How customer feedback can become a marketing channel for your business…

The good, the bad, the ugly; we’ve seen it all when scouring the net to compare reviews for a product or service we’re unsure about investing in. So, it’s no surprise that businesses are keen to up their feedback game. However, feedback isn’t just useful for self-improvement, it’s an incredibly handy tool to use as part of your content marketing strategy since it can be readily available to all your potential customers.

So how do you get started?

Simplify the Reviewing Process

First of all, you need to make sure customers are actually leaving reviews for you to benefit from. If your reviewing process is too lengthy or wordy, it will quickly deter potential top scorers and we definitely do not want to scare those gems away!

Word of mouth is still widely considered to be one of the most powerful methods of advertising, so you need to make it as simple as possible (for as many customers as possible) to leave feedback.

Suggestions:

• Invite customers to review on multiple platforms of their choice such as Facebook, Google or direct to your website
• Create a guest review option so that customers do not have to reveal their personal information such as their name and email
• Make sure your review form is user-friendly (easy to navigate, short and using clear English!)

Feature Reviews

Now that your reviews are flooding in, make sure that they’re getting noticed. Featuring reviews on your website is a sure-fire way to drive traffic and conversions. The best way to do this is to create a page dedicated to reviews and testimonials. You could add a comment box where people can type quick reviews that are posted and listed instantly or include a widget with your review feed from an external form.
Listing reviews added by customers themselves helps create a sense of authenticity. If you want to type them out onto your website yourself, make sure you copy your customer’s review word for word and get their permission to be included on your website. To add even more authenticity, ask them for a photo!

Sharing is Caring

Another simple and effective way to get your feedback on people’s radar is to share reviews as part of your marketing campaigns. Don’t have a tool that does this for you? Have a play around on Photoshop and incorporate quotes from some of your best reviews onto a picture background to post on social media. Quotes that evoke emotion work best, so go that extra mile to make an impression on your customers to get the most share-worthy reviews. It’ll be worth it!
If you need a quicker solution, simply type out your review in a social media post and (if you can) tag the customer to thank them for leaving this feedback. This will help to encourage online engagement with your brand. You can also include reviews in email campaigns to add to the value of a promotion and encourage click-throughs. Anywhere you can share, do it, you should be proud to!

Don’t Leave Them Hanging

Nobody likes to be ignored and the same goes for your customers. If you receive a negative review, make sure to comment back ASAP. Complaints are a great opportunity to turn a situation on its head and win back your customer’s trust! Make sure to admit fault and say sorry. A speedy apology will make your customer feel valued. If you can provide a solution, even better, so always try to rectify your mistakes!
Keep in mind that other people are also reading these reviews when you write your response. It looks more appealing to other customers when a company owns up and apologises for their wrongdoing. This helps to build a trustworthy reputation for your brand whilst simultaneously displaying your authenticity; nobody’s perfect!

By monitoring your feedback closely and paying attention to your customer’s needs in this way, you can really utilise their opinions to their fullest and reap the rewards of word of mouth advertising…

Customer feedback shouldn’t be a chore! If you’re creative with feedback collection and action, it becomes a fun marketing channel for your business!

Need help creating user-friendly review forms? Sign up to our FREE feedback tool today!