Are your reviews speaking to your potential customers? How about the remainder of your online content, or what’s viewable in Articles, Blog Posts, E-Newsletters, Facebook, Instagram? What’s it say? Better yet, how’s it sound?
Let's talk reviews specifically for the time being.
Are the people who frequent your shop inclined to write reviews on your behalf?
I ask because they're the kind of folks you’d like to see more of and if they're not, they should be.
Online reviews are critical to the success of a local business. In fact, nearly 90% of consumers say they’ll only consider a business if they have an average rating of 3-5 stars.
Of course, this goes without saying. No one needs to tell you they're important. Suffice it to say, reviews are important—and you know it.
But you don't want to badger them. They're your customers. You don't want to henpeck them. You don't want to solicit them!
On that note, there's good news.
It's something called Customer Voice, and it's a new platform that removes all the usual barriers customers encounter when they're faced with the opportunity to leave a review or, as is too often the case, not leave a review. It's great news in that you don't have to badger, henpeck, or solicit them. All you have to do is be your own sweet self.
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By now, there's got to be unanimous agreement about the benefits of customer reviews, of which there are many.
So, let's cut to the chase and look at what Customer Voice does and how it generates more reviews.
Customer Voice In Summary
- Uses happy customers to win new customers. By leveraging the voice of brand champions to improve your online word-of-mouth, Customer Voice can help you expand your reach exponentially. Invite existing customers to share their experiences online so new customers know you can be trusted.
- Collects feedback to better your business. Customer Voice offers customers a kind of sounding board thanks to its enhanced convenience. This lets you know they're getting what they want and expect. Invite your customers to share their experiences so you can, in turn, put their valuable feedback to work.
- Builds a targeted presence across popular review sites, making sure your customers' reviews show up where they're spending the most time. Focus primarily on collecting feedback from the review sites that impact your business the most.
- Helps businesses shine in local search. There are major SEO benefits associated with positive customer experiences, and it's time to start reaping the benefits. Gathering authentic reviews will help you show up in searches, and make you far more visible. This way, new customers can find you as well.
- Reach customers wherever they are: Customer Voice gives your clients the flexibility to request reviews on the medium that works best for their customers—either text message or email.
Talk about removing barriers! Think about how common it is to see folks navigate away from a platform they aren't accustomed to. But with Customer Voice, they're encouraged to participate on the platform of their choice.
Don't go leaving money on the table as a small business owner. To disregard reviews is to do exactly that and, worst of all, it’s impossible to measure the number of squandered opportunities, to say nothing of the relationships that might’ve formed with a more active approach.
If it sounds at all daunting, just remember, it isn't anything you aren't already doing. It's just a question of frequency in the end. The difference with Customer Voice is that it can take you from just a few reviews in, say, three years' time to over twenty 5-Star Reviews in two months' time.
What about you? What are some of the in-house solutions you’ve found to help generate reviews?
