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If you run a small business, you've probably put a lot of thought into making your products and services the best they can be. Still, that's only half the battle. If you want to build your company into something profitable, you also need to think about marketing. In particular, you need to think about how to get customer reviews.
Reviews are a crucial part of growing your business, especially in the age of the Internet. A good customer review can provide social proof that you are going to do what you say you will do. It will give your potential customers peace of mind and will ultimately help them find you. Google customer reviews are also a key part of many local search results on Google's search engine. They will show up within results and next to your business.
Your Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook business page will also highlight customer reviews. They can be a shining star (see what we did there) or a negative first way potential customers interact with your company. You want to show good positive reviews and also that you are willing to respond and correct a negative review.
Review monitoring can be a great lead source and provide a good option to improve lead flow and brand awareness.
If you want to learn all about customer reviews Read further to:
- learn why customer reviews are so important
- become familiar with 25 review sites that will help you get reviews to grow your business
Why Are Customer Reviews So Important?
As a small business, you probably don't have the resources to develop a massive marketing program. You're also competing against major brand names. So if you want to stand out, you need to focus on what sets you apart. For most small companies, that's your local presence and word-of-mouth.
Customer reviews are important for this because they act as digital word-of-mouth. When people post positive reviews about your business online, they let others know that you're a good business. They also help you improve your SEO, which makes your company show up more online.
But how do you get these business reviews? By working with the best customer review sites for your industry. These 25 review sites - provided for you in alphabetical order - are the best sources for where to get reviews for your business.
25 Review Sites For Small Businesses
Amazon
Do you sell things on Amazon? Or do you have things you could sell on Amazon? Then it's worth working with the platform. If you open an Amazon Seller Account, you can reach a broader customer base and solicit feedback. Amazon reviews are one of the most common things people check before making a purchase.
Next step: set up a business account on Amazon.com and start selling!
Angie's List
Angie's List is a local business directory that people use to find local service providers. If you offer a service like dentistry, plumbing, or yard work, you should make an Angie's List profile. Users can leave reviews for your business that will be easily seen by people in your area.
Next steps - Setup an Angies List business account. If you are already getting leads from Angies list, try running campaigns with your customers to get more reviews. You can have it go out with an email after the service or have the app open and ready for them to write a review on the spot with your technicians. You can also look to incentivise the review with an Amazon gift card or a discount on the next service.
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau, or BBB, is one of the oldest business rating agencies around. The BBB's local business directory hosts reviews from customers and offers ratings of companies like yours. Good reviews on the BBB directory make a big difference to people who want to work with a trustworthy organization.
The BBB used to be the Gold standard for where you wanted good reviews. Now its more of a great supplement to Google, Yelp, or Angies List for contractors. If you get a negative review with the BBB though its definitely worth doing whatever it takes to resolve it.
Next Step: Check on your business listing with the BBB. Respond to reviews and try and keep in good standing there.
Bing Places for Business
When you use Bing to search for a business, a little information card will pop up with the company's hours, location, and reviews from customers. This info is pulled from the Bing Places for Business directory. Add your business to the directory and monitor it with Scorpion - you'll improve your customers' experience and encourage more reviews. If you have a listing on Google, you will find that Bing operates in a pretty similar way.
Next Step: Setup your Bing places for Business account and start monitoring your reviews there. If you don't have or get any reviews naturally then you may want to push some customers into reviewing you there until you have 10 or more listed.
Capterra
If you run a software business or tech company, then Capterra is a valuable customer review resource. Users visit Capterra to get reviews about other people's experiences with different software providers. The community is known for being super active, so it's a relatively easy way to get more reviews in a short time. Capterra also has a unique pay-per-click option where you can pay to have your listings show up higher on certain keywords.
