Back in March, Steven Brier, of Local Internet USA, wrote a post about how to use online customer reviews and testimonials to your advantage on Search Engine Journal. Brier begins his post with a truth widely known among local business owners: “Referrals from happy customers have always been the best method for generating new customers.” He goes on to say that the next best thing is good online reviews and testimonials from customers.
They are a powerful first step in establishing believability, credibility, and a sense of security for new customers. They help to break down natural barriers and distrust new consumers feel with an unfamiliar merchant… The challenge is to leverage the enthusiasm of satisfied customers into goodwill in well-written testimonials, whether used for promotional materials or as an all-important new category of local business recommendations, review websites, or portals that now generate many millions of monthly visitors.
He gives a few tips on how to get satisfied customers to write good reviews and testimonials about your business:
#1: Point of Sale: Try to get customer testimonials as soon as possible, even at point of sale or within the first week. Satisfied customers are most motivated during this time period…
#2: Telephone/Email: Contact the customer as soon as possible after the sale, whether as a customer satisfaction follow-up or other. Make sure the customer still has the same warm feelings. Ask if he/she would be willing to share those feelings with others in the form of a testimonial…
#3: Persuasive Testimonials: Be discriminating. Personal and specific testimonials work successfully. Focus on key benefits. Vague, even enthusiastic testimonials do not have any impact. Have your customers be specific… Ask your customer to talk about the struggles he/she was having previous to receiving the benefits of your product or service…
Have your customer state his/her relevant background. This will make the testimonial even more persuasive because the comments will be perceived to come from a credible source…
#4: Testimonial Mechanics: Make sure you get permission to use you customers’ testimonials in your advertising. Ask them if you can not only use their name, but also the town (suburb) they live in…
#5: Leveraging Testimonials: It’s not enough just to receive customer testimonials. It’s knowing how to use them in your marketing activities that makes the difference…
Brier also comments about the value of consumer reviews for local search rankings:
Some of the major local search engines spider other consumer review websites and include those reviews in its results. Higher rankings mean more traffic. More traffic should mean more happy consumers and more traffic and so it goes, steps leading directly to marketing heaven.
Satisfied customers can become a good promoter for your business – invest some thought and time in getting them to write about their good experience with you online, and gain more exposure and referrals.
To read the full article, go to http://www.searchenginejournal.com/local-search-customer-reviews/9466/
