Online Reviews

People can now talk about your business in a variety of public forums.  Most of us welcome this.  It does have its downside – that one unhappy customer.  The one you tried exhaustingly to satisfy.  If you’ve been in business long enough – it either already has happened, or will happen.

Manage your online reputation by ackowledging those who have reviewed your business. This is an extension of how you appreciate your clients.  AND that one unhappy client.

Etiquette is simple – thank those positive reviewers for taking time to post and engage the unhappy one – calmly.   Avoid tit for tat.  You can admit a mistake, if that happened, and apologize.  If you have an offering to make amends, do so.

Your response doesn’t have to be extensive.  Potential clients will read how you responded.  Consumers know there are some people who are very hard to please, but a step toward addressing any negative review goes a long way.   More is telling in HOW you handle the unhappy client; and can speak well to potential clients.

Don’t avoid a bad review.

Website Testimonials

Have you ever read customer reviews or testimonials before making your decision to buy products or services? You’re not alone.

Quite an increase in the past 2 years, these reviews are becoming more and more important to online shoppers, or before picking up the phone to call for services. Recently released data tells us 2 out of 3 online consumers spend a minimum of 10 minutes scouring product reviews and testimonials before making a choice to buy, or for those of us selling services – before they pick up the phone. It goes on to further say 1 in 3 consumers spend 30 minutes or more.

There are now website dedicated to authenticating the testimonials on your website to let your web visitors know these were not made up.

Even negative reviews factor in to authenticity. Ever wonder why amazon.com allows reviewers to post pro and cons? Not only does all this activity drive their website, but the absence of negative reviews in this environment can indicate someone is deleting negative feedback. Allowing the negative raises the website’s trustworthiness.

It comes back to an old marketing idea of letting others speak about your business. Get those testimonials!