Millennial consumers are two times as likely to write a negative review about their experience with your business as they are to write a good review for a positive experience. This statistical fact can have a devastating effect on a business since more than 95 percent of consumers will research a business by using online reviews.
The importance of a good online review cannot be overstated. But how can you encourage your customers to share a positive experience with your business? It starts with providing exceptional service and exceeding customer expectations whenever possible.
Still, there are methods a business can use to encourage customers to share their experiences on social media. Below are a few suggestions to help increase the number of good reviews:
• Remind pleased customers verbally of review sites. It is acceptable to remind a satisfied customer that a written review would be appreciated and many review sites, as part of their marketing, have little placards you can display at your place of business. An even more subtle approach would be to suggest to your customer to visit review sites to see if others have agreed with their opinion.
• Encourage all customers to write an online review of your business. Asking a customer to write a review is acceptable to review sites as long as all customers are encouraged to write regardless if the review may be good or bad. Letting your customers know you appreciate their honest feedback is a critical component of a customer relationship strategy.
• Monitor reviews and be present. Do research to find where your customers and competitors customers are submitting reviews. Social media sites as well as review sites are frequently evolving, so it is possible a new social media sites may become the hub of customer decisions. Make sure you are there.
• Respond to positive reviews. Respond to a positive review when possible to let the review writer know how much you appreciate their kind words and you look forward to helping them in the future. By doing this simple gesture, the business owner further solidifies a stronger relationship with the consumer.
Remember, negative reviews happen. In such instances, issue an apology, not an argument. Move forward and focus on getting positive reviews in the future.
While it is tempting to solicit positive reviews for your business, be cautious and avoid the risk or having reviews red flagged as fake or fraudulent. For this reason, it is recommended that a business:
• Never offer an incentive for reviews. It may sound innocent enough to offer a discount or free meal if a customer writes a good review about your business, but don’t do it. By offering any financial incentive in exchange for an endorsement of your business may violate the terms of service for many review sites. In addition, this practice may violate FTC rules and deceptive trade practice regulations.
• Never set up review station on location. This too may sound tempting but it also violates rules of service for most review sites. Also, all reviews will be generated from the same IP address and will most likely be red flagged as fake. Your current and future customers want to be assured that all reviews about your business are honest, independent and trustworthy.
The key to getting positive reviews is always remembering to do what is best for your customer and exceed their expectations. When your customer is happy with your product and service, the positive reviews will naturally follow.
Rose Mays is a program specialist at the Columbia Gorge Community College Small Business Development Center. She can be reached at 541-506-6121 or email rmays@cgcc.edu.
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