How To Build Event Credibility And Authenticity Using Reviews
People look at customer reviews for almost anything! Business, service, products and even events. A good review can get you more stars on Yelp, higher rankings in Google searches, increase redirects to your website or ticket sales, but a bad review can break everything just as quickly.
The trick is to always, always encourage your customers to give reviews based on their experience after attending an event or experiencing your brand. Whether that's following up through email, sending out surveys, creating automated workflows, customer reviews ( good and bad ) can really affect your business. Hosting Tribunal provides the following statistics that prove just how valuable customer reviews are:
- 72% of customers won’t take action until they read reviews.
- 15% of users don’t trust businesses without reviews.
- Only 6% of consumers don’t trust customer reviews at all.
- Google accounts for 57.5% of all reviews worldwide.
- Best-selling products’ have a 4.2-4.7 rating.
- Local businesses have an average of 39 Google reviews.
Gain Credibility & Look Trustworthy
To boost your company or event review count, use this tricks and tactics:
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Encourage staff and volunteers to share feedback online. This is for building your work-event environment reputation online and bringing in more extra-hands for the next one. No matter the industry, the more information volunteers see about you online the more help you'll get.
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When people read positive things online about your brand, they are more likely going to be attracted to your business. People like to have a good feeling about the companies or events they attend beforehand. Make sure to highlight any good reviews or testimonies about how your event on your social platforms, website pages or landing pages.
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The more reviews you have, the stronger your online presence. Having an online presence helps customers see that you are relevant in your industry and that you're proactive in tackling current problems or providing solutions. They want to work with someone that is activity engaging with their community. That is why it is also good to comment/respond to any reviews you get; whether it be addressing their issues or thanking them for a good review.
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Reviews make you look real and not a scam business. If you have a history and customers/brands that people recognize, you will look more legit.
- Make sure you provide a central location where people can find your reviews such as on Capterra or other reviewing softwares. You can even create a category on YouTube with testimonial videos.
Consumer Feedback & Connection To Consumer
When clients share their feedback, you can then gain extremely valuable insights about what you are doing right and what needs to be fixed. Positive feedback is always preferred, but negative feedback can also be an opportunity to improve your processes or help a customer. So you should welcome both!
Reacting, constructively and professionally (see example above) to negative feedback shows that you care what your customers have to say seriously. Nothing says great customer service like responding quickly to a negative comment. If people can see that you are doing your best to help the customer and make it right, it will improve your brand's authenticity.
Wesley Ward, a marketing expert for an online kitchen and bathroom renovator; explains:
“Always make sure you respond to reviews both negative and positive. Especially in the age of social media, people expect responses quickly. You do not have to respond right away but make sure to respond within an appropriate amount of time. This shows that you stay up to date with your business and care to keep customers”.
When responding to negative reviews, perhaps try to offer the customer a discount or gesture to make up for their inconvenience and as a form of an apology. If it is an issue that can be solved on your end, solve it quickly and let the customer know what you have done.
When others look, they will see that you accepted your mistake and tried to make up for it. Knowing that you acknowledged and solved a problem can do more than simply getting a review of a trouble-free experience.
Play A Role In Decision Making
Customer reviews add word of mouth conversations; meaning people share their experiences amongst each other. Word of your company will spread through these conversations, so make sure that people have good experiences to share.
Advice from Jeff Arnett, CEO of an event security product company:
“When other individuals are recommending your product or service to others, it encourages them to become a customer as well. There are many other businesses that your clients can go to, but when they look at customer reviews, they want to see why they should go to yours instead”.
People want the best products, the best restaurants, the best experience for themselves and they will look online to those they already trust to avoid wasting time on unknowns. Encourage your clients to post or blog about your products and services. Offer rewards or incentives, such as a discount on new products or accessories reviews in return.
Consider adding video testimonials online such as within your site or on social media (great form of content to share with others). A perfect example is shown below by real estate expert Sacha Ferrandi, founder of Texas Hard Money First. Within their site they include a specific section where customers can see what previous clients have to say about their experience with their services.
Online reviews can help develop your brand and your company’s reputation. If people can see that others have attend your event prior and enjoyed it, they will be more likely to want to try it for themselves than if they don’t see that anyone has used previously attended.
Encourage happy and satisfied customers to leave reviews on sites like Yelp, Google, Capterra or email them to you to contribute to your site. Create social media campaigns for your products and encourage customers to talk about you on social media with event hashtags and giveaways. A wide range of exposure will get your company’s name out there and make it more likely that others will see you as well.
Author: Karina Mojica
Karina Mojica is a contributor editor for 365 Business Tips. From sunny Los Angeles; California State University, Dominguez Hills she made her way back home to beautiful San Diego. She has a degree in Marketing, with experience in PR, and social media marketing.
