How to improve your small business’s online reputation – without fake reviews

Changes to UK consumer law are now in place to end unfair practices, help businesses stay competitive, and give consumers greater transparency. 

Key among these changes is a ban on fake reviews. Businesses found to be fabricating positive reviews for their business, or writing negative reviews for competitors, can now be fined directly by the UK Competition and Markets Authority. 

This is welcome news for small businesses who pride themselves on the quality of their products and services. We know small business owners put their heart and soul into their business. Now they can compete on a level playing field.    

Read on for 7 essential tips to boost your business’s online reputation and get ahead of the competition.

Why honest customer reviews are important

Reviews matter. According to a recent survey from Reputation, 68% of consumers cite online reviews as their primary source when it comes to making a purchasing decision. 

If you’re offering a top quality product or service, reputation management should be a key part of your marketing strategy. Here’s why it matters:

Boosts visibility

Keyworded content could help your business rank more highly on search engines and appear in generative AI searches, like ChatGPT. The more content about your business online, the higher you’ll rank. 

Attracts new customers

Social proof is a powerful tool for persuading people to buy from you. If you have lots of happy customers, let them do some of the hard work of publicising your product or service.

Builds trust

People actively seek out reviews before purchasing and are heavily influenced by them. If you’re not using your existing customers as social proof, you’re missing out on revenue.

Provides customer insight

Finding out what you do well and what you could improve on is essential to help you improve your offering. Equally, reading reviews of your competitors and wider industry could give you ways to stand out and get ahead of the competition.    

7 honest ways to build a great online reputation 

1. Ensure you’re always delivering exceptional service 

Let’s start at the beginning. It might sound obvious, but if you want to build a good reputation – online or off – you need to ensure your service is deserving. If your business is performing at its peak, the rest of this will be easy.

Every single customer interaction, even the difficult ones, needs to be exceptional – and that comes from every member of the team. So build a strong team that loves your business as much as you do and inherently understands your purpose.

Ensure the entire team knows the expectations on how to deal with customers. Don’t just assume they will handle customer service properly, train them on how to communicate that passion and care at every customer touchpoint. 

It only takes one less-than-perfect interaction to lead to an unfavourable review.

2. Ask for reviews…

If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Your customers are busy. Even with the best will in the world, people forget to leave reviews. 

Simply asking customers for feedback is the easiest way to gather feedback and generate reviews.

Some easy ways to ensure a regular stream of customer feedback could include:

• Prominently display a sign at your till or wherever your customer ends their journey with a clear, concise ask: “Love what we do? Please tell the world”
• Make the ask as simple as possible – direct customers to just one (or a maximum of two) places where you want them to share their experience
• Create a physical reminder – print a card or flyer with details of how they can leave a review
• Send an after-sales email asking for feedback
• Reach out on social media 
• Offer incentives (discounts, free products etc) in exchange for a review. This must always be openly disclosed.
• Consider investing in long-form case studies and video testimonials

3. …And share them with the world 

Once you’ve gathered reviews, here’s how you can make sure they’re seen: 

• Invest in a high quality, SEO-optimised website and display your reviews and testimonials prominently. This will help your business’s search engine ranking. 
• Regularly share reviews on social media as part of your wider content strategy
• Add testimonials to your newsletters and email marketing

4. Listen to all reviews and respond 

Sentiment and trust changes over time, so reviewing this regularly is important. Set up a Google Alert to track what people are saying about your business.

Show that you care by carefully reading every review and responding sympathetically. Don’t be afraid to gently move criticism to a more private channel, where you can work with the customer to resolve their issue.

In their survey, Reputation found that approximately 52% of consumers actively look for negative reviews, with 70% reporting that this feedback heavily influences their purchasing decision.

Potential new customers are watching how you handle negative reviews, just as closely as the good ones. If you’ve made a mistake, own it, apologise and take measures to fix it. 

5. Get ahead of negative reviews

Even when you do everything in your power to provide great customer service, it’s likely that you’ll receive a less-than-favourable review at some point.

If you know there is an operational issue (such as price increases or potential delays due to disruption in the supply chain) that will impact your customers, it’s important to explain what is happening before disgruntled customers take to social media to complain about it. 

Additionally, social listening and talking to your customers will help you identify and rectify any issues as soon as possible. 

6. Engage your customers on social media 

Social media provides a fantastic opportunity to talk to your customers, build up a community of happy customers who will go on to recommend your business, and collaborate with other like-minded businesses.

As well as sharing your positive reviews on social media, you could encourage user-generated content, use functions such as LinkedIn polls or Instagram Stories to gather feedback, and DMs for customer service. 

Don’t forget to also reply to every single comment on your social media channels with a personal message that sparks further conversation. Doing so will boost your engagement, which means more people will see your content – and potential new customers see that there’s a real, authentic person behind the business. 

Being active and responsive on social media is now more important than ever following. Instagram’s recent announcement that posts to their platform might now appear in search engine results. 

7. Get featured in reputable publications 

Don’t underestimate the power of networking: with your customers, peers, local businesses and those in your industry. Take up any opportunity to speak at relevant events, or share your thoughts in print, online articles or podcasts.   

And then share these appearances on your website, email marketing and social media. Not only will this boost your search engine ranking, it will add credibility and trust to your business.

If you’re considering finance to help boost your business’s online reputation, check if you’re eligible in 30 seconds and apply online in less than 10 minutes.

01/07/25: While we want to help as much as we can, the information found here is provided solely for informational purposes and should not be considered financial or legal advice. To the extent permitted by law, Funding Circle does not accept any liability for any loss or damage which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of, or reliance on, the information contained here. If you have any questions, please speak to your professional adviser or seek independent legal advice. 

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