Reviews can make or break your company. If you’re doing well and tending to every need your customer has, then the chances of you getting positive reviews are very high. But, if you’re neglecting your customers by not offering them great deals, quality products, and awesome customer service, you’re highly likely to get a lot of negative reviews.
It’s easy to think that negative reviews are awful for your company, but that’s not always the case. Any review you receive can be used as a learning tool to improve on what you did wrong the first time and make it better for your customers in the future.
Make It Simple
Customers aren’t going to feel inclined to leave you a review if it’s difficult and frustrating for them to do so. Make your review tab, or review form, prominent on your page and easy to navigate to for your customers. You’ll find that a lot more reviews will be written when it’s easy to submit one.
Are you asking your customers to leave a review, or are you just assuming they’ll do it on their own? You can’t always assume that a customer knows that you’d like for them to leave you a review, or that they even know where to leave a review in the first place. You have to start encouraging them to leave a review. One of the ways to do this is by sending out emails encouraging reviews, with a link that goes directly to your review page. You can also include a simple message, like “Like us? Leave a review!” on a lot of your marketing material, such as newsletters, business cards, emails, advertisements, and more. Sometimes, people just need a gentle nudge in the direction you want them to go.
Social Media
Did you know that Facebook has an option for customers and followers to leave a review of your business? It’s built into your business Facebook Page and follows the same format as your Atwill Media review form. Make sure you’re using your Facebook Page to gather customer reviews as well. If customers aren’t willing to leave a review on your website, they are much more likely to leave one on your Facebook page for everyone to see.
You can also encourage reviews through social media, such as posting on Twitter and Facebook with a link to your review page or posting an Instagram pic directing customers to click on a custom link in your bio.
Incentives
Do you offer your customers incentives for leaving a review on your Atwill Media website? These incentives are oftentimes called feedback rewards, and they’re simple bonuses and coupons that encourage customers to submit reviews. These could be surveys that you send out that give customers a coupon code once completed or a special percentage off one of your products or services for leaving a review. Explore different ways to incentivize customers into leaving you a review.
Use Negative Reviews
Have you ever received a negative review and then chose to ignore it rather than respond? Did you know that sometimes negative reviews are advantageous to your online credibility? Negative reviews aren’t the end of the world; they actually show customers, and the smart folks at Google, that you’re a credible business. No matter what type of review you receive, however, you always need to respond to it. Not responding is a bad strategy and can make you seem disconnected with your consumer base.
Reviews are powerful tools and can help or hurt your business, depending on how you approach them. Use your reviews to your advantage, and grow your business for the future.
This post was originally published on Atwill Media’s blog. Need a new custom-built website for your business? Check out Atwill Media, for beautiful, customized websites that are made for success!
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