The power of reviews for your business
Welcome to the What Matters Marketing Podcast - if you’re new here, thank you for listening in.
In today's show we are going to review Reviews and the power that they have to drive huge success for your business and also the power that they have to kill your business
I’ll cover
* Latest research findings by local seo experts Bright Local
* The 3 components of an effective customer review program
* Including how to confidently deal with negative reviews
* And if you listen to the end, I’ll let you know where you go can to get a free email template to make it super easy for you to start collecting customer reviews
Let me start with this question…
Are you using Reviews to help promote your business and build trust with your potential customers?
As a business owner or marketer, we always want to be putting ourselves in the shoes of our ideal customer. So think about the last time you wanted to buy something from a business that you hadn’t used before. Did you happen to look at customer reviews before deciding which business that you would buy from? I’m guessing that your answer is likely to be a resounding yes!
Research undertaken by Bright Local found that 91% of 18-34 year olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 93% of consumers say that online reviews influenced their purchase decisions. 77% of consumers use at least two review platforms in their business research.
The research found the top 4 review sites to be:
81% Google - noting this has dropped from 81% in 2023 survey
45% Facebook
44% Yelp
21% Tripadvisor
In addition to those sites, consumers used other sources for business information and reviews including:
43% Local news - this could cover both digital and more traditional forms of media - radio, print, tv
34% Instagram
32% Youtube
23% Tiktok
Its worth noting that while Google saw a decrease year on year, it is still by far the most used platform for seeking reviews. Some of its stickiness is attributed to the enhancements it continues to make to the Google Business Profile product where its added features for industries such as hotels where pricing comparisons, booking availability and business facilities are now available.
The research did also find Apple Maps and Trust Pilot have seen an increase in use and this increase could be attributed to Apple Maps including more appealing features resulting in a better user experience. And Trust Pilots growth could be as a result of having verified reviews with consumers viewing these as more trustworthy.
Not only are reviews now an integral part of the customer purchasing decision, an effective customer review program will also help businesses stand out online in what is typically a sea of sameness and competitors.
Customer reviews give your potential customer the confidence to buy from your business especially if you are a new brand to them.
Next we’re going to look how you can create a Customer Review Program. And if you have one already, listen in incase you hear some additional tips that you may not be doing or have thought of.
HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOMER REVIEW PROGRAM
We’re going to look at 3 components of an effective customer review program:
1. Collection
2. Management
3. Promotion
1. COLLECTION
There are a few options for you to consider where you’d like to collect your reviews from including:
* Facebook
* Yelp
* Product Reviews
* Tripadvisor
* Amazon
* Google
* App Store
The product or service that you offer will determine which channels are more appropriate for you to collect reviews from for your type of business. And if you’re worried about managing multiple channels, there are tools such as Podium that can facilitate multi-channel collection and management of your reviews. One client, a local small business, using the Podium tool has generated almost 900 reviews in 18 months!
How to ask your customers for reviews
Remember, everyone is busy so we need to make it easy for your customer to make a review. The best way to approach this is to think about the customer journey and identify at which point would be the best time to ask for a review. And ideally, this should be automated so you can set a process in place making it easy for staff… You can then watch the reviews come in!
For example, if you’re an online retailer you can automate an email to be sent once sufficient time has passed for the customer to have received (allow for shipping time) and used the product.
If you offer professional services, you can email your client with a link to your preferred review platform once the service has been carried out.
Perhaps you own a beauty salon, you can look to text your clients at the end of each day or the next day asking them to complete a review based on the treatment that they just received.
Something to consider is the timing of you request for the review. As an example, when I was helping a travel client with their marketing, I identified that they would get the most valuable reviews once a booking was made, and not after the travel was completed. Why? As they act as a b booking agent, they can only directly influence their specific part of the holiday experience. They cannot influence the experience at the hotel or the attraction. If they wait to seek feedback on the entire holiday, the booking agent can be marked down due to experiences outside of their control that were delivered by the hotel. While it's important for the travel agent business to know when suppliers are providing a poor experience, so they can then choose whether they will continue to sell them or not, the agent should be rated on the customer experience of delivering the booking process. With this in mind, we amended the review process timeline so that customers were invited to leave a review based on their booking experience, and a second review was undertaken following their holiday that collected data on the suppliers - meaning the hotels, tour operators, attractions etc.
When pulling together your invitation to complete a review, consider the following:
* Make it as short and concise as possible
* It needs to be on brand - think tone of voice, branding colours, visuals (and suitable for delivery channel eg email vs text)
* be clear what you’re asking for
* And provide examples of past customer reviews.
Giving your customer examples of other reviews will help them work out what they can say and how to say it. Unfortunately, we’re not all Pulitzer worthy writers so to give your customers some confidence to write a review, it is a great idea to provide them with examples of other reviews. You can also look to include some questions to prompt their thoughts and trigger ideas on what they can write about.
Want a cheat sheet to get you started? You can grab an REVIEW REQUEST EMAIL example here
2. MANAGEMENT
Reviews require someone within your team to manage them, directly or via a tool such as Podium. You want to ensure that the reviews are being read, acknowledged and also replied to. Customer Reviews are a fantastic way to obtain feedback and it is up to the business owner or assigned Reviews manager to respectfully respond to both positive and negative reviews.
