Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, a time when people expect to feel loved. Whether it's a box of chocolates from their significant other or a simple card from a friend, this month holds an undeniable romantic quality. And one of the best things about this holiday season is the fact that those participating love to pass on, well, the love!
This can be particularly beneficial for your business. Not only do the feelings of tenderness and happiness apply to friends and loved ones, but if a customer has an especially good experience with your company, he or she might be more inclined to tell others about it.
This is where the ability to write a customer review comes into play. But how important are customer reviews, actually? And how can you utilize these to the advantage of your business? Use these tips to make sure both you and your customers aren't left brokenhearted when it comes to your relationship:
Streamline the review process: Make it easy to leave a little love!
First and foremost, one of the best things you can do for your shoppers is to encourage them to talk about their experience with your brand. Marketing expert and blogger Jeff Bullas noted that today, 70 percent of customers will look to reviews before they decide on making a purchase. This means that the more positive reviews you have on each of your products, the better!
If your customers have to search around for the review feature, or if the process to leave a review is overly complicated, chances are good they'll skip it. Make it simple for users to review your products, and encourage customers to utilize this feature by placing it in a spot on your website that makes the most sense.
"Ditch the snooze-fest, run-of-the-mill review form for something with a little more pizzazz."
"[K]eep your review forms short and make it happen with minimum clicks," Bullas wrote. "In addition, it makes sense to make such forms as fun as possible."
So ditch the snooze-fest, run-of-the-mill review form for something with a little more pizzazz. It'll prove to be a boon for you and your clients.
Respond to reviews – and don't remove the negative ones
Whether they leave good or bad feedback, customers like to know that their voice has been heard. While it can turn into a long process depending on the size of your company and how many transactions you see daily, it's important to respond to your clients when they take the time to leave a review.
This is especially important for negative comments. If someone has had a less-than-stellar experience with your company, your response could be an opportunity to turn things around. It's important to remember that customers are increasingly using their own social media profiles to air potential grievances. If your business is tagged in a negative post of this kind, Bullas recommends contacting the individual directly. Extra effort like this can help boost trust.
And while it can be tempting to take down the negative reviews that appear on your website, statistics actually show that even these can be beneficial. Econsultancy reported that 68 percent of consumers trust a brand more when both positive and negative reviews are visible. In fact, 30 percent of shoppers said that a lack of negative reviews can smack of censorship or fake feedback.
Don't miss out on any customer feedback
In order to respond quickly, you'll need services that ensure you have complete visibility into your website, as well as with all of your partner sellers. Customers leaving glowing product reviews on a seller's site does you no good if you aren't able to see that feedback.
PriceSpider's Channel Reports helps make sure that nothing falls through the cracks, and that you and your customers aren't left brokenhearted. Channel Reports provides you with a way to see feedback sent by consumers to each one of your sellers, allowing you to offer a streamlined response and use these reviews to your advantage. To find out more, check out our website today.