A key aspect of marketing your business that so many business owners often overlook is generating positive customer feedback. Even one review will help bring attention to your product or service, and thusly, your business and the services you offer. Some business owners are not even sure how to go about asking a customer to write a review. However, getting customer’s feedback and honest opinions on products and services will help promote your business. Today more than ever, having those reviews online and easily available can help make or break a business in comparison to its competitors.
The Importance of the Customer Review
Business owners often do not realize just how important feedback from their customers really is. There are several different reasons that customer testimonials are able to make or break your business. Reasons that you should want a customer to post a review for your product or services include, but are not limited to:
- Business promotion – The more feedback potential customers can find on what your business offers, the more likely they are to invest in it. Customers trust products and services that have a positive reputation, as it allows them to feel more secure in their choices.
- Marketing purposes – A review can function in a variety of marketing ways. Business owners can decide to use reviews in ads for promotions. Additionally, these posts may appear for items when a customer is searching for a specific item.
- Better visibility – Products with more feedback are more likely to appear higher in searches online. It’s a great way to improve your online visibility.
Overall, having a customer post a review for your business is a great way to help gain additional visibility and promote your business. A review is a free way to generate marketing content, as you often do not have to pay for a customer to post one. You may have the ability to offer promotions, discounts, or other rewards for positive posts, but it is not mandatory. Simply encouraging clients to provide feedback is a great way to start.
Use Review Platforms to Build a Reputation
If a potential customer has never heard of your business, and don’t know anyone who knows of your business, they will need a foundation of trust. Buyers are often suspicious of the unknown. Their distrust has only increased over the years, as online scams have become more and more frequent.
Customer testimonials provide individuals who have recently learned about your business or services with a sense of security, as other people have provided honest feedback about their experience with your company. Effectively, review platforms are the virtual form of word of mouth reviews. It’s certainly not fool-proof, and some customers will not trust a review posted online either. But research has suggested that businesses and products that have even one review are more likely to be trusted.
Understanding how even one review can impact your business is important. Additionally, review platforms help you appear higher on search results. You’re able to market yourself to potential customers and improve your overall visibility.
Asking for A Review
The thing that holds many owners back from additional posts is the uncertainty of how to go about it. Some feel that asking for a review may make them seem fraudulent. But many businesses do this, and many customers more than willing to give their feedback. Additionally, offering discounts on future products or services in exchange for a review is a great way to encourage customers to publicly post their feedback. You can also utilize this method as a way to encourage customer referrals as well, making it a win-win situation for your business.
Not every customer will be willing to post a review. However, a great many of them will, if you or your representatives are willing to request it. Even something as simple as a star rating promotes the sense of security and trust customers are looking for in order to secure their purchases. Additionally, having a place to post opinions on products available by your business promotes an open line of communication between clients and your business. This is a vital step you can take to ensure that customers trust your company and feel secure in investing in your products.
Getting a customer to review your products is one of the best ways to unintentionally market and promote your business. Without a review platform online, potential customers are less likely to trust your business and the services you offer. Finding a way to ask customers to provide feedback is the best way to ensure new customers find you and are more likely to invest in what you have to offer.
If you struggle to get feedback at first, keep in mind that that is perfectly normal. It can take time to build up a client base that is invested in your product. As you begin to grow as a business, generating feedback online will become a critical part of your marketing foundation. Take time to carefully develop your communication platform with clients and get the feedback you need to thrive.