Testimonials are the best! Nothing boosts confidence more so than receiving a positive testimonial about your business from a satisfied customer. Depending on how well-known your company is, odds are you’ve seen a lot of testimonials about you online.
Have you ever wondered, though, what to do with all this testimony? Or how to address the ones that really stink – the ones that can do a company’s reputation more harm than good? Wonder no more. We’ve got some great tips for you on how to use all those testimonials to your company’s advantage – yes, even the negative ones.
Put them in More than One Place
Are you proud of a particular service you offer to your customers – and is the feeling mutual? If you have a lot of testimony to go around, or even if you only have one or two good ones, there’s more than just a static web page you can display them on.
Try placing your most positive testimonials at the bottom of each web page, with a call to action beneath that testimonial. Odds are higher that anyone curious to check out your services is more likely to check out reviews on those pages than they are to willingly click on a static testimonials web page. It’s a nice reminder to those visiting your website that you genuinely have something to offer.
Speaking of offering something…
Use them on Product Web Pages
Is your website an online shop rather than a traditional website? If so, this is where you really need to put that praise to good use. A review on your product can really swing an online shopper’s opinion as to whether or not it’s worth buying, so the more positive reviews you feature, the more likely you’re able to convince someone to click that good ol’ “Add to Cart” button, resulting in much more follow through action in sales.
Use in Social Media Marketing
Having testimonials should not be limited to your website. Invite followers to leave a comment on your social media accounts as well, or you can ask those visiting your business’s physical building if they want to have their feedback featured online via a referral. Encourage others to leave comments and promote positive aspects of your business.
This is just a few of the many ways to receive feedback that can be put to use…which, unfortunately, could also mean receiving negative comments.
How to Handle the Bad and the Ugly
Make your immediate public response to negative comments professional. You can also try doing the following, if this gives you difficulty:
- First and foremost, breathe. It’s likely that whatever the negative comment is saying is meant to hurt your feelings and provoke a reaction more than anything.
- Second, calm down. Try approaching the comment in a different light; laugh, instead of cry at how wrong they may be about your business.
- Third, really look at the comment and what it’s implying. If it’s a genuine complaint, ask how you can help make their experience better. If there are many complaints in a similar vein, it might be time to take a look at your business and figure out what’s gone wrong and what can be done to improve the cause for complaint.
- Finally, respond to the comment as professionally as you can. Whatever you do, don’t get angry and lower yourself to the level of name-calling and inappropriate behavior that most negative comments leave. Address what’s wrong, if it’s a legitimate complaint, and see if you and the commentator can come to a solution together. Just because they’re behind a computer screen doesn’t make them anonymous, or any less human. If you’re feeling too wounded or emotional from their feedback, however, it may be best to get someone else to respond as professionally as possible.
We hope this helps you put your positive reviews to better use. If you need assistance with getting better reviews, or reviews at all, perhaps we at V3 Media can help. We can build you a website that will showcase your business in the best light, testimony and all.