A practical guide to harnessing customer testimonials

November 30, 2016

The value in customer reviews

When shopping on amazon one of the perks is reading all the reviews that people leave. Not only are they funny, but they usually decide whether you’re going to buy the product. If you’re trying a new restaurant and see it has several bad reviews on yelp, chances are you are going to decide to go somewhere else. Reviews especially bad ones have the power to sway us in one of two directions

How reviews affect your ranking

Key words are very effective for helping you rank high with google, and other search engines. But what sets you apart from all the other results that appear on the page? Good reviews can set you apart from competitors who may not have reviews easily visible or accessible.  They are usually built in to the search algorithm, so you need to have a steady stream of new reviews to add.

Fresh reviews are good reviews

You don’t want to have reviews from five years ago, being the featured review for your services. A lot can change in that time, to get benefits from the power of good reviews it’s important that they are recent. 6 months is usually a good time frame for your reviews, it shows that your business is still getting positive current reviews 

Are you targeting enough reviews to get results?

Most companies tend to focus on five recent reviews to showcase to their customers, but have the option to search through previous ones too. Usually letting you sort by the most recent, positive, or negative reviews. This allows the consumer to read up on any issues previous customers encountered so that they can make an educated decision about whether your products and services would be right for them. If you offer products and services, you want to make sure that your reviews cover all your bases so your customers have an idea about how your customers feel about all aspects of the goods you provide.

Streamline the process

Consumers don’t want to go through a lengthy and complicated process to review your business. You want to make the process as easy and effortless as you possibly can so that your customers can easily complete. Outlining the steps in an easy to follow email is a good was to approach your consumers.

Build it into your sales cycle

The best time to get feedback if after you’ve completed a sale to the customer. You can send a post sale follow up thanking them for choosing your product and asking them to complete a quick review. If you spam them you’ll probably end up going straight to their spam or trash folder, so one well worded email is the way to go.

Request reviews for specific products and services

Targeting specific products or services can sometimes be even better than reviews for your main profile. If you have quite a few positive reviews you can build a good reputation among consumers, this will attract more people to your page to browse your content. If your services have positive reviews consumers will choose to buy your product with the thought that they will also have a good experience dealing with your company and using your product or service.

Monitor and evaluate your reviews

Since reviews are made up of both the things that your customers like and dislike about you or your products it is important to keep track of them. Learning what issues your customers are having can help you improve the quality of your service and business. Knowing what areas to work on can be very helpful when looking for improvement areas.

Respond to negative reviews

Negative reviews can be miscommunications as well as negative experiences. Either way it is very important to address them so that your customers know that you care about their experience. A few bad reviews can be excused if consumers see that you tried to remedy a situation with an unhappy customer. If it’s a miscommunication clarifying the situation can also help you future customers who come looking at the same product or service.

Think of what you can do with your positive reviews

Positive reviews can be a business’s greatest asset. They have the power to persuade potential customers to give you their business based on the assumption that they will also have a good experience. If you continue to have good reviews your business will gain a good reputation among consumers as well as get better ratings on google. You can use these reviews to boost your social media, marketing, and website.