Conversational marketing is rapidly becoming a must-have for companies looking to stay ahead of the competition. This innovative approach signals a shift from traditional marketing norms. Unlike one-way communication, it fosters dynamic, two-way customer interactions, creating a more engaging and personalized experience.
Let’s examine why it works so well for sparking conversation and how you can easily implement it in your business.
Conversational marketing is a means of facilitating human-like conversations with the use of chatbots, voice assistants, and messaging apps to interact with customers and prospects in real-time.
The personalized communications you can generate using conversational marketing help build deeper consumer relationships and provide a seamless customer experience.
It is a quick and convenient way to interact with customers and offers many benefits for businesses, including increased engagement, improved customer satisfaction, higher conversion rates, and reduced operational costs.
The integration of conversational marketing doesn’t call for a radical transformation. Instead, it’s comparable to activating a supplementary lead generation channel that aligns with the current marketing strategies.
Simplified within the conversational framework, the following steps follow a clear and straightforward progression:
Initiating conversations forms the core of conversational marketing. It’s about creating a dynamic and responsive communication channel, akin to opening a two-way street for connection and accessibility.
The next step involves actively comprehending customer needs. Conversational marketing goes beyond surface-level exchanges. It dives into understanding the nuances of customer expectations and concerns.
This preference for messaging channels speaks to the desire for instant, convenient, and personalized interactions. Conversational marketing capitalizes on this trend, offering customers a direct and responsive avenue to gather information, seek assistance, and make informed decisions.
Here are some of the benefits conversational marketing can bring to your business.
Conversational marketing creates a personalized and responsive interaction space.
TechCrunch is a noteworthy example of effective chatbot integration for its operations. Through its chatbot functionality, users have the flexibility to access timely and relevant content at their convenience. Users can also customize their experience by specifying the frequency and type of fresh content they desire to receive.
Real-time interactions through conversational marketing are instrumental in swift problem resolution.
Slack, a popular collaboration platform, employs real-time chat for customer support. This has resulted in a notable reduction in issue resolution time, allowing businesses to address challenges promptly.
Automated chatbots, for instance, can handle routine queries, reducing the workload on customer support teams. Approximately 79% of companies state that introducing a conversational marketing bot has resulted in positive customer loyalty, sales, and revenue outcomes.
By facilitating real-time, personalized customer interactions, conversational marketing creates a more engaging and trust-building experience that significantly enhances the likelihood of conversions.
Belgian insurance bank Belfius aimed to enhance efficiency and reduce employee burden. By implementing Chatlayer’s artificial intelligence (AI) bot, customers can now easily communicate their claims, allowing the bot to streamline the process. This innovation has significantly improved the conversion rate by 87% compared to the traditional claim forms.
Leading brands strategically implement conversational marketing for improved insights into customer requirements and expectations.
Oracle deploys chatbots for personalized customer inquiries by adapting services to individual needs.
Businesses can effectively navigate fluctuating customer interactions with conversational marketing.
Salesforce, a key player in business-to-business (B2B) customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, effectively scales customer engagement using AI-driven chat. This allowed them to manage the increase in user interactions during peak periods, showing the adaptability of conversational marketing in meeting fluctuating demands.
In B2B relationships, fostering customer loyalty is instrumental for long-term partnerships.
Microsoft employs conversational marketing through personalized communication channels. By offering exclusive insights, support, and tailored recommendations, Microsoft has increased customer loyalty and retention.
Tailoring interactions to individual preferences, conversational marketing reshapes and enhances customer experiences.
Erica, Bank of America’s virtual assistant, delivers individualized financial guidance to users. Utilizing natural language processing (NLP), the chatbot comprehends user queries and offers assistance. Erica assists users with tasks such as bank account management, expense tracking, bill payments, etc.
Image source: bankofamerica.com
Creating a conversational marketing strategy is an iterative process. As your clients’ preferences shift, so will your strategy. We have devised a fixed structure you can work on and modify as you go.
Identifying clear business goals and metrics is key to a successful conversational marketing strategy. Begin by pinpointing the following.
Customer behavior is the entry gate to successful conversational marketing. Here, you’ll find all the info you need on your target audience, what pushes them along the sales funnel, and what ultimately closes the sale. To get a complete grasp on customer behavior, you need to look into the following aspects.
Choosing the right channels for conversational marketing involves considering various factors such as target audience, budget, company goals, and customer behavior. Here are some of the most effective channels we’ve come across.
Image source: X.com
To create a comprehensive and cohesive customer experience, you need to sync conversational marketing with other marketing strategies. Here are some examples of how companies have successfully achieved that.
Image source: hellotars.com
Personalization is a key aspect of conversational marketing and can be achieved by implementing the following strategies.
A company needs the following tools to successfully create and implement a conversational marketing strategy.
Next, we’ll explore some successful examples of conversational marketing, showcasing how dynamic and personalized communication can significantly enhance customer engagement.
