Even though we’re marketers, we’re also consumers. As consumers, it’s hard to deny that we’ve grown to distrust marketing and advertising. That’s why customer feedback and analysis are so important.
We’ve all seen customers leave everything from glowing reviews to less-than-stellar remarks on websites and social media pages. All these reviews are incredibly valuable when you remember that they provide high-value social proof. Choosing not to use them in your campaigns means that you’re opting to ignore the most significant voice that you have.
If you’re looking to build up your credibility, then utilising customer feedback can help you make a substantial impact by remaining authentic.
Here are a few ways that you can establish a trustworthy company by using unbiased customer feedback and analysis.
Shout out about your reviews from the rooftop!—and on key pages
According to a 2023 study, 49% of customers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from their friends and family. Translation? Customers want to learn from someone else’s experience before they trust your brand.
So, how can you build credibility? It’s simple. Allow customers to read all about your current customers’ experiences with you. Highlight your reviews on the homepage and other pages that see a high volume of traffic, like product or pricing pages.
Your reviews tell your customers that you’re transparent and give them that extra push they need to make a purchase from you instead of someone else.
Add a review. Land on top of search engines.
Search engines aren’t just about optimising your listing. Believe it or not, they actually pay attention to what your customers have to say about you!
Reviews are a fantastic way for your prospective customers to see how well you can meet their needs. Collecting and posting reviews is also beneficial if you want to achieve impressive Google Seller Ratings, which only serve to enhance your online visibility.
When you’ve got those orange stars with the number of reviews, you’re distinguishing yourself from your competition and building trust—and that’s before they even make it to your website!
Customers have a voice—so why not use it?
It’s one thing when your customer reviews are being read by other customers, but it’s a whole different story when they’re talking to each other about your brand—and yes, it’s a winning strategy.
Take social media for instance. Consumers always have kept a watchful eye on social media channels looking for what other consumers are saying. Research shows that 1 in 4 social media users follow the brands that they plan to buy from in the future, making customer feedback crucial.
Whether your goal is to increase engagement or boost your credibility, using your customers to spread the word about your brand by using direct quotes, or even publishing a video of them praising your product or service can do wonders for your bottom line.
Sending an email? Pop a review in there
There’s a reason why email marketing is a large part of digital marketing services. It’s the best channel for building relationships and boosting ROI. Research shows that for every $1 spent you generate $36 when it comes to email marketing.
With that kind of return, adding some customer reviews is a great way to build credibility and also see a healthy spike in your conversion and click-through rates.
The next time you’re sending a bulk email to your customer list, why not add a headshot of your customer, the star rating they’ve given you, along with a short review? With a strategy that’s so simple, practically anyone can do it.
Pick a review and turn it into something better
Think back to a review that really caught your eye. Maybe you went back and read it a few times because it made you feel good about your brand. Maybe you have a few reviews that elicit that response.
Pick one and expand on it. Whether you’re picking an individual customer who’s left a great review or someone on behalf of a company that uses your product, give them their own time under the spotlight by writing up a short case study.
Ask them a bunch of questions about how your product helped them, what makes your product different to the others they’ve used, and what they enjoyed most about the product. Use it to create a short case study that’s reader-friendly and make it available on your website, share it as a blog, or even publish it on your social media profiles.
A single short review is great, but when a customer is willing to go the extra mile to take your product to the masses, you know you’ve got something special—and so do prospective customers.
Analyse! Analyse! Analyse!
Reputation is a commodity that’s far too valuable to waste and when customers offer their feedback it’s important to pay attention—whether the feedback praises or criticises your brand.
This is where analysis can help. Oftentimes negative feedback can be far more important than positive ones because it tells you a story about where you are and where you need to be. It can become a roadmap of sorts that brands use to analyse and create better strategies for the future.
For instance, a customer leaving a review that your website is slow and unresponsive should be something that goes to the top of your to-do list because if they’re experiencing it then chances are that others are as well and you can stand to lose a lot of customers.
Don’t just take reviews and feedback at face value. Dig deep and look for things that you can learn from and you’ll be surprised at how much customer feedback and analysis can benefit you.
Customer feedback and analysis—a business staple that needs to be leveraged
If you’ve taken anything away from this post, it should be this: customer feedback and analysis should be your guide to business credibility.
The great thing about customer feedback is that you don’t need to create content to boost your brand. You already have the best brand ambassadors at your fingertips—use them wisely and often!