Reviews are one of your greatest assets as a business owner, but have you ever wondered how you can use them as content that actually drives brand awareness, loyalty and ultimately sales?
First off, compile a list of your customer reviews and have them handy and ready to go (and keep it updated as more come in). Google Docs or Excel are great because you can hide the reviews as you use them to avoid duplication.
Then select the reviews that talk to your brand values, quality, pricing, product selection etc. Prioritise using the ones that link up with the key things your potential customers would be looking for when searching for your product or service.
Let’s say you’re a hairdresser…
You might have a review that says “loved my treatment today, thank you!”
It’s a nice review but it doesn’t say anything about WHY it was a nice treatment. Was it the tea they got when they sat down in the chair that made them feel relaxed and appreciated? Was it the great atmosphere that your staff created that made the experience special? Or even the head massage at the basin?
Without these core elements, it’s not (what we call) an EFFECTIVE review to share.
Rather select reviews that explain what it is that makes your business worth investing in or buying from.
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Shot & Styled by Shout + Co. for AFT Pharmaceuticals
Potential clients might be searching for hairdressing services in your area, wanting top quality natural hair products, a stylist with an eye for the latest trends, or perhaps many years of experience in the industry etc. Your industry insights (or even conversations with your clients while they’re in the chair) will indicate what your customers consider a priority.
An EFFECTIVE review would be something like “loved my hair treatment today. She used natural products that added hydration back to my very dry hair and listened to how I wanted it cut”.
Compile these EFFECTIVE reviews and start creating content with them. And remember: the short and sharp reviews are easier to work with than the 3 page essays as they’re easier for readers to “digest”.
HOW TO USE THEM FOR CONTENT:
Make it the centrepiece of your paid Ads (FB, Instagram, Google)
Use them as a social media post: it’s the ideal lead-in to an “About” post
Make these posts into stories and create a highlight called “Reviews”
Add them to your website under “Testimonials”
Overlay them on your visual collateral, for example on your business’s banner on its FB page or website’s home page.
Add them to your newsletter as a parting shot, using it as a segue to your call-to-action
If you have printed marketing material like brochures and flyers, include a review or two as part of the design
If you sell at a market, include one in your stall / table design and perhaps even on your banner
Add it as a footnote on your email signature
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Shot & Styled by Shout + Co. for AFT Pharmaceuticals
HOW TO GET MORE REVIEWS
The easy way is to ask your customers or clients to leave a review on FB and Google after they’ve made a purchase or engaged your services
Make asking for a review part of your automated post-purchase email sequence
If that’s not doing it, run a promo whereby you ask your clients / customers to leave a review and select a winner at random to receive a prize (ask them to include their order # as part of the review so you can verify they actually made a purchase)
Offer a discount to customers who leave a review (again with their order #)
If you run an online store, ask them to leave a review x # of days after they’ve received their product (add it your automated email sequence)
But under no circumstances should you forge a review or make them up!
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE MANY “EFFECTIVE” REVIEWS?
If you get a review that is “nice” but not “effective”, respond to them and encourage a follow up explanation along the lines of “we’re keen to know what you loved most about your treatment today!”
WHAT IF I HAVE BAD REVIEWS?
If a review says “slow service”, you could use it to highlight how you’ve improved your offer or delivery by saying “This review got me thinking about my processes and it motivated me to do this better! I’ve hired more stylists and we’re now working so much more effectively! We’d love to invite you to come in and visit us again soon.”
The best thing to do though in the first instance is respond professionally and timeously and offer a remedy if you think it necessary.
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