Japanese clothing retail company UNIQLO strategically employs conversational marketing with its chatbot, emphasizing the brand’s dedication to delivering personalized, engaging, and user-friendly interactions. Beyond online browsing, the chatbot offers practical features like a store locator, allowing customers to find nearby stores effortlessly.
Also, including information about returns showcases the comprehensive support for the customer journey.
Image source: uniqlo.com
Fast-fashion retailer H&M is another example of how well conversational marketing works, especially for retail companies. Their “HM Service Bot” provides customers with real-time support, including product recommendations, order tracking, and customer service.
SMS proves to be a convenient marketing channel, offering benefits to both customers and brands. To illustrate this, Domino’s Pizza introduced its AnyWare initiative, allowing customers to order through channels such as SMS with Apple Carplay, Alexa, or Apple Watch. Through this innovative approach, customers can simply send an 🍕 emoji to order their preferred pizza after setting up their default choice.
Image source: dominos.com
The way Umzu employs conversational commerce stands out as a compelling example. Their chosen method involves a quiz, where users engage by answering basic questions, leading to the revelation of products tailored to their needs.
Image source: umzu.com
A less-known example of conversational marketing done right is brought to you by Framebridge. The online custom framing company enabled a live chat feature that allows customers to chat with a company rep in real time. This type of support is personalized and offers quick response times, which the clients appreciated because it led to a standout customer experience.
The examples we listed above are just a small proof of what conversational marketing can do for any business, regardless of profile, size, or years on the market. It is, by far, the easiest way to provide excellent customer support in any situation, with reduced costs.
Image source: framebridge.com
Conversational marketing is a game-changer for companies looking to boost their customer engagement and build a more personal relationship with their audience.
Not only does it provide a more personalized experience, but it also offers extensive data on how to improve customer satisfaction and drive business results. In an era when competition is fierce and attention is hard to come by, companies that adopt conversational marketing hold the competitive edge.
Stay tuned to our blog for more tips on how to improve your customer communication!
Looking for strategies on how to grow your business is a never-ending process. To gain a competitive edge and expand your organization at a steady pace, you have to constantly adapt your current strategies and stay on top of the latest trends in your industry.
As you read through this article, you’ll notice some tactics that are not used that often, like mass text messaging for business, and others that are time-tested processes, like creating buyer personas. There are four main areas where you can boost growth—marketing, sales, customer experience, and operations—which are all described below.
Consider some of the following strategies if you wish to steadily expand your business:
Coming up with a marketing plan that perfectly aligns your sales, marketing, and service teams should start with setting rough estimates. Think about how much you need to spend over a specific period (year, quarter, month) and include every associated cost (paid ads, marketing tools, maintenance expenses, etc.).
Then, consider which strategies have the potential to maximize your ROI, and expand them.
Pick the strategy that suits you best and set aside a more significant part of the budget to develop it. If you’re not sure how to get started, check out these marketing plan examples.
An effective marketing automation strategy requires a top-notch contact list. Improving your calls to action, gating content, and pushing marketing opt-ins will enhance the size and quality of your list. It will also improve the likelihood that qualified leads will enter your sales funnel.
Here are nine quick list-building strategies to get you started:
Your marketing list should also include established customers or unconverted leads you can remarket to. This is a cost-effective way to grow your business by using audiences that already know about your product or service.
Try to reach out to previous clients with your texting campaigns and email blasts and tell them about your new services or product features. Send out special offers and remind them of your product’s benefits and new ways to profit.
Integrated multi-channel remarketing campaigns work best when it comes to targeting interested prospects and can be twice as effective as single-channel campaigns.
Over three-quarters of surveyed businesses use remarketing on their social media platforms and 69% remarket on Google Ads | Image source: 99firms.com
Engage people using YouTube, Google, or Facebook ads. Create clean banner ads using a catchy CTA that stands out, and make sure customers can relate to the message you’re sending.
Take it one step further by personalizing your ad distribution according to every stage of the user’s journey. Addressing pain points in your copy is a very effective technique that will generate relevant traffic to your website.
To expand your reach, develop an event strategy. Building close relationships with potential customers is often a decisive factor in closing a sale. If you don’t have an event strategy, consider hiring an event marketer or salesperson to help you start gaining traction at events.
You could also hire an intern to network on your company’s behalf. Event marketing and experience management are both factors that contribute significantly to new lead generation.
In addition to attending events, try hosting them at your office to give clients and potential leads a sneak peek into the creative process.
This is a great way for prospects to learn about your product and meet your employees face to face. In-store events can attract new customers, especially if you’re running a small, local business.
No doubt you’ve had a go at social media marketing in the past. It’s one of the easiest channels to fall behind on. If you haven’t been successful on one channel, try another platform to see whether your content resonates with different audiences.
Social media takes your message to a global audience instead of limiting it to your local community. The only thing you should be aware of is that, because of different demographics, expectations around your social media content will also vary by platform:
Text messaging is a dynamic tool you can use in a variety of ways to grow your business in 2023. You can send promotional texts, reminders, and offers, or even deliver instant customer support. Business texting is also incredibly cost-effective.
