You might have been told a million times, “care less about what people say”. This is true in most cases. It can help you develop thick skin and achieve the impossible. But when it comes to business, you have got to be all ears! Knowing what people have to say is as essential as the air we breathe!
In our last post we mentioned the importance of content. It can be a means of communicating with your consumers. But content isn’t restricted to what you say! Consumer comments and reviews about you are also linked to content. And they have the power to build your brand as well as shatter it into a million pieces.
Why should you care?
Let’s put it in simple terms, have you ever heard people talking (or been part of the conversation) about, “where can you get the best shoes or clothes or gadgets?” When you ask your friends to suggest a good place to eat, you’ll get a list of places with experiences or comments attached! Like, Domino’s is too pricy, the local pizza joint is too crowded, John’s Café has no variety! If either of these places knew what people were saying, they could come up with solutions.
Now think product wise, wouldn’t it be nice to know what people are saying about your products? What are they telling their friends, family and even complete strangers? As a seller you need to be aware of this fact – “people will talk no matter what you do.”
Learning experience
Even business leaders like Sir Richard Branson believe we can learn a thing or two from our consumers. He says, “Your education really begins on the day you open the doors to customers.” Your main goal as a seller should be to meet your ultimate consumer’s needs. By listening to them speak, you understand them and their needs better. This way you know what’s going wrong where and you can device a suitable solution. At the same time you will learn what works and needs more effort.
Competition
Did you know your customers are checking out your competitors as well? Yup you are not the only one they’ve been shopping with! Hearing them out will give you insights on their thoughts and feeling towards your competitors. Take this classic example, a consumer has a bad experience with you, so they say the products of XYZ seller seem way better. Some may even explain why, saying – they charge more but the product is worth the price. Do not dismiss this comment! Look into the specified seller. See what he is willing to offer that you are not, incorporate what you’ve learnt into your selling strategy. And by all means, make sure you let the dissatisfied consumer know how you have rectified the issue they experienced with your services.
Predict the future
Simply knowing what customers are saying about you is enough to predict their future requirements. In some cases the predictions will be handed to you on a silver platter. Your delivery options may be good and customers may have praised you about them too. But one shopper says, “Hey, why don’t you guys offer same day deliver?” Consider why you don’t offer this facility. Check with your resources and see if it could be a possibility. Do you see how listening helps? So jump at the opportunity to hear what people are saying about you!
Bad reviews hurt
A single bad review can hurt your business. Since it is up for the world to see, you could lose a major chunk of conversions. In 2015, business.com said around 77% of people read reviews before buying. More than half of the online shopping community is interested in knowing consumers opinions and experiences with a particular seller and his products. Would you risk the possibility of losing 77% of your consumers all because of one lousy review?
SEO loves reviews!
Search engines are on the lookout for fresh new content, which means, customer reviews can serve to your advantage. And since so many people want to see reviews they tend to enter a “product name + reviews” into their search engine. If you happen to have reviews linked to your product, you could rank better in search rankings; meaning more traffic and more sales.
How do you listen to what consumers are saying about you?
Alright so we know the benefits of being a fly on the wall, but how do we get on with the process of hearing what people have to say?
Read your own reviews!
This is a great way to start. Read through your reviews and pick out the negative ones and the ones with suggestions. Try to get in touch with the bad reviewers to see if you can patch things up. As for good suggestions give them a thumbs up so reviewers know you are listening. When you come across positive reviews give yourself a pat on the back because you deserve it.
Tune into social channels
Get on social media and let your consumers know you are there too. Social mediums like Facebook and Twitter act a neutral ground, so consumers will feel free to say whatever they want about you and your competition. They may even compare you and point out your flaws. Check your business model and your functioning to see if this makes sense.
Call up your customers
Online sellers sell hundreds of goods. So in addition to dealing with inventory, maintaining your relation with suppliers, enforcing quality checks, dealing with legal matters and financial matters, customer relations takes the strain. With the assistance of ecommerce you do not worry about interacting with the consumer.
How does it work?
Step 1 – Call the customer
The customer relationship team at Browntape call every customer who has made a recent purchase from you. The purpose of the call is to gain feedback. Based on the information retrieved from the consumer, we label it as positive or negative feedback. Customers are then sent a link to post their reviews online.
Step 2 – Control the situation
The best way to pacify an unhappy customer is to identify their problems and provide a plan of action. That works for both sides the buyer and the seller. Our customer specialists carefully listen to the issues of each customer and provide instant answers. The most popular inconvenience leading to bad reviews is delayed refunding. To control the situation the consumer will be informed about the process and when they can expect to receive payment.
Step 3 – Remove negative reviews
It takes just one piece of negativity to bring down a business. So we make sure every negative comment is converted into a positive one. Once an unhappy consumer is satisfied by their standards they can be requested to take down their negative reviews. Prompt action can control the damage!
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