Your iMobileApp may be one of the most versatile, cost-effective tools in your marketing kit. If you’ve even recognized half its potential, you are using it to communicate with clients, schedule appointments and reservations, and to promote sales, events, and specials.
The fact is, there is a world of possibility when using an iMobileApp to augment customer engagement. Today, we’d like to talk about using your iMobileApp to help build positive online reviews on Yelp, Facebook, Google, and any other review sites your business relies on.
Did you know that 77 percent of people take the time to read product reviews before they make any purchases online? Take that in for a minute. That means that literally almost 8 out of 10 people purchasing your product read reviews about your business and/or products before they made that decision. That is an incredible statistic. That should be a huge red flag for businesses that don’t have a brand management strategy or an online review strategy.
Moreover, customers are likely to spend 31% more on a business with “excellent” reviews! So not only are potential customers reading reviews before they go to your business, but if you have excellent reviews, you are rewarded for your work by 31% more purchasing power.
On the other hand, surveys have found that 86% of people will be hesitant to purchase from a business that has negative reviews online. This is why it is so important that your business has an online review strategy. Utilizing your iMobileApp is a simple and effective way for any business to get more online reviews, and positive ones at that.
So, how can we gain more positive online reviews through an iMobileApp?
The strategy that needs to be stressed is two-pronged.
Prong-1: First, you definitely need to get people to download your application – more users equals more fans of your business receiving your message. This is a critical first step as we will rely on this “fan-base” to build your online review presence.
One of the best ways to get users to download your mobile application is to entice them with a piece of functionality that is useful. That could be as simple as an app-specific loyalty program or a flyer posted on the front of your business storefront informing your customers that they will receive special offers that are in-app only.
There are quite a few ways to incentivize users to download your app, but you’ll always want to think in the mind of a consumer: “What’s in it for me? Why should I download this mobile application?” Because, in all honesty, if I went to a restaurant and saw that they had a mobile app and that’s all they told me, I may not be likely to download it. However, if I went into a restaurant and they said, “Hey, you can save money the next time you come here with our loyalty feature and also receive special promotions,” I would definitely download that app because that provides a lot of value to me!
Prong-2: Once you have a good user-base who’ve downloaded your app and are using it to stay in touch with your business, you can encourage those users to leave reviews by sending a push notification with a reward.
Now that you have enticed users to download your app, and you’ve kept them engaged with great functionality – they’re using the mobile app on a frequent basis, they’re receiving loyalty points, they’re scheduling appointments, they’re ordering food, you’re saving them time, you’re saving them money, you’re making their lives easier – it’s time to give them a nice reward:
Send out a push notification to all your users and just say, “Review Us Today On Yelp and Get 10% Off Your Next Meal!” You can also connect your Facebook and Twitter users as well by posting on your social media accounts. Just link the notification to the ‘Review Us’ tab we’ve built in that links directly to the various review sites and voila! When you send this message out, and when your users slide it open, it will take them immediately to the page that they need to review on – you’re saving them maybe four clicks within the mobile application, and that is very important.
To reiterate: If I download an app for one of my favorite restaurants and I’m already using the loyalty program, and then I receive a push notification that says, “Hey, review us on Yelp today and get 10% off your next meal, just show us your review,” I would do that in a heartbeat. It takes me just two minutes to write that review; I’m already a fan of the business, I’m a loyal customer, and I’m becoming more loyal because I’m getting rewarded for helping the business out.
Remember, this is all about driving positive reviews so that new customers will spend more money at your business.
As a small or medium sized business, you already understand what your customers want. An iMobileApp helps you do that in the form of promoting specials, offering coupons, allowing easy scheduling and ordering, and offering loyalty programs just to name a few. These are the things that customers want and will be enticed by to download a mobile application. In turn, you are getting more social media activity, more customers, more loyal customers, and more online reviews… More organic traffic and increased on-site Ranking Benefits.
An iMobileApp is an all-in-one marketing improvement tool. You want to improve your business and improve your online reviews because more positive online reviews helps get more customers, helps with loyal customers, and helps with so much in terms of driving new business and strengthening the bottom line and out-marketing the competition!
It’s that simple! Push an online review strategy that actually works and you’ll see your business seeing a very high return on investment from your iMobileApp in no time.
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