Like email, you can run campaigns from your computer using a mass text messaging service. These services allow you to track the performance of your messages so you can optimize them as needed.
Here’s an example of a promotional text message that will help you boost sales and increase the number of your subscribers:
Especially in a B2B context, webinars make great evergreen content that you can reuse time and time again. To attract a maximum number of customers, start with a high-level topic related to your business.
As you learn the ropes, it will become an important niche where you can attract qualified prospects. Your webinar doesn’t have to be perfect from the outset. Be consistent with your webinars, as each experience will help you improve in the future. Here’s a master checklist to get you through your first webinar.
If you aren’t active on Quora or Reddit, you’re missing out on interacting with interested customers. On Quora, people ask industry-specific questions, and anyone who holds relevant information can post answers.
You can also include links in your answers to direct people to your site. Reddit groups are very active, as well. However, Reddit users are more sensitive to self-promotion.
But Reddit and Quora are only the start. There are so many other Q&A platforms and content aggregators, closed Facebook books, or communities that can help spread the word about your business. Inbound, GrowthHackers, and Medium are just a few of them.
As you start growing your business, automate more of your marketing strategies. Automation enables you to spend less time crafting individual campaigns and allows you to A/B test or experiment with different strategies.
A great tip on automation involves personalizing communications across all channels. Send your clients anniversary emails that hit the spot, include numbers (“we’ve been emailing for 365 days now”), and end with an anniversary gift (30% off on the next purchase, etc.).
To drive engagement and promote your product effectively on YouTube, you need to:
Buyer personas tell you everything you need to know about your target customers. Knowing your audience helps you optimize your content and improve your sales calls. To begin, comb through the data to learn more about your customers.
Then, put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Finally, interview customers or send out surveys. These can help you learn more about buying habits, product use cases, and demographics.
It’s no secret the sales floor can become stale the longer agents work at your business. Don’t hesitate to rotate staff to fresh roles. If that doesn’t add a spark, add new team members to keep the energy high.
If your sales team follows a script, spend time reworking the script or testing new pitches with members of your team. If you can split-test your digital marketing, why not split-test your sales pitch too?
A vital part of any sales strategy is knowing and understanding your competition. Your business will grow more rapidly if your pricing, pitch, and products differentiate it from what is already available on the market. What’s more, high competition will spark product innovation and introduce your product to a new set of customers.
How do you ensure continued customer satisfaction after a sale? At the very least, aim to develop a process of conducting a follow-up to offer additional services and resolve any minor issues that might arise. This will encourage customers to use your product and service again in the future.
To make it easier for clients to respond, try offering numbered options:
When was the last time you updated your website? In the last few years, user experience has consistently improved. If you want to grow your business, the UX of your website is a great way to start. Nowadays, customers are less conservative and might appreciate periodical changes in design and functionality if these improve their user experience.
This year, consider revamping your page so it’s easier to navigate—and refresh its message. It’s estimated that 74% of people will switch brands if the purchasing process is too difficult, and an outdated web page is very hard to navigate.
Successful businesses always encourage feedback from customers. To facilitate this, you can automate processes to request reviews and gather feedback. Getting an NPS score for your organization is an increasingly popular strategy, even for small businesses. Moreover, this will help give you a quick overview of your customer satisfaction levels.
While the customer service and sales departments have the most interaction with customers, the rest of the company should also act as a client interface. This helps contextualize the end user and gives employees a purpose: they get to see how the product benefits someone’s life and business.
Consider organizing get-togethers with customers at your place of business. Set up a program to help teams in marketing, finance, and accounting, and give customers a unique opportunity to see how new products are developed—while you benefit from the customers’ priceless insights.
Many of the suggestions so far talk about developing processes that automate and streamline your business. You should investigate every department and process to see what can be optimized to spark business growth.
Don’t forget to keep a close eye on your numbers. There are so many platforms that can report on your business and help optimize its processes. Most importantly, a healthy dose of analytics will also highlight new growth opportunities you may have overlooked
One of the best ways to spark business growth is to invest in your team. Keeping them motivated will improve performance and increase your business’s bottom line. If employees enjoy working for you, they’ll tell their friends, and the referrals will expand your organization’s talent pool.
In addition to that, you shouldn’t hesitate to use new strategies—consider adding new technology solutions or even purchasing a new analytics system. Use innovation to your advantage: as far as automation goes, finding the mass text messaging service that’s the best fit for your business will take some research, but the results will make it worth your while.
To successfully run a small business, you need to figure out which strategies can give you as much traction as possible over a short period. Cost and time are the main factors to consider when starting small, and this is where a small business website comes in.
Using your website to its full potential is essential for offering maximum value to your customers and, in time, a maximum return on investment for your company.
Here is what you need to consider when building a small business website that is meant to attract new clients and seamlessly lead them through your sales funnel.
