The best spokesperson for your business is a satisfied customer. But if you’re doing business on the internet, how do you let a prospect in Petaluma know a customer in Canarsie loves you?
By giving them a place to praise you online.
In the old days, businesses used to solicit testimonials, and that practice carried over to the early days of the internet. But when people discovered that some companies were paying for good reviews (or writing phony ones of their own), the credibility of testimonials cratered. Realizing that word-of-mouth was still one of the best advertising media, e-commerce businesses turned to their customers to take the initiative. Since then, businesses have developed ways to encourage feedback that they use to both promote and improve their products and services. Here are some of the things they’ve learned.
Learn where your customers go to interact and get information. Find out what interests them and where they hang out. Have a presence on the major social media and monitor the number of followers and what they’re saying. Look at where others in your business have a presence and use their experiences to inform your decisions.
Make it easy for customers to interact with you. If you do, you’ll find that most are happy to do so if it doesn’t take a lot of effort on their part. Content delivered onsite can be followed with a feedback option. Follow up items delivered to the buyer with a Thank You email that encourages them to rate your product or service. A simple 5-star rating system is easiest, and give them an opportunity to add comments, but you shouldn’t make it mandatory or you will lower the rate of response.
The point is to spread the news, so make it easy. Have buttons on your site for popular places like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where your customers can share information about you and your products and services. Their shares become both advertisements and testimonials for you—and they’re free.
Adding entertainment to information makes it memorable and adds credibility. Encourage customers to share photos and stories that feature your products on your website and on social media.
Now that user reviews have become more trustworthy, confidence in them has rebounded to the point that recent studies show that online reviews are the second most-trusted source consumer information about products and services. That’s why well-planned User Generated Content can be one of your most powerful marketing tools.
Successful online marketing today takes a coordinated strategy that includes content, design, and technical know-how. When you’re ready to expand your marketing reach, the Unleaded Group is here to help. We have an entire department focused on the latest in content management and site optimization with an award-winning design team and industry-best technical talent to back them up.
Why wait to take the lead? The Unleaded Group is a global leader in high-performance e-commerce web development. We’re ready to work with you to deliver proven, tested results with creativity, precision, and ease of use that set you apart from the competition. Visit our newly-designed website for a look at the many ways we can fuel your business growth.
We’re happy to send you a free quote for designing a site that does the job you need. Or call us toll-free today at 855.865.3233 to learn how the Unleaded Group can add horsepower to your online business and simplify your life in the process.