Prior to reading this article you should read about levels 1-7 for this to be effective for you.
Think about how difficult it is to get a happy customer to write a review.
An unhappy customer will rent a computer at Kinkos, create an online account, and search for a place or two to write a bad review but WOW is it challenging to get a customer to write a review after a good experience.
What are the possible roadblocks to get reviews?
- Customer forgets.
- They don’t want to take the time to do so.
- They feel like you have not earned it.
- They are intimidated by the internet or technology.
- They are in fear of their privacy because they do not quite understand online review sites.
A follow up communication about their purchase can lead to a better experience for the customer and inspire them to write a review. This is a good time for you to ask them and even send them a direct link to make it easy for them.
The only roadblock we have not covered with the follow up is intimidation and fear. You can implement a system that helps to overcome this which is something we have done with our clients…for their customers.
A powerful system for overcoming all the potential roadblocks is to attract internet savvy customers and offer them all methods for reviewing you.
- Put a QR code on the front door.
- Have a Facebook Fan Page with links to review sites
- Put review links on the home page of your website
Consider the possibilities of attracting internet savvy customers and what that can mean for your business.
With all else being equal would you rather have a new happy customer that has 3,000 friends on Facebook or 50 friends on Facebook?
Would you rather have a happy customer that has their own blog with 450 followers of people with similar interests or someone that does not know what a blog is?
Would you rather have a customer that can click on their mouse and tell 250 people in your area that your business is great?
The only question left is how to attract the internet savvy customer.
Use internet marketing, of course.
Is it possible that an online savvy customer has a higher value to you because of their reach with a click of a button. Compare this to the technophobe that is jump-up-and-down happy with your service, and they tell 2 people about it at lunch next week.
In the future or even now you may see companies host a customer appreciation day and show their customers how to have fun on Facebook or write online reviews about companies they frequent. Companies will hire a professional to come in and teach their customers the value of Social Networks and writing online reviews so they can help their friends navigate the good and bad companies.
The event will be positioned as a customer appreciation event but it will also serve as a method for increasing the customer value of your existing customers by increasing their reach…so they can tell everone how great you are.
A level 8 review may be the customer that has written reviews on several companies over a period of months and now they write a review about your company. That is completely natural, it demonstrates that this is a person that is contributing to that online community, and they are probably writing a legitimate review.
Do not be surprised if reviews from regular reviewers have more relevance when it comes to the review sites.