Image source: fitsmallbusiness.com
Most business owners’ first thought when launching a company is to see whether the domain name they want is available. Sometimes your ideal .com is there in a flash, and other times you need to get creative.
Secure your brand or company name as a domain name as soon as you have found it. If you’re unsure where to start when choosing the right name for your business domain, simply follow these instructions.
You must own your brand name to guarantee brand protection and help your target audience find you in search engine result pages (SERPs) like Google.
To choose a domain name related to your company’s location, look into country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). A TLD is your domain name extension, such as .com, .net, or .org.
A ccTLD is related to the country the business operates in, such as .ca, .uk, or .fr. A ccTLD is a great way to drive traffic from local customers and tell search engines that you are targeting a specific region.
If you’re looking for a domain name that shows what products or services your company offers, there are plenty of specific TLDs, such as .yoga, .realtor, .recipes, and more.
These TLDs help customers understand whether your business offers exactly what they want. For example, if you’re a coffee shop with a .cafe and .coffee domain, you let customers know you have a physical location and sell coffee!
There are many ways to research domains online:
As a small business, you should choose a straightforward platform to set up and deploy. The design should be easy to customize, reflect the brand and appeal to their target audience.
It can be overwhelming for small businesses to choose the right website platform and content management system (CMS) since many options are available. We recommend six platforms for setting up your small business website.
These are just a few examples of website platforms and CMS tools that you can easily set up. When choosing a platform, consider critical factors such as:
Your web design is critical to attracting customers and driving them further along the sales funnel until they convert. There are many things to consider regarding website design to ensure it meets your key performance indicators (KPIs) and resonates with your target market.
Proper branding and brand recognition are significant elements of your small business website design. When members of your target market see your ad on TV or walk by your store, will they see that your website reflects the branding they have seen elsewhere?
If it doesn’t, this inconsistency may affect the consumer’s likelihood of remaining on your website or confuse when the consumer lands on your page. Ensure your website’s branding aligns with the initiatives you have pushed elsewhere.
Your website design should be created with your audience in mind. Your potential clients want web pages that load fast. A 2-second delay in load times leads to 87% abandonment rates. Optimizing images is an easy way to minimize load time. This will improve the performance of your small business website and boost its Google rankings.
It’s essential that, regardless of how your target market finds you, your website is mobile-optimized. Mobile optimization and responsive design are necessary to improve your website’s overall UX and SEO.
🎯 These aspects can also increase conversions and push customers from your landing page throughout the rest of your website. If the page potential customers land on while browsing on a mobile or tablet device is not optimized for their screen size, people may become frustrated and navigate away.
The hero section of your website’s home page is the first thing visitors see when they land on your site.
You only have a few seconds to capture their attention and convince them to keep browsing, so make sure the following elements stand out: a clear description of your site, what your business can do for your visitors, and some of the benefits of the package.
This is what you should do to effectively communicate your website’s purpose and value proposition.
In February 2023, 60% of all website traffic came from people using mobile devices. This makes it apparent that small businesses should ensure their website is optimized for mobile users.
Mobile optimization means a website’s design, layout, and functionality to ensure it’s user-friendly on mobile devices. Here are some easy tips for small businesses or non-tech people to improve their website’s mobile performance.
Your website should offer content that not only interests your audience but also provides actual value to them. High-value content targeting your audience’s search queries will help boost your website in organic searches. Your website should properly explain how your product works and its benefits.
Content marketing is a game of quantity and quality, with business blogging leading to a 55% increase in website visitors. Your business becomes a thought leader by constantly publishing relevant content that proves your first-hand experience.
📰 Use a blog section to dive into trending or complex topics surrounding your business. If your customers can rely on you to answer all their questions, they’ll know they can trust your business to satisfy their needs. Blog content can also attract customers who may have thought to search for your business or products otherwise.
Your website should have a direct link for people to get in touch, whether via text message, your custom domain email, phone, contact form or chatbot. Albeit pricey, chatbots ensure potential customers can directly access you or your support team and build a real connection. SMS, email, and contact forms are easier to implement.
Ensure that your customers can easily find your contact information to get in touch quickly and easily. You should also test your contact form constantly to make sure it works.
The ultimate goal of your small business website is to drive conversions. This can be done by strategically placing call-to-action (CTA) buttons within your websites. Here are the most impactful places to add your CTAs.
🗺️ You can increase your website engagement and conversions by displaying unique CTAs based on the user’s journey. The secret lies in placing the right CTAs in the right spots without overwhelming visitors.
A solid online presence is crucial to attracting and retaining customers, especially for small businesses. By optimizing their website to rank higher in search engine results, small businesses attract more organic traffic and significantly improve their visibility on local listings.
Here are the main SEO strategies that will have the most significant impact on your small business website and a few tips on implementing them correctly.
📈 SEO is a long-term strategy that requires ongoing effort and patience. Focusing on the above tips can improve your website’s visibility, attract more local customers, and grow your business online.
Businesses can gather valuable insights into their website’s traffic, user behavior, and conversion rates by correctly implementing analytics.
