Local Reviews | What Are the Benefits of Local Reviews? Marketing 101 for Local Businesses.
Local Reviews | What Are the Benefits of Local Reviews? Marketing 101 for Local Businesses.

What Are the Benefits of Local Reviews? Marketing 101 for Local Businesses.

Customers Trust Local Reviews

Online reviews are everywhere you look, some more credible than others, but still they are readily available trying to sway your decision one way or the other. Chances are by now, you’ve not only seen and read many different reviews, but you’re also aware of the importance of online reviews and how they play a critical role in helping local businesses to grow. There are many different ways in which you can collect and manage reviews for your local business. 

One of the ways is through LocalReviews.com, a leading review software. Local Reviews is designed to help local businesses get a large quantity and a high-quality of reviews and easily manage them all in one place. Local Reviews is the master at giving consumers a “little nudge” to leave local businesses a 5 star review. 

In fact, Local Reviews helps local businesses generate 10x more high-quality reviews automatically, by integrating with leading point of sale (POS) services like:  Square, Clover, Stripe, QuickBooks, Vend, Shopify, Korona and more.  These integrations provide a seamless and magical way for local businesses to put their collection of reviews on autopilot. Setting this amazing feature up only takes a few minutes. Then when a consumer makes a purchase from a local business and uses a POS system that is integrated with Local Reviews, that consumer will receive a review invite, automatically.  See, a “little nudge” to take 10 seconds to leave a review for your local business.  This is how our clients are collecting 10x more high-quality reviews (actually, on average, more than 150% increase in high-quality reviews, but we can’t market that because it seems too far fetched, but it’s true). 

Because reviews are so important and play a pivotal role in helping businesses to grow, it is equally important that your review software is supportive and gives you the flexibility and control that you need. 

What makes a good review software and what doesn’t? Elements and features that are important to you and your business, may not be important to others or vice-versa; yet still some elements and features are universal to everyone. The only one who can determine which elements are essential to you and your business is you. 

Those who have been looking into reviews management software are aware that there are multiple different options available. Each software company offers different features that they believe make them better than the others. So, what makes Local Reviews the best, and why should you go with Local Reviews? 

Table of Contents

Welcome to Local Reviews

Features 

  • -Unlimited Business Rating/Review Texts
  • -Unlimited Business Rating/Review Emails
  • -Unlimited Users
  • -Connect to Numerous Review Sites
  • -Customer Review Resolution System 
  • -Customizable Branding 
  • -Robust Dashboard
  • -Point of Sale (POS) & Zapier Integrations
  • -Custom Templates 
  • -Schedule & Send Bulk Texts
  • -Schedule & Send Bulk Emails
  • -Notifications
  • -Analytics/Reporting
  • -Smartphone App
  • -Premium SMS (2-Way Texting)
  • -Customizable Website Social Proof Widget 

Setup and Support

  • -API Access
  • -Onboarding & Setup
  • -Unlimited Tier 1 & Tier 2 Support
  • -Dedicated Account Manager

Guarantee

  • -30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
  • -No Contracts
  • -Multi-Locations Discount 

Welcome to Local Reviews 

The mission behind Local Reviews is to “collect, manage, and promote more high-quality reviews in more places, to drive more sales”. As a result of this mission, there are many features and benefits that Local Reviews offers to help business owners achieve these goals. As the name implies, Local Reviews focuses on local reviews gathered from customers in your local geographical area. This element is important for those local mom-and-pop shops and franchises in the USA and Canada. 

Additionally, local reviews are extremely helpful in finding information about businesses that are close to you. Whether you are on a vacation in a new area, moved to a new area, or simply want to learn about businesses in your own backyard. Reviews that are specific to a geographical area, can be really beneficial and help customers to find exactly what they are looking for and what businesses around them have to offer. 

Because most consumers are looking for information on businesses that are near to them, Local Reviews was developed to cater to this specific need. Not only do they help consumers to get the information they need and want, but Local Reviews also helps businesses to gather and manage this information all in one place. In order to effectively and easily manage and respond to reviews, Local Reviews has built-in features that make a seemingly daunting task, surprisingly easy. 

Customers Trust LocalReviews

Features

Unlimited Business Rating/Review Texts

When it comes to your business, no one should be able to place limits on it other than you. That includes when it comes to getting and asking for reviews that can be used to help grow your business. Local Reviews believes that limits can hinder the growth of your business, which is why they offer unlimited business rating and review texts. 

What this means is that through Local Reviews services, you are able to send an unlimited number of text messages to your customers asking for them to leave you a rating or review. Within the text, there is a link, which will take customers directly to a web page for them to leave an honest review. 

