With my Tina Turner reference nicely shoe-horned in, the question still stands, what does love have to do with your business and customers?
It may seem obvious your customers have to love what you offer, and for some businesses that's easy to achieve. But for others with a more formal approach or with a less fun product line, you may feel it's a second hand emotion (last Tina Turner reference, I promise).
However, you also have to love what your customers bring to the table. And no, the immediate answer isn't money.
It's their opinions. Even the really harsh ones.
The harsh ones are actually what'll help you achieve great things down the line, so let's look a little closer at this two-way satisfaction.
It goes without saying that if you can give your customers something to rave about, whether that's great service and/or products to beat, then they'll obviously be singing your praises. That's love that money can buy! However, providing the above is sometimes easier said than done.
There's nothing worse than an anti-climatic gift that falls flat, so don't be left second guessing as to what your customers adore. Simply ask them.
By actively asking customers for their valued opinions in the form of a review, you'll gain a hell of a lot of insight into what you could do better, areas and products you're acing, and potential aspects you're not necessarily making the most out of.
With a constant flow of feedback, you're able to refine the products and service you offer your customers, and as you get better, the feedback your customers leave will get better too, creating invaluable brand advocates. Hence the two-way satisfaction!
If you've never considered review collection, or feel that it's not really for your business, think a little harder. But I assume if you're reading this post and you've got this far, you're keen to learn how to delight your customers and grow your brand - and that means reviews.
The individuals who use your business offer an absolute gold mine of data which you're completely missing out on if you don't collect reviews. And if you've got a review strategy in place? Keep reading to bolster it further.
Review collection, publication and management is super simple, yet so rewarding. With REVIEWS.io you can reap that feedback via email, SMS, or have your customers share the love by writing their review right at their point of purchase, using our In-store app.
Email, SMS and In-store app collection methods
Worried you won't hear back? The good news is that 77% of individuals are willing to write a review if simply asked. Put plainly, for every 10 customers who use your business, nearly 8 of them are more than happy to leave you feedback. Call it a solid 7, and that's 7 voices and star ratings you can showcase to establish social proof for your business.
In sum, you've given your customers a service, they've taken it.
You've given them the opportunity to have a their say, they've taken it.
Here's where the tables turn, and your customers will start giving back to you, for you to fully take advantage of and make your business better.
All your customer reviews for your company and products can be published across your website, for you to proudly showcase sentiments about the business you work so hard for. The existence and visibility of customer-generated content on your website works wonders from here on out.
With a Google licensed review partner, such as REVIEWS.io, all your company reviews are aggregated to form your star rating, which is then displayed in your paid Google ads. This star rating is called Seller Ratings, and is vital in not only putting your brand front and centre, but also smartening your ad spend.
Seller Ratings are visually attractive, and therefore attract clicks and traffic to your site. With more people clicking your ads, you'll save you up to 17% on PPC spend, making your budget more available for better conversion and increased ROI.
BUILT/'s Google ads with Seller Ratings, compared to a competitor without stars
You can also display your product ratings in any Google Shopping campaigns, which like your Seller Ratings, put all eyes on your products, and help generate an uplift in AOV and on-site conversion.
REVIEWS.io also offer Rich Results-friendly widgets to display your company reviews across your website, and product reviews on individual product pages. With a Rich Results-friendly widget implemented, your star ratings will also appear alongside relevant organic listings!
Justmylook's Rich Result stars compared to LaRoc Cosmetics listing without stars
Stars here increase your visibility even further. Stars throughout Google results also boost organic click through rates up to 22% and grow on-page conversion a whopping 28%. With this new-found knowledge, if you're not considering review collection to then utilise in your ads and organic listings, you're actively capping your conversion and revenue, putting your business at an obvious disadvantage.
But it's not just you you're handicapping - remember the two-way street and give and take? - you're also preventing your customers from engaging with your content, sharing their opinion, and educating their purchase decisions.
The give and take process is cyclical, and continually feeds back into itself. If customers make an initial search for your business or products, and their search is validated with your review stars, you've just piqued interest and evoked trust.
More importantly, that trust is cemented on-site when they're able to find what they need, and read reviews with the click of a button.
Your customers are savvy and no doubt well aware of your markting methods to maybe make a simple black t-shirt the bees knees, or your solution the best on the market. But is it? If they're able to read about other users like themselves who validate the quality, authenticity and general appreciation, that's proof that you're good to your word as a business, and there might be other things of value that your offering.
The Hatch Chile Store's product description backed-up by genuine customer experiences
Reviews enrich your website content, giving greater detail than yours or the manufacturers descriptions alone. Google also loves this dynamic, green content populated across your website, meaning reviews give you a great SEO boost also enhancing your visibility.
Shoppers needn't look elsewhere, leaving your site and the memory of your business to find a service or product which provides exactly what they want. Instead they stay on site, moving swiftly to the checkouts or sign up form.
Finally, with REVIEWS.io's in-depth reporting tools, this is where you'll shine a spotlight on your brand using customer sentiments, really driving home review benefits and the concept satisfaction is a two-way street.
With Merchant Metrics created from customer review sentiments, learn if your delivery provider is really up to scratch, because if it's not it might unecessarily be pulling your reputation down. If your customers repeatedly suffer delivery grievances, no matter how great your customer service is at resolving the problem - it's just time and money saved for them if they use another service.
Merchant Metrics selection of categories created by customer sentiments
You can also find out if your customer service is actually supportive, or just unempathetic, to maybe up their training, or poke holes in your mission statement, rebuild it and do better.
Not only that, find out where you stand against your competitors using Competitor Analysis. This invaluable tool enables you to create a complete picture of where you and your competitors are winning or falling short.
Compare and take action on review totals, ratings and NPS. Find out where you and your competitors put their money with insights to paid ad spend and organic traffic, along with the key software and technology utilised. With information like this at your fingertips, you'll never play catch up or fall behind again.
When it comes to your customers, love isn't unconditional, it has to be earnt. Earnt through respect, trust and satisfaction, on that two-way satisfaction street.
The best way to achieve all 3 is to ask your customers for their voice, listen and build on what they have to say, then spread their feedback far and wide and watch respect rocket, trust increase, and satisfaction soar.
For more advice on how to grow your brand and delight your customers, check out our other review tips on our blog. Alternatively,
