The power of customer reviews and recommendations now has a huge influence on the buying process.

Keen to avoid a disappointing purchase (and the time, hassle and money to rectify it), buyers are conducting detailed research into potential suppliers – their products/service and the customer care they wrap round them.

Whilst customer reviews aren’t a new thing technology has helped the review/recommendation evolution beyond anything we could have imagined, enabling people to leave their thoughts and opinions on online retail sites or social media platforms quickly and easily.

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The review revolution

Good and bad things have emerged from the growing appetite for reviews.  On the good side, customers who really value their suppliers are keen to help and will take time out to leave a review.  On the bad side, news reports that some bigger brands have been posting up fake reviews, or even paying for them, had some impact on their validity.  But as many businesses work hard to clean this up there is no doubt most are still swayed by reviews.

Statista often conduct research into online customer behaviour. Interesting headlines from studies in recent years include:

49% of customers find reviews on the internet are very helpful

90% + of consumers in the UK typically avoided buying from a business below a 4-star rating

48% of consumers only paid attention to reviews from the last 2 weeks.

45% of customers were more likely to visit a business that had responded to negative reviews

4 ways to make the most of reviews and recommendations

It’s clear the big corporates have recognised the value of fostering positive reviews for some time and now are allocating serious marketing/promotional resources to it. Before we look at some smaller-scale examples, there are four fundamentals that are at the heart of positive reviews:

1. Quality of output

Of course you have to be doing something well for people to rate you favourably. Without a good quality product/service you are going to struggle securing recommendations and you certainly want to avoid a lot of negative feedback being sent by your customers into the public domain.

To help avoid this, be clear about the product/service’s features in your descriptions of it. Aim to wrap a prompt and responsive customer service approach around it, with a transparent (no hidden extras) pricing model.

2. Get your timing right

In reality you only have a short timeframe to harness the goodwill a customer feels on purchasing a product/service that delights them. The exact timescale will depend on what your product/service is and how expensive or important it was to the customer.

There will, however, be a point post-purchase where the customer evaluates the purchase for themselves. If they’re pleased and satisfied, then that’s the moment the warm fuzzy feeling they have for your business can be encouraged to produce reviews and recommendations. This means getting your timing right, before the customer’s attention is drawn to other things in their lives.

Start to build a picture of the typical ‘hot spot’ for customer goodwill post-purchase of your product/service. Find out by trying different tactics at different times to identify which generates the best response. Use this insight to make sure communications, focused on capturing reviews and feedback, appear at this time.

Do take care when incentivising in return for a positive reviews.  This can be viewed as bribery and we’ve seen examples where customers, not keen on the approach, have ‘whistleblown’ on a review site that the supplier was ‘paying’ for positive reviews.

3. Make it quick and easy

To encourage them to do so, it needs to be quick and easy for a customer to give a review or testimonial. More than likely they will have little time and have other things they need to get on with. So help them share their goodwill by asking for only a small number of criteria about the purchase to be rated. Point them to the review site you would like them to share their experiences on.

Don’t send them customer surveys that take an age to complete or have questions which are ambiguous and confusing. Where possible, try to just ask for their thoughts, as the descriptions and phrases they use will resonate more with potential customers.

4. Monitor and respond to their efforts

If a customer does go out of their way to endorse you, then make sure you immediately acknowledge it and thank them for it – especially if the review has gone onto a social media channel. They’ll be pleased you were listening and will be more likely to do this again in future. Others will also see your timely response and be impressed too.

Review-fostering activities

You don’t have to have the sophisticated technology of Amazon or major online retailers to try and foster recommendations.  As a small business, you probably have a good knowledge of your customers and plenty of opportunities to develop a dialogue with them in person, over the phone and online.

Harness the goodwill you build here, to show you appreciate their business, and that it would be really helpful if they articulate their positive experiences in a review or testimonial.  Also explain to them why it matters and how it helps, often if people understand the ‘why’ and value this it will prompt positive action.

Here are some other activities we’ve seen smaller businesses use successfully to stimulate positive feedback and goodwill:

1. A timely ‘thank you’ email with clear links to the social media sites the business participates in and encouraging the customer to share their experience
2. A follow-up telephone call by a senior person in the business to check all’s well with the purchase and exploring if the client would be happy to give a testimonial or act as a referee
3. Sending a small token that enhances the product/service they have just purchased (for example a professionally taken family photo session voucher to customers who’ve just undergone a dental implant treatment)
4. Inviting the customer to join an exclusive customer club where they’ll receive relevant news, offers, invites to special events and product samples
5. In a B2B environment, following customers’ social media, posting nice comments and buying their products where feasible
6. Developing a points system for each review the business receives which leads to a donation to a charity
7. Offering an incentive if they recommend a friend

Summary

The more you know about your customers, the more you can fine-tune your product/service offering to them and this, in turn, will help to build their loyalty, goodwill and endorsements.

There is also the point that you may not be able to please everyone and there may come a time when you may have to face a less favourable review. In this situation, it’s important to respond quickly and try to rectify the issues at the heart of the review. But if you feel the nature of the review or content was incorrect, then it’s important to have a raft of customers who will provide a wealth of positive feedback to help counteract it and present this as ‘clearly a one-off’ occurrence.

For more advice on marketing your business contact us or tel. 01483 429111.