Whether you have an average of 1,000 customers or 10, Local Reviews lets you send a text to every customer without ever having to worry about hitting a limit or wasting a text on a customer who chooses not to leave a review. 

Unlimited Business Rating/Review Emails

Depending on your business, sending emails instead of text messages makes more sense which is why Local Reviews also offers unlimited business rating and review emails; catering to all different types of businesses. 

Business rating and review emails work similarly to that of the Local Review rating and review texts, in that they ask customers to leave a review using the provided link. They are making the process easy and seamless for both the customer and business. You can then use every customer email that you get to send an email asking for a review of their recent experience. 

No matter the size of your business, you don’t have to worry about being limited by the number of rating and review emails you can send thanks to Local Reviews. 

Unlimited Users

As a business owner, you want to cut down on expenses and overhead costs, while increasing profits. One way in which Local Reviews can help with that is by allowing for unlimited users on your account. Instead of having to pay per user, you can set up as many as you need or want to help manage your online reviews. A more established business with a large number of employees and sales that may receive a plethora of reviews can benefit from having an unlimited number of users to help manage and respond to all the reviews. 

With multiple users, you are able to have more eyes reviewing the reviews that you receive and responding as necessary. Additionally, multiple users allow you to divide the workload among various people, eliminating the need for certain people to feel responsible for managing all your online reviews. The ability to have unlimited users really can help businesses save money while growing their business at the same time. 

Thanks to Local Reviews, you don’t have to worry about how many users you can have working to manage your online reviews, instead, you can worry about how to improve and grow your business based on the reviews and feedback you receive. 

Connect to Numerous Review Sites

Not only do you want to have the freedom and ability to send invites to receive reviews through unlimited text and emails, but you also have the ability to connect to numerous different review sites as well. Whether it be Google, Facebook, Yelp, or any other online review site, with Local Reviews you have the ability to connect with any number of online review sites to view and manage online reviews for your business. 

The best part of connecting with numerous online review sites with Local Reviews is that you don’t have to visit and sign in to each review site. Local Reviews collects all your online reviews from the various different sites and combines them into one convenient location within your user dashboard. From there you can easily manage and respond to reviews as necessary, all without ever having to leave your Local Reviews user dashboard. Being able to connect and respond to reviews all across the internet has never been easier than with Local Reviews. 

Customer Review Resolution System

Being efficient is the key to maximizing profitability and productivity, which is where Local Review’s Customer Review Resolution System really shines. With this feature, business owners are able to view and respond to online reviews regardless of where they come from, all from their Local Reviews dashboard. 

The ability to respond to and manage reviews regardless of the platform in which the review comes from, in one convenient location saves time and makes your business more proficient. Just another way that Local Reviews is helping businesses to grow, while increasing efficiency. Channel your energy and time into growing your business and responding to customers’ reviews, instead of wasting time navigating from review site to review site.  

Customizable Branding

The last thing that you or your customers want is to send or receive texts or emails that could be perceived as spam, thereby getting ignored. With Local Reviews’ ability to include customized branding, you no longer have to worry about your messages going unread. Include your brand (i.e., business name or logo) to every text or email that you send, so that the recipients know who it is coming from.  

Not only does customizing texts and emails to include your brand or logo inform recipients who the sender is, but it also helps to legitimize the message as being important and not just spam or unsolicited marketing materials. Increase the probability that your customers will read and act on your texts or emails, by including customized branding. 

Robust Dashboard

Everything that you could possibly want and are able to do with Local Reviews can be done within the robust dashboard. Here is where you can complete control over every aspect of your Local Reviews campaign.

Within the dashboard, you have access to seeing all the analytics that details your online reviews. Here is where you can find the tools necessary to compose and send bulk texts and emails to all of your customers. If you’d prefer, you can also send individual texts and emails from within your user dashboard. Furthermore, you will have the ability to text back and forth with your customers using tools found within your dashboard. 

Not sure how to format your texts or emails to send to your customers, rest easy knowing that you have access to pre-made, proven texts and email templates for you to use. Use API integration to automatically send out texts and emails to your customers, so that you don’t have to add anything else to your long to-do list.  

Additional features and tools that you’ll be able to utilize through your user dashboard include the best-in-class website widget that can easily be added to your current company website and so many more amazing features and tools that make managing your online reviews easier than ever before. 

Point of Sale (POS) & Zapier Integrations

One of the easiest, hands-free, ways to ensure that you ask a large majority of your customers to leave you a review is to ask everyone that makes a purchase. This can be achieved by utilizing Local Reviews’ Point of Sale (POS) and Zapier integration. We have integrations with leading POS companies:  Square, Clover, Stripe, QuickBooks, Vend, Shopify, Korona, and more.  If your POS is not listed, please let us know and we will work diligently to integrate with them.  

