Reputation Marketing: Add Lots More Revenue with Very Little Cost

Let’s explore the topics we’ll reveal in this post…

 

• • What Flower Shop Reputation Marketing and Reputation Management is all about

 

• • Why Reputation Marketing & Management may be one of the most important activities you can perform.

 

• • Some stats and pro-tips on ways to improve your customer reviews and increase your star-rating.

Reputation Marketing

This refers to the strategies and tactics of actively promoting the positive reputation of your business, through methods such as customer reviews, online ratings, and social media presence.

This can involve a variety of methods, including:

 

• • Encouraging customers to leave positive reviews and feedback on third-party websites, such as Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.

• • Utilizing social media platforms to engage with customers, share content and highlight customer satisfaction

• • Creating and promoting customer testimonials and success stories

• • Building brand awareness and credibility through public relations, advertising, and content marketing
    
    

By proactively promoting a positive reputation, your business can differentiate itself from your competitors, build customer trust, and drive more sales and revenue.

And don’t forget that Google rewards active customer engagement, responsiveness to customer reviews, the number of reviews your business receives, and the star-rating of those reviews. All of these elements send a signal to Google that your flower shop respects your customers and treats them exceptionally well.

Reputation Management
On the other hand, reputation management involves monitoring and mitigating negative feedback, reviews or online content that could potentially harm your flower shop’s reputation. This can include responding to customer complaints, addressing negative reviews, and taking steps to improve the overall perception of the business.

Reputation management requires that you have a system – including a software application – in place to ask for, capture, and respond to customer reviews on an ongoing basis.

Some Reputation Management strategies include:

 

• • Responding promptly and professionally to negative feedback or complaints

• • Addressing and resolving any negative information about the business that may appear online

• • Monitoring the business’s online presence and ensuring it is up-to-date and professional

• • Developing and implementing a crisis management plan in the event of a major negative event

 

Overall, both reputation marketing and management are inter-connected and play a critical role in maintaining and enhancing your flower shop’s image and credibility.

Benefits of a strong and well-managed Reputation Marketing & Management program are

 

• • Build a positive reputation

• • Help attract new customers

• • Help retain existing customers

• • Boost your search engine ranking with Google

• • Increase your credibility and authority with consumers

• • Build trust with prospective consumers through 3^rd party reviews by other customers

• • Provide a distinct competitive advantage to your flower shop

• • Drive long-term success of your florist business

 

And if you’re not sure how customers will respond to your request for a review, here’s some eye-opening stats to make you feel more comfortable:

 

• • Google reviews make consumers 38% more likely to visit your flower shop and

• • Google reviews make consumers 29% more likely to consider buying from you

• • 89% of consumers make a purchase the same WEEK as they visit a review site

• • 35% of consumers will leave a review half the time they’re asked

• • 72% won’t act until they read peer reviews of a business

• • 12% will provide a review every time they’re asked for one

 

All of these stats point to the fact that customer reviews play a very important part in growing your florist business.

As you see, there are clear and distinct benefits to a well-managed Reputation Marketing & Management process, and these benefits clearly outweigh the potential damage that a negative reputation can have on your business. Therefore, it is crucial for your business to prioritize and invest in both reputation marketing and management to build a strong online presence and drive business growth.

How does social media affect your Flower Shop business reputation?

Social media has a significant impact on your business’s reputation, both positive and negative. Here are some ways that social media affects how customers and prospective customers see you:

Positive Impacts:

 

• • Provides a platform for businesses to engage with customers, showcase products/services, and receive positive reviews and feedback

• • Helps build brand awareness and credibility by reaching a wider audience

• • Enables businesses to address and resolve customer complaints and negative feedback in a prompt and professional manner

Negative Impacts:

 

• • Spreads negative reviews, comments, and feedback quickly and widely, potentially causing harm to the business’s reputation

• • Increases the risk of crisis or reputation damage due to the potential for negative information to go viral

• • Can make it difficult for businesses to control their online narrative and manage their reputation

Therefore, it is important for businesses to manage their social media presence effectively and stay vigilant of their online reputation. This involves regularly monitoring and tracking feedback, responding promptly to any negative comments or complaints, and taking steps to address and resolve any negative information about the business that may appear online. By effectively managing their social media presence, businesses can enhance their reputation, build customer trust, and ultimately drive more sales and revenue.

 

5 “Best Practices” we recommend to help improve your Flower Shop’s reputation

 

• • Monitor and respond to online reviews and feedback: Regularly check popular review sites and social media platforms to see what customers are saying about your business. Respond to negative comments or feedback in a professional and empathetic manner, and thank customers for their positive feedback.

• • Provide excellent customer service: Ensure that all customer interactions are positive, and that customer complaints or negative feedback are addressed and resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner.

• • Highlight positive customer experiences: Share positive customer testimonials and success stories through your website, social media accounts, and other marketing materials.

• • Maintain a professional online presence: Ensure that your website and social media accounts are up-to-date, professional, and accurately reflect your brand. This helps build credibility and trust with potential customers.

• • Invest in reputation management: Regularly monitor your online reputation, address any negative information that may appear online, and implement a crisis management plan in the event of a major negative event.

 

By following these best practices, businesses can improve their reputation, build customer trust, and ultimately drive more sales and revenue.

 

How important are customer testimonials for a florist business?

Customer testimonials are extremely important for a florist business. Here’s why:

Builds credibility and trust: Testimonials from satisfied customers serve as a powerful endorsement for your business. They provide potential customers with proof of your expertise, quality, and customer service, which can help build trust and credibility.

Differentiates from competitors: By showcasing customer testimonials, a florist business can differentiate itself from its competitors and stand out in a crowded market.

