Latest Guide to Customer Reviews for Small Businesses
If you manufacture and sell a product or provide a service, it’s almost 100% likely that a customer somewhere has written a review for you. Reviews are an essential tool today for customers who want to hear their voices. If customers like what you bring to the table, you’ll hear about them. The same is true if you are dissatisfied.
While customer reviews may seem like a phenomenon beyond your control as a small business owner, there are many ways to change the situation so that it becomes more positive and helps in drawing the customer’s attention to your product or service.
What are user reviews?
User reviews are testimonies created by customers and shared online. Sites like Yelp are used to recommend and review anything from restaurants nearby to the best electrician in your neighborhood. Nearly all businesses can be found on some sort of user review site, and reviews can have a significant impact on how successful a business can become.
Where can you find reviews for your business?
To get a clear picture of how customers view your business, it’s a good idea to expand where you search for user reviews. Many businesses will rely solely on Yelp as mentioned above, but they are only an example of one of the sources available for customers to share experiences and for businesses to learn of those experiences and respond. All of the following are great places to locate customer reviews:
While some of these sites are best suited for only specific business types, many are used for a variety of business models. Keep your business in mind as you scan the web for reviews.
How should you respond to user reviews?
What do social media influencers, friends, family members, and user reviews have in common? Trust. People take recommendations more seriously from those they trust or have a relationship with. When you consider the power of user reviews, it’s important to have a plan of action when responding to user reviews.
Stay active with review interactions. When you see a positive review about your small business written interestingly, take the time to comment back. You may be surprised how positively received comments from a brand or company can be when a customer is a big fan. That additional acknowledgment can work wonders in pushing word-of-mouth goodwill, which can pay back dividends.
Don’t be afraid of bad news. All reviews can’t be positive, unfortunately. No matter how beneficial or popular your small business is, you can’t be all things to all people. Some reviews you read will be less than glowing. And because humans have a bias toward negativity, bad reviews stick in people’s minds more than positive ones. When a negative review is left, use it as an opportunity to engage, and keep these tips in mind:
- Thank them for leaving a review.
- Apologize for their experience not meeting expectations.
- Offer an opportunity to reach out to you directly.
- Don’t get upset or take it personally.
You can’t control what was said about your small business, but you can control how you respond. A well-crafted response with a sincere desire to help make things better has the power to earn respect and positive views from customers.
Control the narrative when you find negative reviews from posters that aren’t being authentic. You can always look over the terms of service for sites to help you identify and flag reviews provided in bad faith. If you can establish that a review is disingenuous (such as a review for a product made before it was available), you’re within your right as a small business to do what you can to protect yourself.
Conclusion
Staying up to date with reviews of your small business is a smart habit to develop. Customers are constantly letting you know their opinion in an easily digestible and interactive format. When you know how users feel, you’re better equipped to address feedback and work to elevate your business.
