Why should you care about customer reviews?
Do customer reviews apply to my small business?
5 tips to make customer reviews work for your business:
Stake your claims
Claim your business name and address on the main sites. Start with the basics of Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Yellow Pages and the Better Business Bureau. Make sure the business name, address and phone number is written exactly the same across all of them, so that Google’s search engine is certain they are connected.
Ask for reviews
Next, ask customers directly to leave a review of your business. For example, print it on your receipts, include a link in your email promotions, or offer an incentive like a monthly prize–whatever it takes! Let your customers know you appreciate their business and give them the opportunity to leave a review at every chance. You may be surprised how many of them are willing to share their opinion!
Read and respond to your reviews
Read reviews as they come in (daily or at least weekly) and respond to as many as possible. It can be as simple as “Thanks” for a positive comment, and more importantly, “Very sorry to hear about your experience…” when it’s negative. Furthermore, don’t forget to offer to fix any problems that may be reported. You need to demonstrate that people can trust you to make things right.
Share reviews of your business
By all means, re-publish your positive reviews across your other marketing channels! Feature a positive review from Google on your Facebook page; Tweet it out to your followers; or print it in your next newspaper ad. Undoubtedly, authentic and positive customer feedback can help convince others that your business can be trusted, which is a primary factor in their decision-making process.
Learn more about your business
Over time, customer reviews will provide you with a wealth of information that you can apply to your business. This could include anything from identifying pain points in the customer experience to understanding misconceptions about your business. Use them to draw attention to new opportunities to add to your products or services. You could determine you can reposition your brand to capture a bigger market. Big companies regularly invest in customer research and focus groups to find out this type of information, but it’s out there for free! And customer reviews offer what may be the best insights of all for small business owners. Learning what your customers are saying about you to others is invaluable.
