How you can use customer reviews to optimise your business
You may think reviews are all well and good for the purpose of receiving customer feedback, but where do reviews fit into the buying cycle for your business?
Increasing the propriety at which your customers convert is one of the most crucial aspects to optimize on your website.
Online purchases have become a supporting or main source of income for so many businesses over the last 12-months that it’s imperative that you are doing everything you can to keep customers engaged once they land on your website.
Research and discovery
A typical customer will use review sites to learn more about the product they wish to buy/the company they are looking to buy from.
Not only will they take into account other user’s satisfaction, but they will also compare makes, models and product specifications to see which product will suit their specific needs. There are a few ways you can help people who are researching your business/products to make sure that they feel confident in your capabilities.
Product knowledge
Make sure your product descriptions include all the information a customer might need about the product. People want to know what they are getting and don’t want any unwelcome surprises.
Website optimization
Have a user-friendly website or host your reviews on a trustworthy platform. When making a purchase online there is often a lot of skepticism of over the legitimacy of the company if it isn’t already a household name due to the fear of being scammed online.
Build trust and tell the truth
Have lots of reviews with varying scores. You may think you only want to publish your best reviews; however, this can be a detractor for people looking for a genuine business to spend money with.
A few negative reviews with helpful responses can support the bond between the customer and the business before they have even converted.
Consideration
In the consideration stage of the customer journey a customer will often use reviews to evaluate the pros and cons of buying from you.
In B2B sales,people engage with up to 5 pieces of content before talking to a sales rep, your reviews can be one of those.
This is where you have the opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
In addition, you can use the common topics which come up in your reviews to create relevant and engaging content which provides solutions to the problems your customers might have encountered in the past.
This is also a great opportunity to answer FAQ’s or provide more details about the product or service you offer. This can be done through online blog content on your website or alternatively you can be more creative and invest your time into podcasts, webinar or video.
Conversion
Drip feeding your customer reviews across their journey to conversion is the perfect way to smooth over any pain points they might encounter.
Positive reviews about the speed of delivery and the ease of returns and cancellations when people reach the checkout stage are likely to reassure people of your customer service.
Using testimonials and reviews in re-targeting ads is an effective visual tool to re-engage customers who may have dropped out of the sales funnel. This way you can subtly remind them of the values of your company without shoving it in their face.
So how do you support this even further once a customer has converted?
Simple. Follow up their purchase by asking for customer feedback to prove that you do care about the experience they have encountered post-transaction.
This highlights the companies guarantee to provide excellent service all throughout the customer journey.
Honestly is always the best policy, and if you can prove you’re committed to caring about your customers and are willing to make changes to improve your service then you will be on your way to creating your own #ravingfans
For the latest stats on how car-buyers use reviews, look out for our new industry report coming soon!
Interested in the best way to gather customer feedback? Find out more information here or give us a call on 01423 649036
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