Businesses large and small need reviews online. Here’s how to get them and why…
Receiving customer feedback, both positive and negative, is very important for a multitude of reasons.
By being willing to accept even criticism, an organization can show their clients they really do want honest feedback, which in turn helps them to improve their products and/or services. Of course, positive feedback from customers can help make a sale with new clients as well. In fact, reading reviews from other satisfied buyers may be the critical factor that determines whether a sale is made, or whether a potential customer decides to make their purchase elsewhere. If your organization has been on the fence with regard to incorporating customer reviews into an overall marketing plan, now is the ideal time to close this loophole.
Analyze Your Outreach
The first thing an organization needs to do is to gather and analyze all the ways in which they currently perform customer outreach. Depending upon the company, it could be through email, online sales, person-to-person contact, a brick and mortar store, a chat feature through a website, social media, or in some cases, a text message may be the last communication a business has with their customer after a transaction.
Every organization employs a multitude of mechanisms to reach their audience(s). Some companies may have physical products to sell, so listing a brief description of each product on their website and/or in a catalog are the main avenues they use to reach their audience. Other businesses primarily center around offering some type of service. And of course, some companies offer both products and services. Asking for reviews (and posting results) is closely associated with how an organization interacts with both current customers and potential customers.
Make it Easy and Keep it Real
Asking for reviews should center around the last interaction an organization has with a customer, but posting reviews should be connected to where/when a customer is looking to make a purchase. Whether your last interaction is through a text message or email confirmation, etc., simply thank the customer again for their business and provide them with a link to an area where they can provide honest feedback.
The average buyer considers both a rating system and real comments from other customers, especially when reviews are negative. Although it might be tempting to simply offer a 5-star rating system, not providing an area for comments even if they might be negative, means an organization will miss out on how to improve in the areas where they likely need to. Even if feedback is negative, organizations can provide their own feedback for clarification, or reach out to the dissatisfied customer to rectify the situation. Either way, other readers will see that the business is serious about satisfying their customers.
Want to know more about increasing sales from honest reviews? We can help you to reach out to old clients and encourage reviews from current ones as well!
