Your customers are overwhelmed. They – like the rest of us – are exposed to thousands of marketing messages each week, ranging from pharmaceuticals with 526 unpleasant side effects, to get-rich-quick schemes (work at home and earn thousands a second), to breakfast cereals that promise you happy, memorable mornings. Plus, 2997 other daily messages. Then there’s yours.
With so many voices eager to persuade your customers to choose their product or service, they need a “winnowing” tool, which is something that separates wheat from chaff, or more to the point, good from bad. The type of marketing message that has the strongest credibility for making this separation is the customer review.
“I’ve heard from the company, but what does their customer say? Does the company live up to their claims?” This is what Average Joe is asking. And he wants to hear from other Average Joes and Average Jolenes about the pros and cons of your company and your products. So he reads the reviews.
When gathering feedback, picking the right time to ask for a review is pivotal. For service companies – especially for complex products such as new HVAC systems – it makes sense to ask for a review right after installation. But Average Joe is also interested in how you responded to a warranty issue three months after installation or how the annual maintenance visit went a year later. So, ask for reviews any time customers are served.