Customer testimonials are one of the most powerful tools in your marketing plan. They are especially important across industries like professional services organizations, the health and medical fields, and nonprofits. Because no matter how strongly you are able to portray yourself as a trustworthy organization with a useful or important product or service, having someone speak on your behalf is much more meaningful than saying it yourself.
The Best Place for Customer Testimonials is Online
Having positive reviews on a trusted platform will give your company more visibility online, not only because you can share and republish those reviews, but because of the SEO benefits you receive from getting reviewed online.
From a marketing perspective, the biggest benefit to your business comes when customers review you online through a third-party service.
For trustworthiness and for SEO optimization, Google should be your priority. Yelp, Amazon (especially for product-based items), and the more niche rating services are also excellent: Healthgrades, Clutch, Glassdoor, Better Business Bureau, or any rating service specific to your industry. All of these are respected third-party platforms that solicit untainted reviews. If you find a review you would like to use, and you know the customer, ask for their permission to use their testimonial in your marketing communications. You can then republish your good customer testimonials on a variety of other marketing channels.
- Feature them on social media
- Add them to email communications
- Incorporate them into advertising campaigns
- Share them in-store or in office
Of course, they should also be added to your website but think strategically about how best to incorporate them. For instance, if you receive a positive review for a particular service, put the review on that service page.
Use Customer Reviews to Boost Communication
Another excellent way to use these reviews is to communicate with the reviewer. If the review is good, thank them for sharing their positive experience. If they expressed concerns or left a negative review, addressing the reviewer immediately will allow you to exhibit excellent customer service, potentially converting something negative into a positive.
Keep in mind, you are not just responding to that reviewer. You are responding to anyone that is reading these reviews and showing that you listen to and care about your customers. This is a golden opportunity to use a public-facing communication channel to show people how positively you handle situations.
The Right Way to Solicit Customer Testimonials
If you have a big client base, implementing an automated reviewing platform such as TrustPilot, BirdEye or Broadly is a really good way to get customers to review you. A lot of these platforms allow you to catch any negative reviews before they get published on Google or Yelp. Getting regular reviews in this way can give you a pulse on how your customers are feeling. It can also alert you to a faulty product or a difficult employee that is giving your consumers a bad experience. This will allow you to diffuse the situation before going to the public. The automated tools make everything a little easier; when someone makes a purchase, the automation sends them a request for a review a day later. This type of automation is excellent for products or an industry with a lot of regular traffic, like a doctor’s office or an e-commerce website.
Make a Personal Request
If your business is a consultancy, or something high-touch or high-end, asking for a personal recommendation is always best. Make the request over a phone call. The best time to do so is after they have had a very good experience with you. Ask them at that moment: they are feeling good about you and are inclined to help, so tell them the best thing they can do for your business is to write you a positive review online. If they agree to write one, follow up immediately with an email and a link to where you would like the review to appear. Remember to prioritize Google as your preferred platform.
When you are asking in person, feel free to specify an aspect of your business that you want to highlight. If there is a new service that you would like to call attention to, ask them to reference that.
Customer Testimonials are an Ongoing Marketing Process
Getting and sharing positive reviews should be built into your marketing customer experience department. Whether you’re a small entrepreneur or a larger company, the review process should happen on a daily (weekly, monthly) basis.
How are your customer reviews?
At Trillion, we help solicit good reviews and then utilize them in many different ways for best marketing effect. We understand that a positive customer experience is part of good branding. We’d love to help you spread the good word about your organization! Give us a call at 908.219.4703 or complete our contact form.
