A client review is a customer success story and a performance evaluation all wrapped in one. Although you may typically think client reviews are mostly used in B2C businesses, the rise of the review for B2B has become more popular in recent years. Since a buyer’s decision is more complex in B2B purchases, your company reviews can sway their opinion drastically. By paying attention to the reviews left by your clients and managing those reviews properly, you are showing off excellent customer service. Furthermore, there are nuggets of valuable data within client reviews, including positive or negative, that can ultimately help you.
We’ve put together some best practices when it comes to building your review profile and how to engage with your client base. When done correctly, you will have built an inbound marketing channel that requires minimal intervention!
Your Reviews Should Be Easy to Find
Displaying your client reviews on your website or profile will build trust with your prospects. Just the very presence of a review section will act as validation before someone decides to read the reviews themselves. Further, in this study conducted by Moz, Google considers reviews as a search ranking signal and can contribute to your SEO efforts.
If you do not display any reviews, you could risk losing customers who may assume that no reviews can seem suspicious or questionable.
Don’t Be Afraid of Negative Client Reviews
Ideally, negative reviews will address any pain points that your company can improve upon. Embrace this feedback because it will show your willingness to rectify any issues and act as an opportunity to show that you are prepared to fix the problem. Respond to them and show your prospects that your support team is ready, willing and able. According to this helpful infographic summarizing the customer experience, a whopping 88% of customers aren’t as likely to buy from businesses who do not address client reviews at all.
Furthermore, remember that your customer is a business as well. They know that the reality of running a successful business is not always easy. A few bad reviews here and there will indicate legitimacy to the informed customer.
Ask for Feedback
Lacking reviews? Just ask! There is nothing wrong with making this request from current and past clients. LinkedIn cites the most recent Forrester report titled, “Driving Customer Engagement with B2B Ratings and Reviews,” and reveals that “B2B sites must encourage other customers to validate or invalidate existing opinion.”
Tip: Include review submission links in your content marketing and outreach. Promote your review score when appropriate and consider using a pop up on your site.
Communication
Make sure you respond to reviews when you receive them. Use reviews as an opportunity to get to know your clients and users. This type of open dialogue can tell prospects that your responsiveness is an indicator of your reliability. Also, this can encourage your clients to come back or continue using your product or service.
These conversations can take the shape of an interview and as mentioned previously, a review is a customer success story. Read our blog post on how customer success stories can be used in your content marketing strategy.
VA Partners understands that reviews are a piece of marketing that needs to be nurtured. Contact us to learn more about how we can help your review channels to speak volumes!
