Reviews are something every business must deal with. From Google Business to Yelp to eCommerce platforms, there are dozens of places to be reviewed. Most modern companies deal with hundreds to hundreds of thousands of reviews every year. For the most part, reviews are a unique and separate aspect of your online presence.
But they don't have to be. Many companies have started using their reviews as a part of their digital marketing strategy. This is done most often simply to bring in more reviews. But a few clever companies have also realized online reviews are essentially little testimonials and can be used all over the place.
One of the best ways to reward your customers for leaving a review is to post the occasional selected review on your social media feeds. Sharing reviews also has the benefit of personalizing your digital marketing campaign. This can be anything from a simple happy positive comment to a moving story written by a customer.
You might even get a tale of how the product saved a life or had an impact on an important event. Whether you're looking for content dazzle, customer relations, or a way to encourage customers to write more reviews, we have three great ideas to get you going.
Double Down On Enthusiasm
Everyone loves enthusiasm, especially when it's genuine. While you're keeping an eye on reviews for things needing attention (customer service for example), also catch truly charming moments of positivity. If you can feel happiness and enthusiasm pouring out through a simple text comment, so can everyone else.
The content is also likely to be powerful enough to resonate with your online community. Take a screenshot of this review and post the image along with a heartfelt thank you. Make it about your appreciation of this customer's love of your product, business, or service. This not only rewarding a customer for leaving a positive review, it shows the whole community you read the reviews, care about the content, and want to share in your customer's happiness.
Example Response: “Wow, we're so glad Sarah loved getting her new drone. Happy birthday, Sarah!”
Recognizing The Unusually Helpful
To say some reviews are more detailed than others would be the understatement of the year. The vast majority of reviews consist of three to ten words along the lines “I liked it.” However, some people clearly feel compelled to share every detail of their experience. These customers are your heroes. They are providing a trustworthy complete account of what it's like to be your customer. This allows future leads to read this review and determine if your services can make them equally happy.
First, mark these detailed reviews as ‘helpful' on the review platform to push them to the top. Then share them on social media and personally thank them for their dedication to the reviewing culture.
Example Response: “Aaron, thanks so much for sharing your experience as one of our valuable customers. We even learned a few things about our service from reading your review!”
Showing Off A Fixed Problem
Want to be on the cutting edge of social media marketing and customer service? Try this particular technique most businesses are afraid to do: Highlight an old bad review. Don't just laugh it off. Remember, the best way to deal with a bad review is to turn it around with superb customer service. Every now and then, a customer will have a complaint that is a very real problem with your product, website, or policies that needs to be fixed. If you publicly promised to fix something, celebrate when the fix is completed.
When an issue that was complained about in a review is solved, it's time to make an announcement. Posting an image of the original bad review will catch people's attention. Accompany this with all the delighted fanfare you can muster about completing the requested solution. Then proudly thank the reviewer for bringing the issue to your attention.
This, cleverly enough, shows off that you do take negative reviews seriously. It shows you go above and beyond to solve problems for all your customers, even the ones who leave bad reviews.
More importantly, this tactic builds trust and credibility. Everyone knows no one is perfect. Everyone knows, every business makes a mistake resulting in an unhappy customer. So, take responsibility. Step up and admit you made a mistake and then fix it. The benefits of dong this in a public forum like social media are far reaching. Not only will your customers, leads and prospects appreciate the honesty, but, this behavior could also help you ranking in Google search results.
Example Response: “Two months ago, Tina let us know there was a bug in our checkout system. We are happy to announce that after working our development team day and night, the problem is solved. Thank you so much, Tina, for bringing our attention to this vital flaw in our website and making the shopping experience better for everyone.”
For more innovative tips and tricks in the digital marketing sphere, contact us today!