The easiest way to start collecting data is by configuring Analytics and Webmaster tools on Google and Bing. Webmaster tools will also help you monitor website health and identify technical issues that may negatively affect search engine rankings.
Here’s how to set up Google Analytics (GA).
This is how you set up the Google Search Console (GSC).
✅ If you use WordPress Yoast and have already verified your website with Google Search Console, you can skip the verification step for Bing webmaster tools.
Building a great small business website requires attention to detail and a commitment to providing value to your customers. Follow the steps mentioned in this article to create a site that looks great and performs above average in driving traffic, generating leads, and increasing revenue.
In today’s highly competitive business environment, customer loyalty gives companies a competitive edge and helps them thrive. Why is building loyalty so crucial?
Naturally, loyal customers shop regularly. Also, 36.5% of them will spend more on a product even when they can find it at a lower price elsewhere. Also, 59.3% of loyal shoppers will strongly recommend the brands they love to friends and family.
Winning a first-time customer requires investing 5 times more than keeping a loyal one.
Therefore, many businesses recognize that keeping their repeat clients is a top priority in their marketing strategy. We’ll share three effective ways to build relationships of trust and loyalty with your customers.
Let’s start by discussing the very concept.
Customer loyalty is the emotional attachment customers have to a brand, making them return again and again long after they’ve made their first purchase. Loyalty results from positive experiences with a brand that build engagement and trust.
Customer loyalty can be seen as five stages, each one increasing the level of commitment a client manifests to your brand:
Your goal is to guide your customer from the Awareness stage to the Advocacy stage. This means increasing loyalty and requires understanding where your customer is along their journey and what they need.
Meet the following six types of your loyal customers:
Thus, segmenting customers will enable you to address them effectively in your loyalty marketing. To develop effective strategies to increase your client’s engagement and commitment, you also need to quantify loyalty.
You can gain valuable and actionable insights by combining operation metrics and experience data. Let’s go through the metrics that can help you measure customer loyalty:
NPS determines how many customers are satisfied with their experience and will promote your products or services to others.
To measure NPS, create a simple customer satisfaction survey. Ask your clients to mark their level of satisfaction or willingness to recommend your business on a zero to ten scale. Then, send the survey out, and use the Touchpoint NPS Calculator to determine your NPS based on the survey results.
This is the percentage of customers that have stopped using your service or purchasing your product.
The Touchpoint Churn Rate Calculator allows you to determine the churn rate of your SaaS and gain an understanding of your customers’ level of loyalty.
CLI helps track loyalty over time. A CLI survey is like an NPS survey but collects additional data about repeated purchases. It uses a one (“Definitely Yes”) to six (“Definitely No”) scale and is based on questions, such as:
A CLI survey repeated from time to time helps you follow changes and better tailor your loyalty strategy.
It shows the average number of returning customers.
To calculate the repeat purchase rate, divide the number of customers who made a repeat purchase over a given period by the total number of customers for the same period.
This figure helps you track retention and loyalty over time and predicts the future purchases of your current customers.
CLV measures the total average profit margin one customer generates over their entire lifetime or business relationship with your company. This is one of the key indicators of loyalty for businesses.
Calculating CLV is based on the following figures:
To simplify the process, you can use the Touchpoint Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Calculator, which does the tedious calculations for you.
Inspiring customer loyalty and trust is an ongoing process that a business should be focused on. The most effective approach is considering both operational and emotional factors and using a combination of strategies.
Here are three valuable ideas you can implement to boost loyalty and retention:
Going the extra mile or even two for your customers correlates to increased satisfaction and loyalty.
Providing unparalleled customer service positions your company as a valued and preferred partner.
Our purchase decisions are driven by emotion, and getting your customers emotionally attached to your brand is essential.
To do so:
Prioritizing your customer needs will help build trust and connect with your clients emotionally.
Once you’ve built an emotional connection with your customers, you can start loyalty programs to nurture loyalty further.
This marketing approach focuses on offering benefits, such as rewards, access to limited collections, coupons, or other perks, to clients who regularly engage with a company.
However, you have to know that your customer loyalty will probably fall when your loyalty program offers rewards that don’t bring value to clients. So, selecting the type of program and benefit to offer is crucial.
For your inspiration, we’ve collected eight loyalty program ideas:
These are the most popular and come with rewards, such as cash, free products, or gifts like company swag.
Example: Blume enables buyers to earn points (Blume Bucks) that can be redeemed for gifts.
Image source: blume.com
Customers are rewarded for bringing in a new client.
Example: With Wise, users get a reward as soon as the three new subscribers they have invited make a qualifying payment.
Image source: wise.com
Customers get special offers and discounts when adding to the services they use.
Example: Alliant gives customers that open a new account or switch banks a cash reward if they meet some eligibility requirements.
Image source: alliantcreditunion.org
The rewards offered to customers depend on their tier level, which is achieved by buying from a company.
Example: Sephora offers a three-tier point-based loyalty program. Customers are grouped into three Beauty Insider tiers based on their average purchase threshold.
