Are you using customer reviews to grow your business?

We all know that today’s customers are more internet-savvy than ever before, but more than 80 percent of all purchases for goods and services start with a search on the internet, writes Pania King.

It’s hard to keep abreast of the various types of online marketing strategies you can employ, but one strategy that’s working extremely well for businesses in the personal care industries is online customer reviews.

Let your customers do your marketing

Positive customer reviews are an inexpensive effective form of advertising – in fact 78 percent of people trust consumer recommendations above ALL other types of advertising and marketing*. Online review websites such as www.WOMOW.com.au are quickly becoming the first place prospective customers go to find service providers recommended by other customers.

As Lee Davies from Salon Lavan says: “The best advertising comes from my customers – they write what they think of my services and suddenly I’m getting enquiries from all over town!”

WOMOW (or Word Of Mouth On the Web) is an Australian website similar to Yelp in the US. Yelp has become a household name in the States and a business’ rating on Yelp holds significant sway with consumers. Although still in its early days, WOMOW is heading in the same direction due to a growing trend in business transparency and consumer empowerment in Australia. Review sites make it easier for customers to find the top customer-rated businesses so it’s important you don’t get left out. 

Four steps to embracing customer reviews

There’s no doubt that positive customer reviews can make a huge difference to your business, but what can do about it? Here are the four R’s for harnessing the awesome power of customer reviews:

REGISTER – There may already be reviews for your business online – have you checked? If a listing for your business has been created, you should register as the business owner so that you can be notified of new reviews. If your business has not been reviewed, you should create a listing.

REQUEST REVIEWS – Don’t be shy, be proactive and ask customers to review you online. Most customers will happily share their experiences with friends, but you can increase the impact of their recommendations by encouraging them to post their feedback as an online review. Email your clients with a link to your listing, or give them a take-home flyer with instructions on how to review your business. (WOMOW’s ‘Happy Customers Program’ makes this easier by providing flyers free of charge.) Asking for feedback will not only increase your review bank, but the act of asking can actually improve the likelihood of a positive review.

As WOMOW founder, Fiona Adler explains, “The mere act of asking for feedback tells customers that you're a business that cares about their satisfaction, which in turn, makes them think better of you and feel more satisfied with their experience. It tells them that you're actually listening, that you care about them and want to make sure everything went well for them.”

RESPOND PUBLICALLY – Become a part of the conversation and respond to all feedback online (both negative and positive). Personally thank customers for positive reviews, and make any necessary apologies, explanations and changes in response to negative reviews. Responding empathetically to customer reviews shows that you appreciate your customers and care about their experience. If you have social media pages for your business interact with your followers regularly.

REINFORCE YOUR FOCUS – Share your positive feedback in your salon to show customers that their satisfaction is high on your agenda. One huge benefit of this is that it reinforces to staff that your focus is on creating happy customers. To do this you can print out your reviews, showcase any awards you’ve won, or show customers your reviews online, link to your reviews from your website, or include a link to your reviews in your emails.

Of course, you also need to provide great service in the first place, but if you’re already doing that, customer reviews can be an extremely powerful tool for your business.

*Nielsen Netratings

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