How to Use Customer Reviews to Increase Sales

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In many cases, reviews are more effective at driving sales than promotional content and paid advertising. Customer reviews influence the purchasing decisions since it boosts their trust in the business. 

Customer reviews in marketing are a form of social proof. According to the social proof psychology principle, when people are uncertain, they will seek guidance from others. In this context, the experience of others shared through testimonials can help influence an undecided buyer.

They act as a strong motivator for choosing you over your competitors. They are a powerful influence in the buying process since it helps customers feel like they’re not alone.

Here are a variety of ways to use customer reviews in your marketing and sales materials.

1. Make a social media post about them.

Sharing reviews on social media is a powerful way to get your fan’s and followers’ attention, convert them to new clients, and influence their purchasing habits.

You can’t just copy and paste reviews from the review portals if you’re looking to have an impact. It’s important that you find reviews that are worthy of being displayed. Then, when publishing them on social media, build an on-brand design.

You may use design tools to help you in producing review posts similar to Ecwid’s post.

This type of post will inspire more customers to share their thoughts about your brand. However, here are some tips to keep in mind when you use customer reviews on social media:

• Don’t use the entire customer review. Choose one section and, if applicable, add a link to the entire review in the body of your post.
• It’s better to incorporate customer pictures and videos in the post
• Don’t only focus on positive reviews. Make a review post that identifies and resolves client concerns to show your customer that you can handle their complaints.
• You can also reshare customer reviews postings (retweets, stories, and shares).

Don’t forget to praise customers for their feedback. Use these postings to encourage them to share more with you.

2. Include customer reviews in your pitch deck.

If you are involved in B2B sales, you probably have a pitch deck. Your pitch deck is a visual support for a sales meeting. It gives the people you are talking with something to focus on while you are talking.

You will also use a pitch deck to help you structure your approach to the sales meeting. The pitch deck should have a clear start, middle, and end. You begin by explaining the services you offer. Then you reveal the results you have got for other clients before finally sharing how your offering will benefit the prospect.

It is in that second stage that you should include your client testimonials. Here’s an example of a testimonial used in a pitch deck from the marketing agency Richter.

Source

When including customer reviews, make sure they’re engaging. Use photos, and if possible, get a quote that shows the benefits that your product or service generated for the business. Increasing revenue, saving time, improving efficiency are all things that a prospective customer will find appealing.

When selecting a testimonial for your sales pitch deck, you should pick a well-known company. Ideally, the testimonial should come from a business in a similar niche to the prospect you are meeting. 

Finally, always present your pitch deck in a sales meeting with prospects. If you are unable to meet the prospect in person, you could always do a video call. You can use a cloud phone system for the meeting.

3. Create infographics based on customer reviews.

Infographic testimonials are visually appealing. According to AnsonAlex, well-designed infographics are 30 times more likely to be read than text content.

They attract your consumers’ attention, allowing you to market your customer reviews. Make the infographic visually appealing and easy to digest rather than simply presenting some data in text format.

You may use them in a case study to boost your company’s reputation, or you can include them in a blog post to support the promotion you are giving. They’re especially effective when combined with a call-to-action button.

4. Use video testimonials as a marketing tool.

Having genuine customers speak about their experiences with your product or service in a video is a great way to use customer reviews.

Video testimonials are ideal for website homepages, social media, and emails. They help you to meet your consumers’ expectations, answer their questions and drive conversion.

99design, for example, features a testimonials page with a video testimonial on the top, followed by written reviews.

It may be tough to obtain this type of customer review, but here are some tips for when you do:

• Create a list of questions around how they use your product or service. Focus on the problems they faced before coming to you and how the product or service benefited them.
• Focus on the experience of a single, prominent customer. Use an interview format to let them share their experiences.
• Ensure you choose a suitable location to shoot the video. It should be well lit, quiet, and look nice.
• Avoid influencing the customer’s opinion in any way and encourage them to talk openly about your product or service.
• Feature your customer video testimonial prominently alongside your sales and marketing materials.

A good video testimonial should employ the customer’s narrative in their voice to persuade your audience to believe and take action.

5. Make use of review badges.

Review badges allow you to display your business’s reviews from a third-party source (Google My Business, Trustpilot, Amazon, etc.) on your website. 

This type of trust badge is all about influencing the buyer’s internet, building trust, and displaying the credibility of your business. This also demonstrates credibility that there is no manipulation in your reviews.

The Glasses Direct store, for example, displays Trustpilot among other trust badges, and visitors can read reviews by clicking on it.

Placing reviews and ratings from reputed companies will have a significant influence on conversion rate and sales. Also, it would be more appropriate to include them on relevant landing pages.

Bottom Line

Positive online business reviews are valuable. You can expand your business by creating an effective marketing strategy based on customer reviews. That strategy relies on one of the crucial sources of sales, trust.

People want to see proof that your company is legitimate. Customer reviews provide that platform. Furthermore, they help you understand your consumers’ demands and improve your industry presence. 

Let’s not forget that people trust customer reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends. So, constantly use customer reviews combined with other marketing strategies. You’ll see your desired results.