How to Gather (and Benefit from) Organic Reviews

Where do you turn when shopping for furniture, switching dentists, or looking for your next new restaurant? If you’re quick to get lost in reading all the reviews, you’re not alone. According to a study by BrightLocal, up to 98% of consumers read reviews before they make a purchase decision. We live in a word-of-mouth culture, and now those words can quickly come from total strangers across any industry – 69% of customers trust reviews as much as they trust a recommendation from someone they know. 

With our culture depending so much on reviews, how is that impacting marketing? Keep reading to learn what role reviews can play in growing your business and some best practices for strategically using reviews to your advantage.

Reviews and Testimonials: What’s the Difference?

What is the difference between a review and a testimonial?

When it comes to reviews, think third-party. These are typically short opinions or simple star ratings for a product or service hosted by an outside source, such as Google reviews or Amazon. Buyers use reviews in their decision-making process to better understand a potential purchase. Anyone can leave reviews, and they often require no action on the business side to make happen (for better or worse). Google reviews (or other third-party sources) exist independently.

Testimonials, on the other hand, are typically collected and managed directly by a business and provide a more in-depth personal experience. They are lengthier than reviews but can be less trusted if they seem engineered or incentivized. They’re often found on websites or blogs directly hosted by the business rather than an independent third-party source.

Both reviews and testimonials can deepen trust and move consumer decision-making through the buying process. So, how do you use these feedback tools to establish trust with consumers?

Building Trust through Open Communication

Reviews, both positive and negative, will naturally develop as a business grows. But sometimes, how a company responds to reviews can make a more significant impact than the reviews themselves. When handled correctly, even negative reviews can help establish trust and build positive perceptions. Accepting constructive criticism shows a willingness to grow and communicate with customers. And hiding negative reviews will only trigger automatic distrust — we all know nothing is perfect. What matters more is how a business handles imperfections.

Here are some top tips to help you respond to reviews in a way that will authentically build your business:

Be Timely. Don’t let a negative review sit for long without a response. When a customer comes across a review and sees no response from the company, the silence speaks volumes. However, even if a negative review is posted and the company responds timely and thoughtfully, that review can still leave a positive overall impression on a potential customer.

Be Grateful. Engagement (even if initially negative) is something to be grateful for. Thank any customer for taking the time to leave a review, and reaffirm that you consider their feedback a valuable opportunity to improve.

Be Personal. Acknowledge the personal situation described in a review and, if possible, use the customer’s name or experience details. Personalized responses will always outshine generic wording.

Be Responsible. Keep a response short and direct to fully acknowledge any issue the customer raises. Providing unnecessary information or avoiding the main problem will come across as dismissive.

Be Sympathetic. Before jumping into problem-solving or writing out explanations, take the time to sincerely acknowledge a customer’s experience. Sometimes that expression of sympathy is the most essential part of making something right.

How to Gather Quality Reviews

Now that you know how to handle reviews, you may be wondering how to help reviews pour in. The process can be much simpler than it’s often made out to be.

Here are a few simple steps to help you increase reviews and customer engagement. 

Just ask. Sometimes, businesses can overcomplicate things! In reality, 70% of customers asked to leave a review will do so. A simple follow-up system for purchases and interactions can bring in valuable positive reviews.

Use existing reviews (with permission). Reviews may pop up unexpectedly — a kind email, comments on social media, or a response to a customer service interaction. Be sure to ask permission to use that review in your marketing.

Follow up on purchases. When a customer has made a purchase or interacted with your business, take the time to automate a follow-up system. A follow-up email or printed marketing piece with purchases that kindly request reviews could be very effective when building a bank of positive reviews.

Track mentions and third-party sources. Reviews can happen with or without a business's involvement. It’s essential to set up Google alerts or other ways to track mentions of your business and be aware of reviews left on third-party sites.

Be aware of the competition. Your own reviews are invaluable, but your competitor’s reviews can be as well. If you’re reading them often, you’ll understand your market’s pain points and how you can help solve them in your own way.

While these are all great ways to gather reviews, there are also some wrong ways. Incentivizing is not always ethical or legal. Fake reviews not only miss out on all the benefits reviews can bring, but they can also have an extremely negative impact on a business's credibility. It’s much harder to build back that trust a second time.

Marketing Reviews through Multiple Channels

Now that you understand the importance of reviews and how to gather them, be sure you’re putting them to use in the best ways. The best review in the world does nothing for you if no potential customers are reading it. Here are a few channels to put testimonials and reviews to work to convert your leads to results.

Highlight reviews in a blog post. A blog post is a great way to permanently highlight positive feedback or recognition. If you track mentions and find that someone has highlighted your service or product in a “best of” list or even just posted on social media, turn that feedback into a standing spotlight on your blog. 

Embed on your website. Consider hosting a carousel of your favorite reviews on your website's landing pages. This is a great spot to highlight positive feedback in a way that is not distracting but optimally placed in your sales channel.

Include reviews in inbound marketing. Reviews are a great addition to any email list communication or newsletter. Add them at the bottom so they don’t break up your content unnaturally.

Post on social media. Include reviews in your social media presence to help highlight positive feedback across channels. Sometimes, a customer will never get past your public presence to see a review on a third-party site or your website. Posting reviews on social media can bridge that gap and bring customers straight to your website.

This shift to relying on digital word-of-mouth recommendations doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Using reviews to your advantage and establishing trust with your customers is a great way to organically grow your business.

Not sure how to put those reviews to work in automated inbound marketing? At Comma, our writers and editors help you create quality copy, landing pages, emails, and supporting content that drives conversions. Schedule a 20-minute consultation to discuss your specific goals and how quality content can help!