https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptElqzYudoI
How Much Have Local Businesses Suffered in 2020?
Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough for everyone, one particular group who have been hit hard is local businesses. A clear pattern during the last few months has shown smaller local businesses are struggling to the point of closure for many.
Here at Trustist, we work with thousands of these exact businesses and we’ve seen just how difficult it has been for them along with many others in the world. It appears that other, large scale organisations are also realising just how badly these businesses have been hit and are doing what they can to help everyone pull through.
One of these organisations (and one of the most well-known) is Google, who provide their differing services globally no matter the size of the business. The most popular service, amongst local businesses is Google My Business.
Google My Business
Google My Business gives businesses the opportunity to have a strong local presence without having to pay any fees at all. The listings appear in the map search results, with a selection also appearing above natural search results for relevant search terms.
The Google My Business listings also allow businesses to populate all of the information a customer could require, including contact details, images and links through to the company’s website.
For more information on using Google My Business and making your listing the best it can be, please click here.
Collecting Local Google Reviews
Google just released a brand-new advert featuring Sheridan Smith about how we can all do our bit to support local businesses during the current stages of lockdown. One of the main points covered was that sometimes all it takes is someone leaving a quick review on a business’ Google My Business listing to help boost the amount of footfall they receive.
Even small gestures like adding a review for local businesses you enjoy can really make a difference, not only in their online presence and alerting more users to how great they are, but also in boosting the morale of the business owners themselves by allowing them to see how their community is able to support them.
It’s also a great time for businesses to be asking for reviews, as customers are more willing than ever to show their loyalty to businesses and offer support in any way they can.
You can see the full advert released by Google here.
Collecting Google Reviews Through Trustist
Through their Trustist account, clients have access to a unique review collection URL. This custom link allows their customers to select from a range of review sources including Google before leaving their feedback.
Not only does this increase the amount of Google reviews the business is able to connect, there is also the option to leave a Trustist review on the very same screen. This means that if a customer does not wish to leave a Google review for any reason (often they do not have the correct login details to hand) they are able to leave a Trustist review instead without needing to login. That way, the feedback is still collected for the business!
Trustist also automatically send an email out to the customers who choose to leave their reviews via the Trustist review source inviting them to also add their comments onto Google too!