Next step: set up a Capterra account for your business. Make sure you get listed in a primary category where your customers are looking. Also, consider the pay-per-click options
Cars.com
Though it sounds generic, Cars.com is one of the best places for small and local car dealerships to get the word out online. The platform allows people to review dealerships and compare many local car dealers in one place. Getting your dealership on the site is important if you want people to know you exist and how you stack up against the competition.
Next step: This one is primarily for the automotive space, but cars. com can also be an interesting spot to run advertising campaigns. If you are in automotive, set up your dealership there and make sure to monitor your customer reviews often.
City Search
If your business is local to a specific city, then CitySearch is a great platform. The site acts as a local directory for particular cities, so users can find everything from restaurants to retail stores and professional services that are local to them. Adding your company to CitySearch lets you put positive reviews in a place where people who may not be familiar with the area can find them.
Next Step: Get your business on Citysearch and monitor customer reviews as they come in.
Consumer Affairs
Consumer Affairs is a top-tier news and consumer advocacy site designed to give people the information they need to make informed purchases. It collects reviews for almost every industry, especially those requiring trust, such as pest control, moving companies, and auto sales.
Next step: Make sure you show up well on consumer affairs. You could also consider doing a content piece with them to promote your business.
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports is the place to go for an unbiased review if you're selling a physical product. The site is an independent nonprofit organization that's built a reputation for honest and informative reviews. If you're confident in your product, you can reach out to Consumer Reports for a review that will get your product seen.
Next Step: Reach out to consumer reports to review your product or service. You can also try and get included in one of their future reports if you have good enough reviews.
Dealer Rate
Like Cars.com, DealerRate collects reviews for car dealerships. However, this site focuses solely on reviewing different dealerships. If someone Googles "dealership reviews," this is one of the first sites to pop up. That makes it a valuable resource if you're trying to build a good reputation online.
Next Step: Another automotive option. Follow similar steps to cars.com customer reviews.
Edmunds
Edmunds is another incredibly popular car dealership review site. Since it also includes car buying advice, many people go here first when looking for a new vehicle. Make an Edmunds profile to encourage more reviews from people who stop here first.
Next Step: Another automotive option. Follow similar steps to cars.com customer reviews.
If your business doesn't already have a Facebook page, you should make one immediately. Facebook is where many people go to find out about local products and services and get more information. Having a Facebook page gives people a way to recommend you there. Your customers can also leave reviews on your Facebook page, helping you build your reputation.
Next Step: Setup a Facebook Business Page and monitor your reviews there.
FourSquare/Swarm
While FourSquare isn't as popular as it used to be, it's still a major hub for restaurant and bar reviews. If you run a restaurant, you probably already have a FourSquare profile and don't realize it. You can claim your FourSquare profile and respond to any reviews to encourage more positive feedback.
Next Step: Get your business set up on Swarm so customers can check in when they get there and see reviews from other customers who go there.
Google Customer Reviews
Like Bing, Google offers Google My Business to help you manage the information the search engine provides about your company. Keep your profile up-to-date and respond to reviews here to encourage more feedback and a better rating.
Reviews on Google will arguably be one of the most important places for your business to get a positive customer review. Your reviews will show up in both searches for your business and local searches related to businesses like yours in the area.
With Google reviews, make sure to be active with all of your reviews. With a positive review, say thank you for being a customer. With a negative review, apologize for the issue and mention how you are working to make it better.
Next Step: Setup a Google My Business page and get your customer to review you on Google.
Health Grades
Healthcare is a service, and if you own your own practice, you need positive reviews just like any other business. HealthGrades is a site dedicated to reviews of healthcare providers. You can make a HealthGrades profile to respond to reviews and ask happy patients to leave feedback there.
Next Step: If you are in the healthcare industry. Make sure you have good scores for your business in Health Grades.
Local.com
This is another local business directory that people can search based on their zip code, city, and more. It offers a platform for reviews and business information. You can make a profile to give your business another place to interact with your customers.
Next Step: Get a listing on local.com will help you start getting reviews there. It is another spot you should consider monitoring if you have the people to do it. You could also consider a tool like Scorpion to help with your review management.
