The power of word of mouth has long been extolled by marketers far and
wide as one of the strongest, most cost effective tools in gaining new
customers and increasing brand awareness. A recommendation of a product or
service from a friend, peer or associate is almost as good as a ‘done deal’.
So in today’s modern connected world of online communications and social
media (Facebook recently reported 1 billion users in a single day), where does
the traditional word of mouth stand? Please step forward and go straight to the
top of the class Online Review. As once stated by social media expert Brian
Solis “Welcome to a new era of marketing and service in which your brand is defined
by those who experience it”.
Online product or service reviews make big impact on purchasers’
expectations and decisions. A survey from
PowerReviews says
that buyers not only look to online reviews for more information, but the
majority (57%) actually prefer to visit e-commerce sites that offer reviews.
They also noted that 90% of buyers stated that buying decisions were influenced
by online reviews. Ratings and reviews scored second only to price as the most
important consideration affecting a purchase decision in the survey;
recommendations from family and friends, product brand, and free shipping had
less influence. Those 18 to 44 were 61% more likely to trust consumer reviews
over friends and family.
To help your organization attract and improve online reviews, Nellie
Alkap on Forbes put together 6 simple steps to get customers to review your
business online:
1.
Setup
profiles on multiple review sites.
Consider all the sites that are relevant to
your business, e.g. Yelp, TripAdvisor, Trustpilot, LinkedIn to name a few. Also
try to get your product listed on partners App stores or market places.
2.
Ask your
customers.
Might seem like a no brainer, but the easiest
way to increase your reviews is just to simply ask!
3.
Make it
easy to leave reviews.
Unless someone has a negative
experience to share, the average customer is not going to look for ways to
leave your company a review. That’s why you need to ask them to post a review
and make it as easy as possible for them to do so. Put direct links to your
review profiles in multiple places; for example, a follow-up email, newsletter,
and your website.
4.
Incentivise
reviews, but don’t buy
Often offering a small incentive is
a good way to show your appreciation to loyal customers.
5.
Thank
your reviewers.
6.
Make
reviews a part of your overall work processes.
Make sure that all customer service
and sales employees understand the importance of soliciting reviews from the
customers they work with.
If you would like to check out B2BGateway’s reviews or learn more about
what we do visit these sites Intuit
App Store, NetSuite
SuiteApp Store, Intuit
Marketplace or email Sales@B2BGateway.Net for
further details.