Encourages word-of-mouth marketing: Positive customer testimonials can encourage word-of-mouth marketing, which is one of the most effective forms of marketing for a florist business. Satisfied customers are more likely to recommend your business to their friends and family.

Increases conversion rates: Including customer testimonials on your website or in your marketing materials can increase conversion rates by providing potential customers with confidence and reassurance in your business.

Provides valuable insights: Customer testimonials can also provide valuable insights into what your customers love about your business, what they think could be improved, and what they look for when choosing a florist.

Overall, customer testimonials are a valuable asset for a florist business, as they can help build credibility, differentiate from competitors, increase conversion rates, and provide valuable insights into customer preferences.

 

Do star ratings matter when a customer testimonial is provided to the business?

Star ratings do matter when a customer provides a testimonial to a business. Your Star-rating:

 

• • Indicates customer satisfaction: Star ratings provide a quick and easy way for customers to rate their experience with a business, and help indicate the overall level of customer satisfaction.

• • Helps with business comparison: Star ratings make it easier for potential customers to compare businesses, as they provide a visual representation of customer satisfaction levels.

• • Influences customer decision-making: Star ratings can play a significant role in influencing a potential customer’s decision-making process, as they provide a quick and easy way to evaluate the quality and reputation of a business.

• • Supports online reputation management: Star ratings can also help support online reputation management efforts by providing a visual representation of customer satisfaction levels on review sites, such as Google and Yelp.

How many customer reviews are enough?

But it’s not simply the star-rating itself, but the number of ratings your flower shop has. One easy way to check this is to Google “flower shops near me”. Google will provide three competitors (the 3-Pack, or Map-Pack), along with a list of all the other florists it finds in the area.

Look at both the number of reviews each of your competitors have, as well as their star-rating. Your goal should be to have a significantly higher number of reviews than any of your competitors, as well as a better star rating.

There are a number of interesting AND crucial statistics regarding customer reviews including:

 

• • 3 out of 4 (75%) of consumers trust a company MORE if it has positive reviews

• • 60% of consumers said negative reviews made them not want to use a business

• • 49% of consumers need at least a 4-star review before considering a business

• • 90% read reviews before making a purchase
    Peer reviews of your flower shop count more than any other form of promotion because consumers feel that peer reviews are real, authentic, and trusted.

• • 21% of consumers focus exclusively on reviews rather than search rankings

• • 39 reviews are the average number of reviews a business listed on Google has.
    This is the average across all business listings, but remember that the relevant number for your flower shop is only found when doing basic competitor research to see your competitor’s ratings and review count.
    

• • Reviews between 4.2 – 4.5 are the most trusted.
    This may seem strange at first, but consumers generally see higher ratings as somehow not realistic. When interviewed, they indicated that they expect every business would receive some bad reviews in the normal course of their business.
    

• • 85% of consumers view reviews the same as personal recommendations
    Peer reviews are trusted by a significantly large number of consumers.
    

• • Only 10% of consumers search exclusively for 5-star reviews
    When interviewed, they indicated that they expect every business would receive some bad reviews in the normal course of their business. So having a 5-star review over many reviews isn’t necessarily a requirement for successful reputation management.

10 Low-Cost Marketing Actions to Generate More Customer Reviews for Your Flower Shop:

 

• • On-site review kiosks

• • In-store comment cards

• • Social media engagement

• • Email follow-up

• • Review websites, such as Yelp and Google

• • Influencer marketing

• • Customer loyalty program

• • Referral incentives

• • Community events

• • Surveys or feedback forms on your website.

Tips on how to use your social media platforms to get customer reviews

 

• • Encourage customers to share their experience on your business’s social media page(s).

• • Respond to customer feedback, both positive and negative, on social media.

• • Create and run social media campaigns to promote customer reviews.

• • Offer incentives or discounts for customers who leave a review on social media.

• • Share user-generated content, such as photos or testimonials, on your social media pages.

• • Collaborate with influencers or brand ambassadors to promote your business and encourage their followers to leave a review.

• • Use social listening tools to monitor mentions of your business and engage with customers who have reviewed or are talking about your business.

• • Utilize hashtags related to your business and customer reviews to increase visibility and encourage further engagement.

• • Keep your social media profiles up-to-date, accurate, and active to create a positive brand image and encourage customer reviews.

What Are the Optimal Number of Customer Reviews for Our Flower Shop?

There is no set “optimal” number of customer reviews for a business, as the ideal amount will vary based on several factors such as the size of the business, its industry, and the type of product or service offered. However, having a substantial number of positive reviews can increase consumer trust and confidence in your Florist business, leading to potential customers choosing your shop over competitors. It’s recommended to strive for a high volume of positive reviews, continuously encouraging customers to leave feedback, and promptly addressing any negative reviews to maintain a positive online reputation.

10 Things Your Flower Shop Can Do Right Now to Generate More Customer Reviews?

 

• • Provide excellent customer service.

• • Request reviews from satisfied customers.

• • Include links to review sites on your website and in emails.

• • Offer incentives for customers who leave a review.

• • Respond to all reviews, both positive and negative.

• • Share positive reviews on social media.

• • Make it easy for customers to leave a review by providing clear instructions.

• • Utilize email campaigns to follow up with customers.

• • Provide an exceptional in-store experience.

• • Continuously improve your products and services based on customer feedback.

There Is a Correlation Between the Star-Rating for Your Business and Your Google Search Ranking

Positive customer ratings and reviews can positively impact your Flower Shop’s search engine optimization (SEO) by increasing the visibility and credibility of your business in search results. Google takes into account various signals, including user reviews and ratings, when determining the relevance and authority of a business website. Therefore, having a high number of positive reviews with high star-ratings can improve the chances of your business appearing higher in Google search results. However, it’s important to note that there are many other factors that impact search rankings, including website content, keyword optimization, and backlinks.