Any Review Is Marketing
A Michelin star ⭐️ is one of the most desired of all seals of approval in the restaurant industry.
Earning one usually indicates a restaurant of the highest quality, indicating to diners that they are about to take a culinary 🍽 journey that will tantalise the senses and fill the belly. However, that might not always be the case.
Meet Bros', which is Lecce, Italy's sole Michelin-starred restaurant. Everywhereist travel writer ✍️ Geraldine DeRuiter was drawn to visiting the restaurant, having heard 👂 rave reviews and good things about one of the youngest chefs to receive a star, Isabella Potì, as she told TODAY Food in an email. The restaurant is also led by chef Floriano Pellegrino.
As DeRuiter explained in a review of the restaurant that she published on her site, Everywhereist, on Wednesday (December 8), those hours spent consuming 27 courses, "made me feel like I was a character in a Dickensian novel. Because - I cannot impart this enough - there was nothing even close to an actual meal served". With lines like that, it is no surprise 😲 that the review has now gone viral.
What is “Review Marketing”?
Review marketing is vital to the continued success of every business. Customer reviews are the valuable 💰 social proof needed by those looking to finalise purchase decisions based on experience from previous customers. A significant amount of reviews lead up to an overall rating that easily tells whether your brand is worth the investment or if people should go to a competitor. Specifically, customer reviews data shows people need to see 👀 an average of 112 reviews to validate the authenticity of a rating.
For many, having that many customer reviews can be difficult, which makes the art of asking for reviews and building 🧱 a successful review marketing strategy a sought-after practice. Being effective at asking for reviews shows that your business values each customer’s opinion (which also increases their trust 🤝 in you), and that you are turning to them for ways to improve the experience for the next visitor.
After all, only 28% will write customer reviews after a good experience. Proactively requesting their feedback increases 📈 the chances of satisfied customers willing to write a review for you. Those positive reviews can also be used as free yet powerful 💪 marketing assets, which adds to the visual social proof needed for people to purchase from you over time.
Here are 4 ways to turn customer reviews into effective marketing content:
1️⃣ Have a presence on notable review websites
Before asking for customer reviews, you should make sure that your brand has a listing 🗒 you control on popular review sites. The most notable places online where people are likely to leave reviews are Google and Facebook, which hold a combined 76% of all reviews.
The same data shows that of those two sites, it is even more important to get your Google listing up and running. This is because 63% of customers will check your Google listing for reviews before they step through your doors 🚪.
Aside from Google and Facebook, there are plenty of other business review sites that might be worthy of a listing, but you will need to do some research 🧐 of your own to see if these sites are worth your time - and in some cases - money.
2️⃣ Make the review process easy
There are many ways to go about asking for reviews, but the unifying idea 💡 across every method is that the process for writing and submitting a review needs to be as easy as possible. In other words, reduce the friction, or the amount of steps 👣 needed to take when leaving a review.
If you are handing them a physical card at checkout, make sure the link 🔗 you provide in the text is not a long URL. If you ask for a review via SMS 📱 messaging, ensure that the link takes people directly to your online listing and not to a step-by-step process of how to leave a review.
3️⃣ Provide transparency when asking for reviews
When the time ⏰ comes to ask for a review, do not just think of it as a way to get more feedback about your current operations; think 💭 of it as another way to enhance your relationship with each customer. By providing context and transparency as to why you are asking for their review, you cement their place as a valued investor in the success of your business.
4️⃣ Display reviews in the right places
Getting more reviews also means that you have to show the best of your current set of reviews in the right places 📍. In addition to your listings, you can show off your rave reviews on your social media accounts and business website 🌐. Before doing so, keep in mind some general tips when it comes to showing off reviews.
When you share reviews on social media, you should not just make a post about a review and leave it out to dry, similar to listings. Instead, find a way to make it a more valuable 🤑 piece of social media content.
When you share reviews on your website, on the other hand, the most obvious place to implement reviews on your site is on the home 🏠 page. When coupled with appealing images or animated landing pages of your product or service, a customer’s words can easily convince those visiting to learn more about your brand. However, take the time to also find 🔍 other places on your site that could benefit from customer feedback.
If you take the time to listen, implement customer feedback, and engage with customers, you can elevate your brand to new heights that make it easier for you to gain and retain loyal customers. When done correctly, this process becomes a constant cycle that can make any brand the envy of the competition, and it all starts with knowing some of the best practices in asking for reviews. Want to learn more? Talk to us 🤩😎!
References:
Dawn, R. 2021, December 10. 27 courses, very little edible: Review of Michelin-starred restaurant goes viral. TODAY.
Peñaflorida II, R. 2020, August 13. Review Marketing: 4 Ways to Turn Customer Reviews into Effective Marketing Content. Visme.
