Reviews
Reviews
What is the value of a customer review?
Word-of-mouth recommendations are the most trusted forms of advertising among consumers as people are more likely to believe the recommendations that they receive from friends and family than they are the ones they receive directly from brands. However, online reviews still offer third-party validation.
A customer review is an invaluable asset for businesses, providing them with vital insights and information about their products and services. It allows customers to share their experiences, whether good or bad, and to express their thoughts and opinions about a business’ offerings. Reviews give companies feedback about how customers view their offerings and allow them to take action if something needs improvement. Reviews are also a powerful way to gain trust and loyalty from customers as they are more likely to purchase a product or service if others have positively reviewed it.
Business reviews are featured prominently on Google My Business, Yelp and Trustpilot pages, which many local businesses such as realtors, attorneys, restaurants and doctors can utilize to grow their business locally. Likewise, people rely heavily on product reviews on Amazon. Customers can get an honest opinion from a verified purchase of a product that saves them time, money or something horribly going wrong.
How do product reviews work?
As people look for solutions to their problems, they come across a wide variety of options to choose from. Before most people make a purchase, they want to see what other people have to say about it.
For any business looking to maximize their online reputation, the top review sites to consider are:
- Yelp
- TripAdvisor
- Better Business Bureau
- Angie’s List
- Glassdoor
- Trustpilot
- Amazon
Google and Yelp offer the ability to search for businesses, compare reviews and services, and read customer reviews. Facebook is more focused on connecting with people and businesses, with the ability to share and interact with friends and follow brands. TripAdvisor provides reviews and travel recommendations, while the Better Business Bureau focuses on researching businesses and evaluating their credibility. Angie’s List is specifically geared towards helping customers find reliable and honest service providers in their area and Glassdoor is a job and salary review site, with the ability to rate employers. Trustpilot is another user-generated review site, focused on helping customers choose products and services with more information and unbiased feedback. Finally, Amazon provides the convenience of searching and comparing items with product reviews and images.
How do I encourage people to leave good reviews?
- Reward them. Offer something exclusive or a discount on a future service to customers who write positive reviews.
- Thank your customers who write positive reviews, and reply to their reviews.
- Share your reviews on your website and social media platforms.
- Create blog posts or articles on your website that feature positive customer reviews or client testimonials.
- Create a newsletter campaign that reaches out to your customers and asks them for a review.
Consumer reviews are valuable forms of content that help to demonstrate how well you served your past customers and what your prospects can reasonably expect.
What should I do if I get a negative review?
The most important thing to do is remain calm. Know that some of the most successful companies in the world all have negative reviews. Large corporations often hire a public relations firm to manage their reputation because more often than not, one negative review can be the spotlight of a breaking news headline that costs them billions of dollars in lost revenue. Other, smaller businesses, can manage to handle it on their own.
In either scenario, here are some things you can do:
- Reach out to the customer only if you know that by doing so is not going to be worse
- Consider offering a refund or exchange
- Definitely offer an apology
- Ask nicely if they can remove the review
Sometimes listening and understanding is the best thing that you can do to address the problem, and other times, you just have to learn the hard way to not do whatever it is that you did again.
Related: Reputation Management: B2C and B2B Reviews
Related: Public Relations