Dealing with negative reviews
No matter how great a businesses customer service training is, there are going to be times when a product or service leaves a customer dissatisfied... which may lead to a negative review.
Should you respond to a negative review? Yes, indeed you should! “When it comes to responding to negative feedback, it's imperative to get it right. A huge 69% of customers who get an inadequate response to their review say they won’t shop at the retailer anymore, so it's definitely worth learning how to get those replies spot-on."
Source: reviews.io
The team at reviews.io have put together 7 Rules for responding to negative reviews.
Rule #1: Say thank you
If they didn't tell you, how would you know? Starting with a simple "Thank you for your review" acknowledges that you appreciate constructive feedback and also demonstrates you're prepared to admit to your mistakes - you don't take the high road.
Rule #2: Apologise
Sorry can go a long way. However blunt or angry negative reviews may seem, it's important to remember that your customers are not the enemy and are unlikely to have left you a negative review for no reason at all.
Whatever their feedback and whether you agree with it or not, you should apologise for the upset caused. Do this sincerely and understandingly as a way of winning your disgruntled customer over before you take any steps towards tackling the issue at hand.
Rule #3: Personalise your review responses
This is the rule that is most frequently broken. Nothing frustrates a customer or potential customer more than reading a canned, irrelevant response.
Instead of getting a response out as quickly as possible, take some time to fully understand the customer's issue. This may involve speaking to team members in other departments and even test-running the issue yourself to find the bumps in the road.
Oliver Bonas review response
In your response, reply back to the specifics in the initial review and, using your findings, try to explain the reason for the issue. All of this will help to calm a frustrated reviewer.
Rule #4: Offer a solution
In an ideal world, you'd provide every negative reviewer with a solution to their problem. Whilst not always possible, it should be a rule you try to stick to.
A solution can be in the form of a refund or return or perhaps just some advice about the product/service that's caused the problem.
By providing a solution, you are literally, turning the positive into a negative which will save relationships and showcase great customer service too.
Rule #5: Reiterate your goal
Once you've thanked them, apologised and done your best to solve the problem at the heart of the negative review, it's a good idea to reiterate your business' vision to show the customer the mishap wasn't up to your usual standards.
If you are a tourism operator, your goal might be to provide the most educational, enjoyable and valuable experience for your customers. In this case, you might respond to a complaint about being later for pick-up than told…
"Dear Mr Malone, I am sorry to read your disappointment in our later than advised collection time for your tour with us. I have spoken with our Tour Guide and they have informed me that this was due to a last minute pick-up that was added to the tour for that day resulting in the pick-up time being pushed back. We appreciate that vacation time is precious and we sincerely apologise that we were unable to advise you about our later collection time. As a proud tourism operator with the goal of exceeding our guests expectations in every way, we are reviewing our processes to see if we can address this issue moving forward.”
Rule #6: Offer a follow-up
Before you sign off, reiterate the importance of customer satisfaction to your business by offering to discuss the matter further.
Something along the lines of "I have emailed you my contact details if you would like to discuss this matter further." This shows your door is always open and that when customers choose to shop with you, no problem goes unresolved.
Rule #7: Avoid the 'C' word
The final rule on our list is more of a don't than a do.In general, compensation shouldn't be mentioned in any review response. Mentioning the word compensation usually opens the floodgates around trust and bribery. It could also set this as a standard procedure for your company, which is not what you want.
If you feel compelled to offer compensation, make sure you do this via a private email or call.
The third component to creating an effective review program is …
3. PROMOTION
Once you have your system in place to collect reviews, you want to ensure that you are maximising your great reviews across various channels. You can do this by sharing your amazing testimonials across platforms and collateral such as:
* Your Website
* Your Social media channels
* Your Invoices/receipts
* Your Email signature
* Your Company presentations
* Your Promotional Flyers
Positive reviews give business the perfect opportunity to use them as customer testimonials, giving an unbiased third party opinion of your business. Reviews not only have the power to influence consumer decisions but can strengthen a company's credibility.
Reviews have the power to gain customer trust, and they encourage people to interact with the company. Customer interaction ultimately leads to improved profits for businesses.
Whether you’re looking for a restaurant for date night or buying a new software solution for your business, the opinion of those who have already made that decision matters. What did they like? What did they dislike? Would they make the same choice if they could do it all over again?
There is power in customer reviews, for both the consumer and the business. For the consumer, they get insights from previous buyers that can confirm or deny their positive and negative feelings towards a product.
As for the business, positive reviews act as a form of advocacy and negative reviews provide feedback on what they can do to improve.
If you’re ready to be proactive in seeking reviews but you’re a little stuck on how best to ask for them, I’ve got a great FREE bonus for you. It’s an email template that you can use as a guide for how you can create the perfect customer review request or invitation for your business.
Use this example so you can:
* Gain customer trust
* Encourage people to interact with your business
* provide invaluable feedback about your business
To get yours, head to what matters marketing.com/podcast and click on episode 6
