A customer review is feedback given to a business based on a customer’s experience with the business. A review reflects a customer’s experience in their engagement with a company’s products or services.
These reviews may be made public or private and can be gathered by the business or collected through independent review websites. Depending on the nature of your business, external reviews can be found on sites such as Google Reviews, Amazon, TripAdvisor, and Facebook.
Online reviews can be written by pretty much anyone, and they might mention your company favourably, unfavourably, or even make false claims about it. Regardless of their nature, customer reviews are valuable to your business as they allow a business to assess customer satisfaction and enhance customer relations.
Customer reviews are considered to be trustworthy sources of information especially when published on independent websites by real users of your products or services. Consumers are more likely to trust an online customer review as they would trust a personal recommendation. They play a huge role in customers’ purchasing decisions.
BENEFITS OF CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Marketing and Sales tool
Having worked hard to develop outstanding products and services, positive reviews on your business listing are valuable, yet free marketing tools. Customer reviews, once posted, will continue to work for you long after the reviews are posted. You can display positive reviews in various marketing tools such as integrating a review widget on your website where the reviews from third party sources can display, or include them in your other marketing campaigns.
A learning opportunity
Since all reviews may not be positive, be open that there might be negative or neutral reviews which can provide a positive learning opportunity. You may not be aware about gaps in which your business fails to meet customers needs, and through customer reviews, a business is able to identify the gaps and address them.
While it may be tempting to remain silent on negative reviews, such reviews require more attention to ease the customer’s pain points and present your business as a company that invests in customer satisfaction.
Credibility
After viewing through your product or service description, customers want to know what others think before they make the final decision whether the item is worth it and whether your business is legitimate. We mentioned earlier that all reviews, including the negative ones, are valuable. Some customers might be sceptical if all reviews are sparkling positive. It might leave doubt on the authenticity of such reviews. This is where a few poor reviews, if well handled, can prove to be of advantage in showing that yours is an authentic business.
A business without a review, not even a poor review, leaves questions whether the business exists at all. This is especially true when it’s a business that requires customers to pay in advance online.
Build Customer Loyalty
In day-to-day business operations, a customer may not be able to get a chance to personally express their gratitude for your great products or services. Having an online presence where customers can leave a review at their own comfort enables your customers to share their experiences. Customers who leave favourable reviews are more likely to become loyal customers and recommend you to others. You need to regularly monitor online review platforms and social media accounts so you can respond accordingly and build relationships with customers.
Improve online ranking
In this digital era, online ranking is high on marketing concerns of many businesses. With mention of a keyword or city name, reviews can help a business rank high on local searches and improve overall website ranking.
HOW TO COLLECT REVIEWS
We love it when customers leave a positive review, especially when we didn’t ask for one. But, customers may not always be aware of where to leave their reviews.
A good place to start with, is claiming your business on Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business. This is a free but powerful tool for businesses to manage their presence on Google’s various components, including Google Maps and listing important information about a business, highlighting important information such as contact details and business hours.
Next, build your profile on external sites that collect customer reviews and set up social media profiles with up-to-date business details. There are general review avenues such as Yelp and Facebook, and you can also take advantage of industry-specific review sites such as Amazon Customer Reviews and Tripadvisor.
HOW TO GET CUSTOMER REVIEWS
It may not be at the top of your customers mind, even the loyal ones, to write a review for your business. A happy or loyal customer would be happy to leave a review, if only you…
1.Ask
If a customer expresses satisfaction whether in person or through other means of communication, that is a good opening to ask for a customer review. Ask them if they would be willing to write you a customer review and provide them a link to your business review page.
2.Keep it Visible
You’ve probably seen the sticker “Review us on Tripadvisor” when visiting hotels or restaurants. Visual reminders, such as stickers asking customers to leave a review while providing details of where to do so, can be displayed in establishments or embedded on email signatures, receipts or on their websites. Visual reminders are subtle ways to ask for reviews without appearing pushy or making customers feel uncomfortable.
3. Post-purchase Review
A business can ask for a review after a customer has made a purchase. Always encourage customers to write honest reviews with specific details on their experience. Ask for a review immediately after their purchase while their experience is still fresh.
HOW TO HANDLE NEGATIVE REVIEWS
While not all poor reviews are legitimate, it is advised to respond calmly while responding to negative reviews. Below are some tips to keep into consideration when faced with a poor review.
- Respond promptly and acknowledge receipt of the complaint, where possible highlight the next steps e.g “we are looking into the matter, and we will get back to you within 24 hours”
- Admit your mistakes or politely correct inaccuracies as the case may be. Remember that the customer is always right. Even when the complaint seems to arise out of their own fault or a misunderstanding, be kind about it or take the conversation private.
- Offer to make things right. It may be as simple as an apology, and depending on the situation, offer a refund, a product exchange, or a gift voucher.
- Follow up to make sure the issue is fully-resolved, and the customer is now happy. Doing so may prompt a customer to leave a new positive review or an update to a poor review detailing how you were able to address their grievance.
We hope this article was helpful to you
