Are you a website editor? You probably monitor your online reviews and you probably know how important they are for your digital performance and online reputation. Do you have one or more points of sale? With the ROPO effect, online reviews contribute to traffic to your stores. But did you know that they could also be very useful to you offline? Learn why and how you should directly use Google reviews in stores.
Why use online reviews in digital signage?
Why show reviews posted on Google about your business if your screens are inside the store? You might think that most of the conversion journey has been followed almost to the end: the audience captured by your digital signage is already present in your store, and should be convinced by your brand... However, the people present in your store are in fact not all convinced customers!
If you have obtained positive reviews, make full use of them by distributing them wherever they are visible in order to strengthen your image. By seeing their good comments on your products, your customer experience or your after-sales service, you provide the essential reassurance for trigger an act of purchase.
Online reviews are perceived as trustworthy by a part of your customers: according to a study published by BrightLocal In February 2023, 46% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations from friends or family members. This trust is much stronger among the new generation: according to a 2018 BrightLocal survey, 91% of Millenials (18-34 years old) bring the same value to online reviews as to the recommendations of their loved ones.
Displaying these reviews shows your existing and potential customers that their opinion matters to you and that you want to engage with them. And consumers rely more on the opinions of other consumers than on what a business has about itself. Visualizing reviews in a retail space such as a store helps consumers to Plan yourself in the act of buying. They identify with the comments and buy in order to have an equally positive experience.
The line between online and offline shopping is thin. Consumers use both distribution and communication channels, synergies and bridges exist between Online And the Offline. Customers use their smartphones to search online while in store and rely on online comparisons to decide which physical store they will shop at. Displaying reviews in stores, or at collection points if you offer click & collect, reminds customers that'They can write an online review, which will improve your ranking and create a virtuous circle. You can even create interactions by displaying the QR code for example to leave a review on Google.
How do I use online reviews in digital signage?
To benefit from all the benefits of your Google reviews and integrate them effectively into your digital signage strategy, you must respect certain clear rules.
1/ Manage your Google Business Profile perfectly
The Google business card (formerly called Google My Business) is an essential step in effectively collecting reviews on Google. Its creation is free, a simple Google account is enough: you will however have to demonstrate that you have the right to manage the establishment's file, for example by receiving a code by post that you will have to enter in your space.
A Google business card allows you toadd useful information to your customers such as your phone number, hours, or specific measures. You can also add a logo, cover image, and photos to personalize your listing.
By completing your form carefully, you have the opportunity to Show up on Google Maps and in a selection of local links that go back On the first page of Google. Users who are looking for businesses in your sector of activity near their geographical location will be able to find you more easily. You can also respond to reviews left by your customers, thank Internet users who trust you, or intervene to resolve a more complex situation when it arises.
A perfectly managed Google business listing will ensure better visibility in search results.
2/ Preferably collect positive reviews!
The positive reviews, rated 4 stars and more, contribute to better visibility of your business profile and play a role in your natural referencing (SEO) on the Google search engine. Obtaining new comments regularly is also a criterion of SEO relevance, and contributes to developing your reputation and brand image.
You can conduct acquisition campaigns to get new feedback. To invite your customers to write reviews, you can:
- Send a link to a review form via your Google My Business account
- Create a QR code.
These different methods will make it possible tospeed up the process of acquiring feedback from your customers. You can also offer an internal evaluation form, and send the link to Google only to users who have shown a positive opinion. As a reminder, you can ask your customers to write a review, but Google's policy prohibits you from offering them compensation. Each review must be honest and free, and cannot be purchased under any circumstances.
Online reviews, especially Google reviews, have a big impact on your business. Positive reviews have the power to convert prospects into customers, and customers into a community. Make sure that all the efforts made to get these positive reviews are not in vain, and make full use of the feedback.
3/ Use reviews to improve the customer experience
Any business can be faced with a justified negative review. An error is always possible, and a malfunction can be a source of frustration for a consumer.
Do you decide to display your Google reviews in store and on your website? It is imperative that you put in place a communication strategy that is based on taking into consideration all comments, including the most difficult ones. Such a strategy offers several advantages:
- You provide a response to an unsatisfied customer, and you allow them to change their opinion about your business;
- You reassure other potential customers, who notice an important ability to listen and question;
- You identify sticking points and areas for improvement, in order to meet the expectations of your customers as closely as possible.
Beyond communication challenges, the collection of opinions and evaluations on Google allows you to benefit from a real “satisfaction barometer”. A drop in your grade should alert you, and allow you to take the necessary corrective actions.
4/ Display customer reviews online on your website
You can very easily display the reviews obtained on your website, thanks to the use of a plugin. You have the choice of the extension or the widget on WordPress, on Prestashop, and some platforms like Wix natively integrate this feature. An API is made available by Google to facilitate the display of the reviews on your business card on the digital medium of your choice. For an e-commerce site, the overall score can even be displayed on the first page of Google using structured data.
Showing Google reviews allows you to create reinsurance And ofincrease your conversion rate online.
Other verified review solutions can also be used, in addition to Google.
5/ Integrate your opinions into global digital signage communication
You can integrate your Google reviews into your digital signage strategy, by customizing their distribution according to your strategy and your screen fleet:
- Broadcast local, personalized reviews for each point of sale;
- Only highlight the display of positive reviews, with 4 stars or more;
- Focus on the most recent comments that are trustworthy for your target audience;
- Combine opinions and content to meet your communication challenges
Digital signage helps you to multiply your goals: thus create a link with your current customers and retain them, develop your sales, build your reputation or your brand history.
At Cenareo, we offer a new feature that allows you toeasily integrate Google reviews into your digital signage by presenting on screens the latest comments written by your customers on Google.
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