Customer reviews are an extremely powerful sales tool. So much so, that 63% of customers are more likely to purchase from a site that features customer reviews.
Encouraging your customers to leave feedback is an excellent way to gather third party recommendations. These recommendations give potential customers faith in you as they come from genuine customers who have used your product or service, and give current customers a platform to feed back their experience.
Checking on where your business is being talked about on a daily basis and responding accordingly can make sure your customers feel valued as individuals. Taking too long to address complaints, or even ignoring them altogether, can be damaging to your business’s reputation.
Whether positive or negative, you should always take the time to manage your customer reviews. This regular communication shows how attentive you are as a business owner, and might be a key factor in a customer’s decision to buy from you.
These five simple tips will help you use any customer review to your advantage.
Use Google Alerts to monitor what people are saying about your business on the web, so you’re able to respond to all customer feedback. Google Alerts allows you to set up email notifications when certain keywords are mentioned online. By setting the alerts to notify you when your business name is mentioned, you can immediately see what was said and respond quickly.
You could also sign up to reputation management services like Igniyte, which manage your online reputation for you; however, there may be a monthly charge for this. Pro & Elite customers of our own Listings Management service can also benefit from a feed of business reviews from across the web.
No matter if a review is positive or negative, it should always be acknowledged. The way you handle negative feedback is an opportunity to show potential customers that you value their experience. It’s also good practice and polite to respond to positive comments, which shows customers you value them taking the time to share their experience with you.
Any comments you leave on reviews will be seen by lots of people, so it’s important to write your response carefully. Don’t take poor feedback personally, and always respond graciously. Even a negative review can show you in a positive light – it all depends on the way you react. Try not to go in all guns blazing; instead, apologise to the reviewer and if possible find out how you can make amends.
It may save time, but simply copy and pasting “Thanks” or “Sorry” just won’t cut it. Each reviewer should get a unique response that talks about their individual praise or problem. Potential customers will be more likely to trust a business owner who takes the time to really listen to what their customers say, and does something about it.
Just 50 or more reviews can increase the number of people who buy from you by 4.6%, so whenever possible ask your customers to post a review. There are online tools that can help you with this, such as sending automatic emails to customers asking them to review your business once they’ve bought from you. You can also encourage reviews by offering discounts for people who leave you feedback or complete a survey. This simple tactic can dramatically increase the number of reviews you have, which is good news for your sales.
Managing your online reputation doesn’t have to be difficult. By following our tips, you can learn to keep an eye on customer reviews and use them to develop your business. We’ve got more articles that can help you manage your business’s reputation online. Read these for more ideas:
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