Essentially, how it works is that after you set up a POS integration (which can be completed in a mere few minutes), when your customers make a purchase using your POS system, an automatic text (or email) is sent asking for your customers to leave a review.. Once you have this feature set up, it will happen automatically (hands-free) when your POS system is used by a customer. This is how our clients are collecting 10x more high-quality reviews.

Example: A customer buys a product with an integrated POS and then within only a few minutes the local business, via the LocalReviews.com software, texts that customer a review invite, automatically.

Custom Templates 

Local Reviews makes it easy to ask for reviews through the use of custom templates. These templates eliminate the guesswork of how to go about asking for a review, by allowing you to use a pre-made proven template. With these custom templates, you can customize them to include your company name, logo, brand, and anything else that you want to include. 

By using these templates your texts and emails will not only look professional but will also look personalized. Customers will know that it is you behind the message and not some random spam bot trying to solicit their information. You don’t have to waste time trying to create your own template, instead, you can use a premade custom template and achieve the results that you are looking for. 

Schedule & Send Bulk Texts

It is well known that many people prefer to correspond and communicate via text message, which is why being able to send text messages to your customers is advisable as it increases your likelihood of getting your message read and responded to. With Local Reviews, you are able to schedule bulk texts in advance to be sent at a designated time. 

Scheduling in advance gives you an opportunity to take advantage of the templates to ensure that your texts include all the information that you need and want to pass to your customers. You can plan ahead and send a bulk group of texts out all at once, instead of sending a single text at a time. This allows you to save time and money, be actively engaging your customers in conversation, and consistently gain new online reviews. 

Schedule & Send Bulk Emails

Similar to that of sending bulk texts, there are many benefits to sending bulk emails. One of the biggest benefits is the ability to send mass quantities of emails and information in a fraction of the time. With email, you are able to include more digital media (i.e., photos and videos), than you can with a text message or other means of communication. Regardless of the message you are trying to send to your customers, with Local Reviews’ ability to schedule and send bulk emails, you can stay in contact with your customers all the time. 

Send emails asking for reviews, or announce an upcoming sale, or offer a coupon code for customers to use on their next purchase. The possibilities of what you can send to your customers via bulk emails are endless. Take advantage of the ability to be able to schedule bulk emails in advance, so that you are guaranteed to get the message sent out ahead of time, so the information contained within the email is pertinent and up to date. 

Notifications

The whole premise of being able to respond and manage online reviews through the assistance of Local Reviews is to first know that you have new online reviews that require your attention. It is hard, almost impossible to respond to and manage reviews if you don’t know that there are new online reviews that require your attention. This is where the Local Reviews notifications feature proves to be an incredibly valuable tool to have in your arsenal. 

Get notified when you receive a new review so that you can respond and manage it accordingly, within a timely manner. This shows customers that you are responsive and attentive, which can increase confidence in their buying decisions. Customers want to feel confident in their buying decisions, so when they can see a company that is attentive and responsive they are confident that they are seen as a valued customer and not just a number. 

Analytics/Reports

An important feature that Local Reviews provides is access to analytics and reports. This allows you to see where reviews are coming from, if your method of communication (texts or emails) are reaching your targeted audience, and if they are acting on your invitation to leave a review.

With the information that you can gather from your analytics and reports, you are able to cater and change your approach to gaining online reviews so that you are always speaking to your customers in the best way possible to get engagement. You can learn so much information by studying your reports and analytics that can be beneficial to you in growing your business; having this information available to you from Local Reviews is invaluable. 

Smartphone App

Nowadays there is a smartphone app for just about everything, and Local Reviews is no exception. With the app, you have access to send text messages or emails to your customers to get timely review surveys.  This is very helpful for companies and team members that may be “out in the field” and want to send independent review surveys to customers.

Premium SMS (2-Way Texting)

Being accessible to your customers is one sure way to guarantee that your customers will leave you raving, positive reviews. This includes being available through text messaging. As was stated earlier, many customers prefer to communicate via text message rather than other means of communication. With Local Reviews, users have access to premium SMS (2-way texting) that allows customers to text you and for you to respond to them as needed. Whether customers have a question or a concern, providing the ability to text back and forth enables customers to get their questions and concerns addressed quickly. 

Customers can be more inclined to interact and engage in conversation with a business through texting rather than other forms of communication. When you provide means for your customers to communicate with them and show that you are really available for them when they need you, it can go a long way in building and establishing a relationship with your customers that will last for years to come. 

