At one time or another, you have been handed a little piece of card-stock and a golf pencil and were asked to fill out a survey, and leave some comments about your experience as a customer of whatever business you just patronized.
With enough of these completed surveys, the business owner found out what went right and got some ideas about what needed fixing. Getting candid customer feedback is certainly valuable information to any business and can tip off a business owner to a brush fire, before it becomes full blown forest fire of bad customer experience.
Old School: Comment Cards
Mostly, these cards are kept to the eyes of those on the inside, but what if we gave your potential customers a peek as well?
Today, customers get more than a peek—they get an eyeful. And it’s not up to you to decide who sees what, for better or worse.
That is because the new comment cards are online customer reviews. In case you are not familiar, online reviews are essentially comment cards for any business, posted on one of many popular internet portals that anyone can write and anyone can see.
While that may be seem a bit frightening at first glance, I think there is actually an awesome opportunity under the surface.
One study showed that about 50% of consumers used online reviews to begin their buying process. Unfortunately, many businesses have little or no online reviews, leaving customers in a position to either guess or go somewhere else.
Personally, that is what I do. I recently chose a shop to get my brakes fixed at, based on nothing but online user reviews. Tons of places had no reviews, and I did not bother looking into them any further. I have not chosen to go to a restaurant that had less than 4 stars on Yelp in as long as I can remember. (4 & 5 stars are not the traditional kind of stars where more stars means more $’s—Mexican, anyone?)
Some business owners are nervous that a negative review will ruin their reputation. My advice? Do not worry so much. You know that your business provides a great service and that in general, your customers are happy and loyal. If one malcontent posts something bad, do not sweat it. With enough reviews, your true reputation will always come through.
Convinced? Here are some tricks I use to encourage customers to write reviews:
1. Just Ask! – Do you have a friendly relationship with some of your customers? Would they be glad to do a favor for you? If someone compliments your service try responding with this, “Thanks! Would you mind letting other people know? I am trying to get some reviews online and if you think of it, would you mind writing one? I would really appreciate it.” This tactic is also likely to render a good amount of positive reviews.
2. Review Cards – This one is easy and requires only a little work. Just get some business cards printed up that say something to the effect of “Like our service? Let others know and review us online!” Be sure to provide detailed instructions. (Go to maps.google.com, search for us, click write a review.) Just set the cards out, or better yet, staple them to some paperwork that you regularly give to customers.
3. Make It Easy – One of my clients actually came up with this one! Spend $200 on a netbook and setup a “review station” right in your place of business. Ask satisfied customers to write a review while they’re in the store. They will not forget or get distracted by the other 10,000 things online and off, that are constantly vying for their attention. Plus, the experience will be fresh in their minds.
4. Incentives – Provide a discount or freebie to anyone willing to write a review. Promote the fact that you will be giving a discount to anyone that writes an online customer review. The owner of a restaurant that I often frequent gave me a free breakfast after he saw my glowing online review. It only made me even more of a loyal fan.
That is all for now. I would love to hear some more ideas or field any questions—So, post a comment!
Thanks for reading.
-Craig
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