Here's a question you've probably asked yourself on many an occasion:
In a world full of media spin, fake news, rogue traders, scams and spam, how do you get your prospects to TRUST you?
It's a vital question.
You see, trust is perhaps the most vital commodity in 21st-century commerce. And in the KBB world where there's big money at stake, it's even more critical.
There's no one answer to the question, but one thing that's definitely a part of the solution
Online reviews.
A few key stats to back that point up:
90% of consumers say that online reviews are of major importance to them when deciding where to buy products and services
72% say that positive reviews make them trust a business more
Over 50% of people won't consider a company if there are too few reviews
The long and short of it is this – if you don't have any online reviews, then 9 out of 10 people simply won't consider transacting with you.
And unless you have a decent number of reviews, more than 5 out of 10 people won't contact you.
As a rule of thumb, you should aim to have ten reviews for every year you've been in business. At least 5 per year is still solid.
So, if you're not playing the review game, you've lost before you've even started.
The good news is that it's never been easier to get reviews. Platforms like, Google, Facebook, Houzz and Trustpilot make it simple for your clients to leave feedback, meaning that without any technical knowhow, you can have your customer comments online, pushing prospects in your direction.
Over the past year, we've developed an extremely effective strategy for soliciting positive online reviews for our Inspire KBB clients, and there are three key elements to our approach, which you can take and use in your business.
If you want something, you've got to ask for it.
It's all very well bemoaning the number of reviews you've got, but as the saying goes, 'if you don't ask, you don't get'. And you should indicate early in the relationship that you would like a review following completion of their project.
However, a personalised post-transaction email campaign will help ensure that you offer your key customers the best chance to leave a review.
The one we've developed for Inspire KBB clients is nearing a 50% conversion rate. Which means our clients are effortlessly generating positive reviews.
Make them specific.
The least useful reviews are the ones that say something like 'Great service, thanks.'
Encourage your customers to be specific about your service and what they loved about it – this will help prospects build up a picture of what it's actually like to work with you.
Deal with spurious reviews.
During lockdown, we noticed an increase in bogus reviews for some of our clients. (We suspect it was their bored, mischievous competitors. As they say, 'Idle hands make the devil's work!)
It's worth knowing that it's tremendously difficult to get Google to remove a review - even when you know that it's false, it's also important to realise that a bad review is likely to have a bigger impact than a good review.
In other words, you do need to deal with them.
The best way to do that is to 'push them down' by soliciting more positive reviews – better and more recent reviews will overshadow a bad review. So, if you ensure you keep soliciting new ones, you'll eliminate the damage that phoney reviews can do to your business.
The truth is, that reviews are critical today, especially in an uncertain economic climate. If you haven't really engaged with them yet, then it's high time that changed.
With that in mind, we're dedicating The Big KBB Marketing Call this Friday morning to this subject, where we'll be sharing:
The most important review platforms for KBB businesses
Our methodology for soliciting positive reviews successfully and systematically
The golden rules when it comes to asking for reviews
What you should be doing with your reviews once you've got them
You'll have an opportunity to ask any questions and get complete clarity on what your Review strategy should be.
We're also going to discuss the importance of fostering solidarity and community spirit within the independent KBB retail sector. As part of that, Rebecca Nottingham, Editor of kbbreview magazine, will join us to discuss an initiative they've recently launched - to stimulate debate and support amongst the independent KBB retailers.
So, if all that sounds good to you, it'd be great to see you on the call.
This Friday, 11th September, 11am-12pm. Click here to register now.