Image source: sephora.com
Customers pay a fee and get benefits from a company.
Example: At $119/year (plus tax) or $12.99/month (plus tax), users of Amazon Prime get free, two-day shipping on products with no minimum purchase threshold.
Image source: amazon.com
Customers receive benefits for becoming members of a company community.
Example: Outdoor merchandiser REI offers membership benefits (an Annual Dividend) as a share of the company’s annual profit. The more they spend, the greater the reward.
Image source: rei.com
They offer non-financial rewards to customers, such as enabling customers to contribute to social causes and charities.
Example: The Love Your Body Club of The Body Shop offers members the chance to make monetary donations to charities using their loyalty points.
As the name suggests, clients get discounts when buying products and services offered by the company’s partners.
Example: AAA offers fringe benefits to members that use their automobile insurance services.
Image source: discounts.aaa.com
You can combine these types to come up with a loyalty program that will best work for your brand.
While acquiring new customers is important, keeping your repeat clients means you can rely on higher profits, loyal brand ambassadors, and company growth. With the right metrics at your fingertips, you’ll be able to understand your customer base and build an effective loyalty marketing strategy.
Inspiring customer loyalty is based on outstanding customer experience, building trust, and creating a sense of belonging.
All you need to do is put the customer in the center of your marketing model and go through the steps we’ve just discussed.
Many businesses don’t know how to answer negative reviews or even address positive Google reviews. Poor ratings, a lack of trust, and reluctance to buy soon follow. You can easily increase Google reviews using the tips and strategies we are about to list.
When people want to make a purchase, they rely on other people’s opinions, which are reflected in online reviews. It is no secret that Google factors the quantity and quality of reviews into its local ranking algorithm.
This article will show you how to make the most of those reviews and boost your company’s reputation and local Google rankings. We will also share examples of how to interact with customers and their feedback.
To provide a smooth customer journey and excellent customer support, you need to understand how customer reviews work.
Google is the go-to platform for brand research, and ten is the average number of reviews that customers check before buying a product.
Let’s see why Google reviews are so important, how you can manage them, and how they help grow your business.
Brands that address every type of review, including negative ones, are considered more trustworthy.
An increasing number of reviews not only boosts credibility but also makes it 92% more likely that customers buy from you.
Whenever you answer a review, you can achieve higher Google rankings and boost your brand’s online visibility. Google’s algorithm is partly based on signals issued by Google Reviews.
This has a major impact on both SEO and online visibility and what will set you apart from your competition is a higher number of reviews. Ideally, a company should have 40+ Google Reviews to stand out.
Google rewards companies that fulfill or even exceed client expectations. As the trust in your brand increases, so does your SERP (search engine result page) ranking.
Organic local searches are especially impacted by this fact, and, the higher you rank, the more likely you are to attract new customers.
When it comes to reviews, it’s all about:
Let’s tap into the countless ways you can get more Google reviews and see how each one benefits your business.
It only takes a couple of clicks to get started with Google Business. The reviews section is included on the page, which acts as a virtual business card.
After you finish creating your profile, you have to verify it by entering the code sent by Google to your physical address.
To optimize your profile and make sure clients get the info they need, do the following:
Create a process to constantly request reviews and address issues. Closing the feedback loop leads to lower churn rates and higher customer satisfaction. Here are the main stages of a feedback loop:
You can easily collect feedback using survey tools, review platforms, live chat, and social media. Every customer touchpoint is a potential source of information you haven’t tapped into.
You’d be surprised how many customers would leave reviews if the process was easier. The good news is that you can simplify Google review submission using the following effective strategies:
Before asking for reviews, create an account yourself and go through all the review steps. See how long it takes to answer questions, how fast the pages load, and if the links work properly. Do this periodically to spot potential issues early on.
To make it easier for clients to leave a review, place link shortcuts across your social media platforms. Also, include them on your site, in newsletters, or in any other type of written communication that you send.
QR codes are highly interactive and engaging. They allow clients to instantly access the info they want from any device. This saves them time and effort while also promoting engagement with your brand.
Anything that works as fast as QR codes is bound to trigger the desired response from your target audience. So, make sure to incorporate them into your marketing strategy. Tools like Uniqode’s QR Code generator can help you create a review QR code linkpage with direct links to all the review platforms.
Your store or company headquarters is not just a place of business. It’s the first and most important customer touchpoint. Whenever you give clients insight into how you conduct your business, they are more inclined to offer feedback and reviews.
This is the easiest way to interact with and engage clients. They will surely appreciate that you personally asked for a review, especially if the request comes directly from the business owner. This works especially well for small businesses.
Sometimes, setting yourself apart from the competition means going back to what worked in the past. Our increasingly digitized environment lacks genuine human connection.
Unlike emails, which can be intrusive, receiving a card from someone is a choice most clients are happy to make.
Sometimes simpler is better: every time a client leaves your location, remind them to join your subscriber lists or leave a review. You can include a sign or QR code on the door to make it more interactive.
