8 Creative Ways to Leverage Positive Online Reviews

Are your customers and clients giving you glowing reviews online? Great -- now translate that praise in a way that moves your business forward. We asked eight entrepreneurs how they use online reviews to their advantage.
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Are your customers and clients giving you glowing reviews online? Great -- now translate that praise in a way that moves your business forward. We asked eight entrepreneurs how they use online reviews to their advantage.

A. Make Your Own Quotes Poster

2015-01-12-RobFulton.pngI sometimes will set up my sales page with the same eye as if it were a movie poster -- you want the title to be dominant, the images to be dynamic and the quotes to be encouraging and positive. I use key quotes from Yelp to fill up these pages right alongside our testimonials, and they've been an incredible help so far. - Rob Fulton, Exponential Black

A. Give Thanks

2015-01-12-johnrampton.jpgI learned this tip while leaving a review. I left a positive review, and a week later I received a gift from that retailer. They didn't offer anything for it or bribe me. They just sent a nice thank you note with a bottle of wine. It was very unexpected. Now I try and send a thank you note to every person that gives a review (positive and negative) and thank them either way. - John Rampton, Host

A. Give Social Shout Outs

2015-01-12-jaredbrown.jpgGive great reviews a shout out on social as soon as you notice them. Thank the reviewer using their first name, and if they referenced specific products, refer to them in your thank you as well. If they're also following you on social, they'll like the gratitude and extra attention, and it could convert them into a brand advocate too! - Jared Brown, Hubstaff

A. Set Up Email Triggers

2015-01-12-SamSaxton.jpgRather than carpeting reviews across homepages and banners, you can use them more strategically by setting up a trigger campaign. Did a customer leave an item in their online cart? Seeing peer reviews at the right time might push them back to the buying point. -Sam Saxton, Salter Spiral Stair and Mylen Stairs

A. Interview Reviewers to Create Success Stories

2015-01-12-ChrisBrisson.pngYou can easily leverage and repurpose these great reviews into video testimonials, case studies and success stories for yourproduct. These are probably the easiest initial testimonial to get. Take them to the next level by emailing, calling and reaching out to these people. Give a gift for the deeper testimonial. Then feature these case studies in a white paper or on your site to further yourtrust. -Chris Brisson, Call Loop

A. Share Them Internally

2015-01-12-TrevorSummers.jpgEveryone wants to work at a business that is successful and provides products and services that customers love. Use positive reviews to rally the team and show that all their hard work is changing the lives of their customers. - Trevor Sumner, LocalVox

A. Build a Separate Domain Name

2015-01-12-CodyMcLain.pngDomains are indexed separately by the search engines. So a search for "your business" might show yourbusiness.com but it could also show yourbusinessreviews.com, which would show as a separate search result. This results in double exposure, which studies have shown to increase the likelihood for a sale since you are increasing the entry points for the sale to occur. - Cody McLain, WireFuseMedia LLC

A. Use Them Wherever You Can

2015-01-12-benrubenstein.jpgPositive reviews are a valuable asset to your business. Many people consider online reviews to be the new word-of-mouth marketing, so when you get fresh reviews you should make the most of them. Use reviews to supplement your other marketing content by showcasing them on offers, press releases, customer emails, social sites and your business website. - Ben Rubenstein, Yodle

These answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

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