Are you a young company trying to find a way to get the attention of consumers in such a noisy, competitive marketplace? If so, then you’re not alone. This is the biggest struggle for small businesses. Even companies that have the best products and services ever won’t get very far if no one hears about them.
So, we’re going to take a close look at how capturing and displaying online reviews increases customer engagement. This is a fundamental marketing strategy known as social proof and it carries a lot of weight in today’s hyper-connected market.
The problem is that most small businesses never leverage social proof on their website. They completely miss the best opportunity to showcase their company.
How Capturing and Displaying Online Reviews Increases Customer Engagement
We’ll address this concern first and then show you some really great ways to collect this social proof. Here’s why it’s such a powerful marketing strategy.
· Online reviews give your products and services more credibility.
· Consumers trust online reviews and normally look at them before making a purchase decision.
· Adding consumer reviews to your website boosts its SEO.
· You show that you care about the customer experience, thus encouraging others to review your products and services.
Examples of Websites that Prominently Display Their Reviews
Capturing reviews is the first step, but prominently displaying them (so other customers can see) is perhaps just as important. Below are two examples of websites that do a good job of displaying reviews from their customers:
Super Bright LEDs : This website displays their review (star rating) in the footer of their website. They are using Trust Pilot to capture and display reviews.
Farm and Ranch Depot : This website displays their review (star rating) in the header of their website. They also display a badge showing the number of 5-star reviews in the footer, which gives the customers an extra chance to engage. They are using Shopper Approved to capture and display their reviews.
Note: The review badges on both of these example sites are clickable links to the actual landing page of their review aggregator (Trust Pilot and Shiopper Approved).
How to Get Customer Reviews to Put on your Website
You have a lot of options when it comes to capturing customer reviews. Customers are happy to leave reviews, but sometimes they need to be reminded. Plus, you need to make it easy and convenient for them.
Send Surveys to Customers
Have a system in place to reach out to customers once they receive your product or start using your services. When you eat at McDonalds, you get a link and code on the receipt to leave a review. Leaving a review also gets you something free on your next visit. This encourages feedback and gets the customer back in your shop.
While you don’t necessarily have to give something in return for a review, customers are more likely to follow through if they are motivated. But the most important thing is to make the survey quick and easy to fill out. Leave a section at the end where the customer can write a review. This is what you’ll post to your website.
Encourage Social Media Responses
Create unique hashtags surrounding your products and services so people can share stories about them on social media. This also has the added benefit of making them easy to track. Try and capture testimonials that have pictures attached to them. Encourage people to post these stories with incentives. For instance, you could have a free giveaway where people can enter by posting a story using a specific hashtag.
Give Free Products to People with Large Followings
When people with large followings on social media review a product or service, it carries a lot of weight. So, try getting these reviews by sending out free products or giving them access to your services. The only downside is that today, many of these influencers want businesses to pay a small fee for these reviews. But in many cases, this review is worth the cost anyway since it gives you tremendous social proof.
Don’t Forget to Share Snippets from Other Review Sites
If your business is listed on Yelp and someone leaves a great review, then you can share that on your website. The same is true with Amazon – or any other website. Just be sure to check the website’s terms to make sure you’re allowed to share these reviews on your website. In most cases, fair use laws cover these so it’s okay to share snippets as long as you source the material. Many businesses forget about these places and just leave these reviews hanging around without making them a prominent part of their own web presence.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that reviews are great for business because they prove that your products and services are valuable. Plus, consumers tend to read through reviews before making a purchase decision.