In this section, we'll be taking a look at reviews and their importance for event venues and suppliers.

Event organisers increasingly look at reviews when considering a certain venue or supplier. And that makes total sense. Most of us have done this, too, when browsing for the best hotels, restaurants, and other stuff we buy online.

eventplanner.net has a trustworthy review platform; there's a big difference when comparing us to for example Google and Facebook reviews. Many users ask if they should use Google or eventplanner.net as a review platform. Our answer is clear: go for a safe review platform where only your real customers can publish reviews.

On platforms like Google and Facebook, reviews are unverified, and anybody can leave one – even people who've never worked with you. On eventplanner.net, we have a safe review system in which every review that's posted about your business is subject to your approval. The review won't be published instantly, and you'll have the opportunity to validate whether it's an actual customer.

• Important! One amazing feature is that the reviews posted on eventplanner.net will also be shown on Google and count towards your ranking there too.

As an example, if we were looking at the business page of an event agency, we'd see their score in the top right; for example, an excellent score would be something like 9.6 out of 10, based on 32 reviews.

Now, if we scroll down this page, we'll see the actual 32 reviews that users have left. When visitors see a respectable number of reviews, it leaves a strong impression, and they're more likely to make enquiries about your services.

As already explained, the more reviews you have, the better your eventplanner.net ranking. There are, however, some other benefits of the eventplanner.net review system. The first is that it's completely free for both our free business pages and premium business pages. So, it makes sense to start using it straight away. And it's super easy. Head to our website and go to the right review page, copy the URL, and share this link with your customers.

Many suppliers can accrue a good list of reviews by sharing this page with their customers. For example, after hosting a great event, they send out the link to this review page the day after the event, personally asking customers to leave a review.

• Important! Be sure to ask for reviews shortly after the event, while the enthusiasm still remains. Where possible, send a personal message rather than a generic one. It's easy for someone to write a review, so emphasise this as customers are more likely to leave a review if it's hassle-free.

After gaining some good reviews, you may wish to show them on your own website. And that's very easy to do. Head over to your dashboard and click 'Settings', and you'll see the 'Widgets' tab over there.

You can use this embed code to add our review widget to your website. If you're not used to working with HTML, ask your web developer. It will take them no more than a few minutes to display this, as it is just a case of injecting this code into your website.

If you're a member of one of our premium packages, you can also customise how your integration looks using our review API integration. That's a little more technical and may require the attention of your web developer.

As we've already discussed, whenever somebody places a review, it's up to you to validate it as being from one of your customers. If we go to the 'Reviews' tab in 'Settings', you'll see the reviews coming in. There will be a button to accept or reject them. You can only reject a review if it's not a customer of yours. If you did a terrible job, that's not grounds for rejecting a review; if the reviewer can prove they're an actual customer, we will approve the review afterwards.

That being said, since our review platform is safe and our users' names appear below the reviews, most reviewers remain professional and practice good etiquette. In the thousands and thousands of reviews left on our platform, we have just a handful that are negative.

When a new review comes in, you'll be able to accept or decline, and you'll also get an email prompting you to do so. If you don't take action within two weeks after it's placed, it will be accepted automatically - and there's no way back. It's not compulsory to manually approve reviews, but you always have the option. And that's a big feature that's lacking in other platforms like Google and Facebook.

Another thing you can do is react to reviews. When you click on 'Read reviews', you'll see the reviews over here, but you can also respond to those reviews too. And it's good practice to do so. If somebody puts effort into writing a review for your business, engage with them and show your appreciation.

If somebody shares some constructive criticism, acknowledge their feedback and let them know how you'll implement that feedback. This is something other visitors also read. And even if you have a negative review, how you respond leaves a greater impression on a reader than the negative review itself. It shows you care and are dedicated to preventing a reoccurrence. That inspires a lot of trust in other potential customers.

Below the review widget, we also have a direct link you can share with your customers. And at the bottom of the page, you'll also see some frequently asked questions to give you more information about reviews; for example, information about gaining API access.

• Important! For starter profiles, we always recommend setting a target of acquiring at least three reviews. When your business page gets three reviews, you'll get a score, which will be shown in the search results and result in a higher ranking.

We always recommend gathering new reviews because the more you have, the greater your reputation. And by ensuring there's always a recent review, potential customers will have greater confidence in your business than a business whose last review was written a few years ago.

And if you start gathering reviews, there is an additional incentive! If you have at least ten reviews, of which at least five are from the last year, and your score is higher than 90%, you'll win the eventplanner.net certificate of excellence each year.

You may have already noticed that a certificate of excellence for a particular year is displayed at the top of some business pages. And that's an award showcasing event venues and suppliers who go the extra mile for their customers. So, set your sights high and go after the eventplanner.net certificate of excellence!