Reviews are undeniably one of the most important aspects of business in the 21st century. Anyone not collecting or displaying reviews is losing out on something real big! But I bet y’all are.
When you start collecting reviews, you open up your doors to a wide array of comments from customers. Most customers in their uniqueness structure reviews pretty differently. Having been running Kudobuzz over the last few years, we have come to identify different kinds of reviews. We thought you will love to know more about what we have observed so far.
The Brief review
These reviews typically have between 1 to 3 words. They have variations such as
“Good”
“Very Good”
“Cool”
“Excellent Service”
“Very Cool Products”
These reviews, although positive do not say much about your product or service. In fact, if you have too many of them, it almost makes them appear fake.
These reviews are mostly written for one of several reasons.
-Your customer is not 100% satisfied with your service.
-Your customer was not wowed by your service and really has nothing to say.
-Your review request went rather too late. Your customer has pretty much forgotten about you.
This, of course, can be fixed. You are required to up your game and then send your review request at just the right time. Not sure? Play around with different options and track the results. You will discover the right moment.
The Story Review
These reviews are just sweet. You almost fall in love with them. These reviews tell the entire story of what happened to them pre-sale and after sale. These reviewers have obviously taken their time out to write a great deal about your product or service. They are those who will almost beg you to allow them to write a review.
Take a look at an example we found on the BuyHear site, one of our customers.
As you can see, the review is very valuable and was influenced by the reviews of other customers. That is one interesting thing about customers : they have an inclination to imitate one another. One way to continue getting these kind of reviews is to take a snapshot of it and attach it to a review request.
These reviews are also a great asset for running campaigns on social media. Send snapshots of these reviews in a series of posts over a period of time. It creates a beautiful story about your product or service on social media.
The Expected Positive Review
These reviews are the most common types of reviews you will receive once you have done everything right on your part. The review focuses on the product that was purchased and is of an average length. Getting a lot of these reviews? Keep being yourself – keep delighting your customer. Keep delivering your product right on time. Keep sending the review request at about the same time that you currently do. One extra thing you can do is to leave a comment on such reviews. Everyone loves feedback, including your customer, so it will be more than welcome. And guess what? Prospective customers will love seeing those comments because it gives a human face to your business. People love to do business with people.
Take a look at a comment on a positive review by Taaluma Totes.
The Dreaded Negative Review
I saved the best for the last. I’m sure you are wondering, “Really?”
Yes, really.
Negative reviews are negative reviews but they should not have a negative effect on your business or your emotions. Okay, you are allowed to crinch for up to 5 minutes. Once that is done, it’s action time!
The first thing you should do is to comment on the review so the customer realises that even if your product/service sucks, well you don’t suck.
Next, look into the issue and find a solution. Was it a delayed delivery? Check what caused the delay and make it up to the customer. Wrong or damaged product? Ship a new one immediately. I recommend if your product is not highly priced, you bear the cost of this. Why? The positive words that come from a previously dissatisfied customer is worth a million.
Everyone knows bad things happen every now and then so proving that you know how to handle them builds even more trust in your business. Whatever you do, never ever ignore a negative review, even if you are not at fault. In the world of business, the customer is always right. Render an apology anyway and get the customer smiling again. You should publish the negative review along with the comment. Boasting about your success in handling negativity is such a positive thing.
Enjoy collecting reviews and making use of each kind that you receive. Reviews affect the buying decisions of 67% of consumers. That is huge! And that is why you can never have enough of reviews.
