Customer reviews can make a world of difference to a company’s brand perception and, ultimately, its bottom line. In this article, we’ll look at which review platform is most relevant to your business and how to cultivate positive feedback to boost sales and customer satisfaction.
Finding the right review platform for your business
The straightforward answer is: wherever your customers leave public feedback on their experience. However, there are dozens of review sites, each with its own culture and industry focus. Step one is deciding which is the most relevant.
Google Reviews
Google Reviews have a powerful effect on customer decisions. Their integration into a familiar environment (next to maps and search results) provide users with important information on any given topic.
Google Reviews are particularly useful if your business has a physical presence and targets local customers. Business owners need a Google My Business account before collecting reviews, while customers need a Google Account to leave feedback.
Facebook
Facebook recommendations are valuable if your product or service is community-led and relies on word-of-mouth endorsements (pet sitting, catering, independent stores, and suppliers). That’s because recommendations from your potential customers’ closest friends are shown to them first.
And users that once gave a star rating, can now choose to endorse you using a yes or no option.
Trustpilot
Trustpilot attracts almost one million new reviews each month. Trustpilot operates across a wide variety of sectors, including B2B and service-based companies. It offers widgets, social sharing, and split-testing tools to turn your reviews into effective marketing tools.
Niche review sites
There are also dedicated review platforms designed for specialised products and services. For instance:
- Travel - Airbnb, Booking.com, Hotels.com
- Food, drink, and experiences - TripAdvisor
Look for your industry and reviews to find sites that your target audience visits in the research phase of their customer journey. You can also scan for a competitor with reviews to see where customers review similar products or services.
Glassdoor
When you advertise a role hoping to attract the best talent, what do candidates see?
Your Glassdoor rating can make a big difference in how future hires perceive your company’s culture, mission, and benefits.
How to improve brand perception through customer reviews
- Select the most relevant review sites for your business based on your product or service, competitor research, and current customer behaviour.
- Make it easy for customers to leave reviews - Use embedded badges and widgets, request reviews by email, and, if possible, directly ask stand-out clients if they’d mind reviewing you.
- Continue to ask for reviews - Don’t slow down after attaining several four or five-star reviews.
- Incentivise customer feedback - Your customers’ time is valuable, so give them a good reason to leave a review by offering discounts or entrance into a competition.
- Ask for a review at the right time - Seeking a review too early or too late can confuse or annoy customers. Give them enough time to have tried your product, but not so long that they’ve forgotten how great it was.
- Be an active participant - Reply to as many reviews as possible, including negative ones, to show you care about customers’ opinions. Google may even reward your business listing with better rankings if you actively manage and respond to reviews.