unique grid patterns.
Pro tip: Have customers be in your photos to increase trust and connection with your audience
Testimonials on steroids, reviews don’t get better than this. If you are a results-based business and sell medium to high-ticket items/services, then case studies are the way to go. Essentially, here you have a little bit of everything; images, testimonials, and specific details of the respective case that explain the client’s process in achieving their result. You would typically work with the client to get the information and create the case study.
Some examples of case studies might come from consulting businesses that helped clients increase revenue or maybe a law firm that helped someone settle for huge amounts of cash in their case.
Finally, your qualifications as a business are a good trust indicator and source of credibility. If you have awards of any kind in the industry, showcase them on your site to let people know you are an expert in your field. Some businesses don’t have any yet and that’s okay because there are online qualifications you can apply for also to build authority like Google Partnerships. They not only provide training to help you grow but also give you a cool badge to display on your site.
Pro tip: Use the color yellow in your review stars, awards, and other trust indicators as yellow is often associated with authority indicators on websites
Conclusion
In conclusion, harnessing the power of online reviews is not just a strategy; it's a game-changer for local businesses looking to thrive in today's competitive market without draining their budgets on costly advertising campaigns. Here are some key takeaways to summarize what we discussed today:
By taking 30 minutes to prioritize these strategies, your business can boost brand credibility, increase sales, and thrive in today's competitive market—all without breaking the bank on costly ad campaigns.