This code can lead directly to your Google reviews page and link to your SMS opt-in pages or social profiles.
Nurture your lists and send truly valuable and personalized content to instill a feeling of loyalty and anticipation.
When customers feel valued, they want to give back. The best and easiest way to do that is by leaving reviews or testimonials.
Another way to incentivize reviews is by sharing a digital business card in your email campaigns or as your email signature. Include clickable links to the review page by using a digital card software to create a virtual card.
Reviews that come from staff and partners are seen as more genuine. There’s nothing like inside tips to get clients curious about a company’s products or services.
Placing a review link at the bottom of a menu or even on a receipt can be quite effective, especially if it includes a QR code for quick access.
You can easily promote your Google Business page, including the reviews section, with tools that are within everyone’s reach. Here are some effective ways to achieve that without going over budget:
Synchronizing email with SMS is very powerful. These channels provide valuable insight into customer behavior, have endless automation potential, and are incredibly cost-effective.
Insert a review link in your automated SMS and email campaigns to encourage happy customers to review your product.
Social media is great for company-customer interaction, especially since it’s a less formal medium. Clients are often excited to leave reviews. They need that extra incentive to interact with your company’s page. You can ask for reviews directly in a post or even include existing ones on your page.
Try not to offer financial incentives for client reviews. This is a frowned-upon practice that can lead to low-quality reviews and poor Google ranking. Remember that reviews help customers make informed decisions. They serve customers, not your best interest.
Detailed reviews deserve some form of compensation. When people make time to evaluate a product, they expect something in return. If you combine a simple “thank you” with early bird access to your next product line, for instance, you get a customer who is pleased with how you conduct your business and who is likely to become a loyal client.
A well-placed link is a very effective way to gather the needed info. Clients don’t have to look for links themselves. Plus it sends the message that your company is professional and cares about its clients’ points of view.
Surveys are great for boosting customer engagement because they register high response rates. Asking clients for feedback shows that you value their opinions and appreciate the relationship they established with your brand.
How do surveys help increase Google reviews? If you keep your surveys short and to the point, chances are your customers will also leave feedback at the end.
You can create a Google reviews page (there are platforms and plugins that aggregate your Google reviews) on your website or place the review link on your homepage or footer (if you want to be more subtle).
If you don’t know how to get started with Google reviews, we thought you might appreciate some content examples of what works best for different platforms. We also have included real-life examples of how best to approach customers when asking for reviews.
Hey [Customer name]! We’d love to get your feedback on [Your product name]. We’d also appreciate a Google review if you have the time [review link], and would like to invite you on an exclusive tour of our new store in [City].
Subject line: How was your experience with Textmagic?
Hey [Customer name],
We’re always looking for ways to improve your customer experience, so we thought you’d like to drop a few lines about your latest purchase: [review link].
As a token of appreciation, we’d like to throw in an invitation to our next product launch.
Happy shopping!
[Your company name]
We want to welcome 2024 with a product that exceeds expectations. Your opinion means the world to us, and it will help us build better software. Review us today and be among the first to discover the new Textmagic interface.
Company rep: Hey, I just noticed you purchased one of our products. Any specific reasons for choosing that one?
Client expands on why he/she made that choice.
Company rep: So happy to hear all about your positive experience. We’re doing our best to keep clients happy. Any thoughts on how we could do even better?
Client offers feedback
Company rep: It would be awesome if you could offer that exact feedback in writing. This helps other clients and customers like yourself make informed choices. Here’s a card containing all the details that you need if you decide to leave a review.
Reviews matter more than sales copy. The key to increase Google reviews is in how you ask and what you offer. Don’t take customer feedback for granted: it costs customers time and effort.
Make them feel valued by throwing in exclusive access to new product features, for example, or by engaging them with interactive requests. Use technology to your advantage (QR codes), but make sure to personalize it by adding a human touch (printed requests, cards, etc.).
The key lies in combining multiple tactics and stimulating their imagination. Use eye-catching visuals and personalized copy to incentivize action through innovative technology. This way, your brand will stand out on every channel, and Google reviews will come not as a bonus but as a part of the package.
Negative feedback might be the starting point of a positive business relationship if you constructively deal with them. But this can only happen if you learn how to respond to negative reviews the right way.
With 52% of customers stating that they trust products with some negative reviews more than those with zero negative comments, constructive criticism might be the key to increasing customer satisfaction in the long run.
Leaving negative feedback unanswered sends a clear message. It tells clients that you don’t value their opinion, whether legitimate or not. Even if a negative comment is unfounded, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t acknowledge it.
Let’s see why addressing negative feedback helps your business thrive and how you should respond professionally to criticism.
Legitimate or not, negative reviews can seriously affect your company’s image. Negative feedback doesn’t damage a company’s reputation. Not addressing it does. Constructive criticism allows you to build a trustworthy reputation because prospective clients see that you put effort into solving product-related issues and don’t ignore the problematic aspects.
