Word-of-mouth advertising has always been a key marketing tool for generating new business. When potential customers hear the opinions of others that have already done business with you, it creates a perception and influences decision making in a way regular advertising never could.
In the digital marketing world, customer reviews are the new word of mouth. People look for them when they search for a new company. Quite often, people will base their buying decisions on these customers reviews. When you receive positive reviews about your products or services, they can spread very quickly and lead to an increase in sales. However, negative reviews can just as quickly stifle sales and cause a business to take a step back.
Getting great customer reviews isn’t just about getting your products and services out there and hoping for the best. There are specific tactics that you can use to ensure customers are happy and satisfied, and willing to leave a positive review for others to see.
Why people look at online customer reviews
- To get social proof from customers that have used your products or services
- Learn more about the product/service they are buying
- Reduce the possibility of making a bad purchase
- To get a better sense of the product’s pros and cons
1. Ask for reviews
The first step to getting great online reviews is to make it as easy as possible for people to leave them. The more effort it takes, the less likely someone is to dedicate the time to leave the review you want. Social media and third-party review sites are great platforms to help get the good word out there about your company. Some of the most effective ones include:
- Facebook Business Page
- Google – using the Google My Business feature
- LinkedIn Recommendations
2. Make the most of your website
Your own website is a great tool for getting great customer reviews. Ensure your web pages and blog posts are optimised to allow visitors to leave their comments quickly and easily. You should also consider having a page on your website dedicated to customer reviews. Providing a clear path to all of your social media channels will help to optimise your website for mobile.
3. Ask for reviews in your email marketing
Do you use inbound marketing? This is a great platform to ask for customer reviews. As part of your client marketing, consider sending out a short email after a purchase or completed service, asking for a review. This will give you the most honest feedback because people will feel as though they are communicating with you one-to-one. Not only with this help to boost sales, but will also allow you to make the necessary adjustments if you notice a negative pattern.
If you don’t want to ask for a review, another option is to add a link to an online survey. Polls or surveys are easy to get set up, and the data can be analysed easily and efficiently. There are also plenty of free platforms to do this.
4. Encourage the review process
Whether you’re not getting the number of reviews you’d like or you’d just like to reward your customers, consider adding incentives to the process. This gives people a reason to leave a review. The incentives could include things like discounts or gift cards. Not only could this motivate people to leave reviews, it may even boost your sales when they go back and shop again.
5. Timing is key
Timing is always key in asking for customer reviews. If you ask at the right time, you will get more out of the process and improve your customer service at the same time. Try to approach them when they are feeling satisfied or fulfilled so that they will pass that feeling along in the review. This is relevant to several platforms including social media, your website or in an email.
Some great times to ask for a review include:
- After a client has positively interacted with your brand
- After they re-order a product
- When they tag your company on social media
- If they refer new customers to you
There is no perfect formula for getting great customer reviews, but if you follow some of these tips, we guarantee you’ll be successful more often than not. If you want to prioritise reviews within your marketing strategy, make sure you task certain team members with the job and allow them to devote enough time to encouraging reviews, as well as replying to reviews online.