Merchant Circle
There's more to running a business than talking to your customers. MerchantCircle lets you connect with other companies in your area to develop partnerships. It also gives your customers a way to talk to you directly and leave reviews and testimonials.
Networking with your community is a great way to build word of mouth and share a customer base with a non-competing business in the area. You can run joint promotions, content programs, and just watch out for each other. MerchantCircle can help you find those companies.
Next Step: check out if Merchant Circle has companies listed in your community that you can try and connect with.
SuperPages.com
SuperPages takes the place of old-school phone books by acting as a directory for important information about businesses, from opening hours to directions. Customers can also leave reviews and ratings for your business, so it's worthwhile to monitor your listing.
Next Step: Setup your business listing on super pages.
TripAdvisor
If you operate in the travel or entertainment industry, TripAdvisor is the most critical review site online. It's the largest and most trusted resource for people trying to plan trips around the world. Actively engaging with your TripAdvisor listing through Scorpion helps mitigate bad reviews and remove fake ones to keep your rating high.
Next Step: If you are in the industry, you will live and die by TripAdvisor, even more so than Google. Make sure to show up well there.
Trustpilot
If customers want to work with a trustworthy business, Trustpilot is one of the first sites they'll turn to. Trustpilot has customers write product and seller reviews and provides third-party verification. You can even ask for reviews directly through the platform if you create a premium account.
Next Step: TrustPilot has a similar experience to Capterra. Set up your business and run email or other campaigns to get reviews there.
Which?
Is your business in the UK? If so, Which? is an essential platform for collecting reviews. It's written by an impartial team of expert reviewers, so you don't need to worry about disgruntled customers. However, you can't actively request that Which? reviews your products, so you should submit your information and then work on other platforms, too.
Next Step: Only if you are in the U.K. look to setup a profile for Which?
Whitepages
Unlike other directories, Whitepages is a resource for negative feedback. People can report numbers as spam in Whitepages, so that can be a problem if your business calls customers regularly. Keep an eye on your phone number in Whitepages - this will help you make sure you don't have any spam reports, which will keep people picking up your calls.
Next Step: Have your phone and address info setup in WhitePages
Yelp
Yelp is the best of the best review sites. There's a reason that Yelp reviews are practically a cliché. Having a Yelp profile lets you respond to reviews and manage fraudulent reviews. It will also help you add up-to-date information about your business, which will help you keep your online presence accurate.
If you only have time for a few spots, definitely have Yelp as one of those.
Next Step: Setup your Yelp account and MONITOR those reviews.
YP.com
YP.com is the online home of the original Yellow Pages, and it has the audience that its history implies. It offers visitors a broad range of information about a business, from location and phone numbers to reviews. Monitoring your YP.com reviews with Scorpion can help you get more traffic and interest.
Next Step: Get back on the Yellow Pages! We never thought we would say that either.
Zillow
Zillow is one of the most popular real estate sites online. It also connects users to real estate agents, complete with agent profiles and reviews. If you work in real estate, you need a Zillow profile to collect positive feedback from your happy customers.
Zillow also goes beyond real estate. With so much community traffic it can be a great place to advertise your business.
Next Step: Get set up with Zillow if you are in real estate. If you aren't check it out as a spot to advertise.
Get Quality Review Monitoring with Scorpion
Customer reviews are essential to small businesses - managing them even more so. There are so many places to get reviews listed. If you have the team to do all of them great!. If you don't have the team, then for sure put your time to Google and Yelp. Its also important to not buy fake reviews and respond quickly to a negative review.
It can be a lot to add review monitoring to your list of to-dos for your businses. Need help, Scorpion can help.
Scorpion's unique marketing management tools make it easy to track your reviews across every site. You can use Scorpion to respond to customer reviews and keep your business's information up to date. Get in touch today to learn how Scorpion can help you manage your reviews better than ever.
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