Believe it or not, negative reviews help increase SERP visibility and have a positive impact on SEO as well. Organic reviews will always make a better impression on your potential clients, as opposed to only five-star reviews or, even worse, no reviews at all.
Customers know that many brands pay for positive reviews and decide to exclude “too good to be true” products from their shopping cart. Most people are looking for authenticity in a product, including one or two negative reviews now and then.
Simply responding to negative feedback is not enough. In the following lines, we’ll show you how to handle negative comments professionally and maintain a positive brand image:
Always start with your client’s name. This way, you’ll immediately engage your audience and show interest on your behalf. Don’t send the same response and change only your recipient’s name. Answer each complaint individually, and address the issue in detail, so that the customer knows you are talking about their problem in particular.
After you look into the complaint to see whether it’s legitimate, the first thing to do is apologize for the client’s inconvenience. Then, see whether their comment was entirely negative or if they also stated some positive aspects about their interaction with your brand. If so, try to find a solution that is based on what they enjoyed about your product.
Here’s an example:
“We are sorry to hear that your recent experience with our product was unsatisfactory and appreciate your feedback. Since you mentioned you enjoyed our latest product launch, we’d like to have you as our special guest at our next public event, which will take place on [Date], at [Location].
We’re trying our best to offer the best client experience and look forward to hearing more from you soon.”
Adopting a positive attitude doesn’t necessarily mean offering financial compensation for their troubles. It means acknowledging the issue, proposing a solution, and thanking the client for signaling it. It also helps if you ask them to signal potential problems in the future, to let clients know you value their input.
This way, you’ll be able to improve your services and products using information given to you freely, with no need to conduct special surveys.
The last thing your clients want to hear is some excuse over why your product failed to meet their expectations. Instead, try to:
Denying responsibility will only make things worse. If you’re unsure about a problem, simply say you’re looking into the issue, but never ignore the situation altogether.
Even if you have already thought of a solution, it’s always best to ask your client’s opinion regarding compensation. You can do this by phone and follow up with a confirmation email. Try to offer multiple options to set realistic expectations and limit their demands. Choices could include:
Answer any customer complaint promptly, but do not be impulsive. Don’t answer just for the sake of it. Think it through, be thorough with your reply and offer a solution.
Clients want to feel heard, so answering too late might be frustrating and show that you don’t care about the issue. Sometimes a late answer is worse than no answer at all.
Even if you solve a client’s problem, things don’t have to stop there. Nothing is more comforting for your customers than knowing your interest doesn’t stop once the threat of a bad review is gone.
Keep in touch, send follow-up emails and ask for feedback on their next purchase. Don’t let bad reviews turn into the only reason why your clients get in touch. Keep the communication flow going throughout their customer journey and see how even disgruntled clients turn into potential brand ambassadors.
Don’t start with offering to pay for their distress. If the problem is legitimate and it ended up costing your client, then it’s only natural you should cover the expenses. In most cases, compensation isn’t financial.
You can offer to replace a faulty product or make up for their trouble by throwing in additional services. Most of the time, anything that makes the client feel like you made the necessary effort is enough to compensate for the negative experience.
Always thank customers for their input, whether it’s positive or not. Negative reviews are often more valuable than positive ones because they help you identify issues you hadn’t even thought of. Encourage clients to give more details so that you can prevent the same thing from happening with other customers.
After you’ve written a short reply online, ask the customer whether you could discuss the issue via email or phone. This will:
Here are a few examples of how never to handle criticism:
There’s nothing worse than leaving a negative comment unaddressed. Even if you don’t have an immediate solution to the problem, always offer a reply in which you thank the person for their feedback and assure them you are doing the best you can to fix it.
If the issue is not legitimate, thank them for their input and state your point of view. Never say the client is wrong; simply offer an explanation with counterarguments and even illustrate the validity of your perspective using testimonials from other clients.
The most common reaction to negative feedback in business and personal life is defensiveness. Negative input is, above anything else, a gateway for improvement.
Many companies handle criticism poorly and stand to lose both financially and in terms of credibility and reputation. Be open and thankful for any type of feedback; product development often starts with and is fueled by negative reviews.
You can turn an initially negative experience into a positive one by following these simple yet effective rules:
Ask questions like:
These questions will help you act on feedback only after you’ve understood it. Try to gather feedback from more clients, apart from the ones who expressed negative opinions, and offer an incentive to show their input is valuable to you.
Business-wise, the learning aspect of negative feedback is the only thing you should be interested in. Before taking it personally and blowing things out of proportion, try to look at things from your customer’s point of view and go through the following steps:
Negative feedback is inevitable and can be very valuable if you don’t take it as a personal attack against your business or yourself. Even the most succesful companies have negative reviews. All you need to be aware of while collecting reviews for your business, is that negative ones may also appear.
When you see the underlying value and growth potential in every negative input, you’ll have the opportunity to turn your critics into your biggest advocates, which will be your biggest win yet. We hope this guide will help you respond to negative reviews effectively in the future.
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