As a digital marketing expert, customers call on Nicholas Bereznai of Durham to bring more customers to their business. No matter what industry a business is in, if they sell online, they need to have a foundation of positive reviews to succeed. Online buyers will routinely check reviews before acquiring a service or product. Many companies that come to Nicholas Bereznai of Durham don’t necessarily have bad reviews, but they don’t have many positive reviews either. Which begs the question, how do you garner more positive reviews?
Before actively seeking reviews, Nicholas Bereznai of Durham recommends that every business does an honest self-assessment. Call a customer service rep anonymously and gauge how positive the experience was. Ensure that products or services are functioning as they should be. The last thing anyone wants to do is actively seek negative reviews. By tightening up loose ends, businesses can save themselves from many headaches down the road.
Once you are ready for reviews, Nicholas Bereznai of Durham says the best place to start is the most straightforward: asking happy customers to leave a review. This can be done at the conclusion of the sales process. It’s almost standard for businesses to ask buyers to leave their thoughts on the sales process after they finish a transaction. A quick pop-up that asks one or two simple questions will be easy enough to fill out without a person feeling put out. Another way to garner reviews is to follow-up with email marketing surveys. Again, these surveys should be quick and easy to complete. There are also tools that can follow up with customers via text, which is one of the best ways to reach people where they are most likely to be.
The next step for those looking to garner more positive online reviews is to build a presence on all major review platforms. Nicholas Bereznai of Durham notes that the most common review platforms are
- Yelp!
- The Better Business Bureau
- Glassdoor
All of these review platforms allow businesses to fill out their initial information. Having a presence on these platforms can also ensure that business owners receive a notification when a new review is posted. Hopefully, the review is positive and can be utilized for marketing. However, if a review is negative, the alert provides an opportunity to thank the reviewer for sharing their thoughts and direct the conversation offline. A negative review can be an opportunity to leave a positive impression with the masses by showing how quickly the business will work to resolve an issue.
Nicholas Bereznai of Durham will often encourage his clients to share positive reviews on their websites or across their social media platforms. When customers see that positive reviews may be featured online, they are more likely to follow suit and share a positive experience with a brand or business. If appropriate for a business’s format, it can be a great idea to hold meet-and-greet events that show customer appreciation. A QR code can be set up at an event that will take guests to a review platform. In this setting, Nicholas Bereznai of Durham even encourages being honest and telling guests how much their online reviews would mean to the success of the business.
Nicholas Bereznai of Durham always stresses the importance of having active social media accounts. Building relationships with customers on social media is a great way to build a lasting client-employer relationship. When the relationship is strong, reviews can be requested.
Finally, Nicholas Bereznai of Durham warns against trying to game the system. Many companies will try to post their own reviews as if they were provided by customers. Review platforms can pick up when reviews are sent from the same IP address, or all come in at once. These reviews can be flagged as spam and cause a lot more problems by banning profiles on certain review accounts. When in doubt, Nicholas Bereznai of Durham always recommends prioritizing the needs of a customer base and asking politely for a review. As a business grows, the reviews can snowball when people realize that a business will comment and say thank you. Maintaining positive connections can also help brands create loyal customers.