Customizable Website Widget

There are many benefits to having a widget installed on your website, but when you have a customized website widget from Local Reviews, those benefits are amplified. The widget from Local Reviews is clearly the best-in-class.  It is a tremendous social proof tool that lets your customers see other customers that have already purchased your products or services and have awarded you with a 5 star review.  The widget is fully customizable and is easy to customize and easy to install.  Plus, our team of developers are always willing to help answer any questions you may have or even install the widget for you. 

One of the biggest benefits of this website widget is that it has been proven to enhance customer engagement, increase consumer confidence, and dramatically  increase checkout conversion rates. 

Local Reviews | What Are the Benefits of Local Reviews? Marketing 101 for Local Businesses.

Setup and Support

API Access

This is another great way to automate your review collecting process.  With API access, you are able to provide your customers with more information without having to supply all the information yourself. This is achieved because of how API access works. It works by enabling two different software programs to talk to each other and display the information that is gained from the other software. 

With Local Reviews, this is done through your robust dashboard and all the necessary API documentation is readily available for you or your technical support team to access and implement.  Once the API is properly instigated you will be able to automatically start collecting reviews.

Onboarding & Setup

When you sign up for Local Reviews you have the support that is there to help you throughout the entire onboarding and setup process to ensure that you are set up for success. Through this process, you’ll get your customized website widget added to your website, introduced to your robust dashboard, learn how you can send and schedule bulk texts and emails, and so much more. 

This is a great opportunity for you as a business owner or manager to really get your feet wet and learn exactly how Local Reviews works and how your business can benefit from their services. You will have support in every step of the set up process, so even if you aren’t the most tech-savvy person, you can successfully get your Local Reviews account set up and running. 

Unlimited Tier 1 & Tier 2 Support

Once you have completed onboarding you are never left without support. At any time, if you need to talk to someone from Local Reviews, they are available for you through either tier 1 or tier 2 support.  This is for customer and/or technical support. 

The only difference between tier 1 and tier 2 is the way in which you are able to contact and communicate with Local Reviews. Tier 1 allows for you to contact and communicate with Local Reviews via emails. If you’d prefer email to other forms of communication, tier 1 support is ideal for you, as you can write and send an email at your convenience, have something in writing that you can refer back to, and simply communicate at your convenience. 

Tier 2 support is for those who would rather pick up the phone and talk to a live person on the other end to receive the support and help that they need. Additionally, tier 2 support also enables users to connect with a live person via an online live chat system, where they can quickly connect with someone without having to call or wait for an email response. Either way, with Local Reviews you always have access to the support that you need and want. 

Dedicated Account Manager

With Local Reviews, you never have to wonder who your point of contact is, as every single customer has a dedicated account manager. With an account manager, you will have a specific person that you are able to build a professional, working relationship with, who will be there to help you be successful with your Local Reviews account. 

Additionally, your account manager can answer any questions that you might have and can offer insight and ideas on marketing strategies that might help you to attract more reviews from your customers. With your dedicated account manager, you are never alone when it comes to managing your Local Reviews account. 

Guarantee

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

With Local Reviews, you can try it out for 30-days risk-free, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Sign up, try it on, delve into the robust dashboard, and schedule and send bulk texts or emails all risk-free for 30 days. Try it out to see if Local Reviews is a good fit for you and your business without being locked into a long-term contract. 

Within the 30 days, you can really get a feel for what Local Reviews is all about and how they can work and integrate with your business. Most other review software only provides customers with a few days to try out their software before purchasing, Local Reviews gives you a whole month so that you are able to make the most informed decision for you and your business. 

No Contracts

With Local Reviews, you never have to worry about being trapped in a contract for a service that isn’t cutting it for you anymore. Local Reviews does not have any contracts, which enables you to cancel at any time if you no longer need or wish to use their services. You are in complete control of your Local Reviews campaign, including the duration of your campaign. 

Multi-Locations Discounts 

A business owner with multiple locations knows just how expensive it can be when you have to pay full price for marketing for every location. Not with Local Reviews, with the multi-location discount, you can get the benefits of Local Reviews for all of your locations without having to pay full price for each one. It doesn’t matter if you have 2 different locations or 1,002, you can still take full advantage of the multi-location discounts. 

This is a great way to ensure that each location is set up to successfully get reviews that are local to their specific area. Each location is going to have different needs and a different customer base, which Local Reviews can help you to cater to each, which in turn can help your business to grow and attract new customers. 

Summary

As you can see there are a lot of amazing features that are available to you once you sign up to use Local Reviews to attract, manage and respond to your online reviews. It has never been easier to communicate with your customers and provide a way for them to leave your local business a review than it is now. 

Local Reviews is a low price, high-value software solution that will help your business grow.  There is no risk associated with trying Local Reviews for yourself.  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Check out Local Reviews and see for yourself how revolutionary this review software is. 

Schedule a free demo today.

Author: Ashley Christensen