When you own a small business you pray that your friends and family will be willing to support you and share your information with people they meet. Word of mouth is imperative to your business’s survival. With quick internet searches and social media, word of mouth goes beyond your family and friends and extends to every customer that walks through your door.
Customer reviews can be easily left and have a huge impact on your business because almost 95% of shoppers read online reviews before they make a purchase, according to Spiegel Research Center. To help get more genuine reviews from your customers here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Customers Are Key
Your business would not survive without your customers so never forget that what they think and say should be important to you. What’s most important here is to know your audience. If you run a wedding cake bakery, but tend to act more like it’s a funeral home, people probably won’t enjoy their experience with you. If they don’t enjoy it they won’t come back, but worst of all, they’ll tell others not to go.
Claim Your Business
If you want people to be able to leave online reviews about your company then you will need to claim your business on review sites such as Google, Yelp, and Yellowpages. It doesn’t take long and it will be well worth your time. This way people will not only be able to leave reviews, but other potential customers will be able to find your business.
Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews
There is nothing wrong with encouraging your customers to leave a review, especially if you know that they enjoyed your business. Most people don’t even think to leave a review unless they had a bad time.
One way to help remind your happy customers to leave a review is to simply ask them for a review. If you plant that seed (and send them a direct link to leave a review), a happy customer is much more likely to leave a review.
Use Your Reviews
Honest reviews are the best reviews because then you know if you are doing great or if there are some changes that need to be made. Even negative reviews can work in your favor. Try to make a habit of checking the reviews that people submit about your business. If they like you, thank them for their business.
If they didn’t enjoy your work, this is a great opportunity for you to turn the negative review into good business for your company. Personally respond to their remark and take the time to try and help them with their problem. This can be done privately after you reached out to them publicly.
Just a little extra effort from you by reminding your customers to leave reviews can help your business flourish. Doing this can help customers feel valued while giving the means to attract new clientele. If you treat your customers right, chances are they’ll reciprocate.
