In today’s marketing landscape, there are dozens of tools and channels available to market your small business. But one of the most effective marketing tools is also the simplest – a good, old-fashioned customer review.

There are many outside factors that can influence us to purchase something, including reviews. Whether it’s a passing comment from someone you know or something you read online, reviews can hold substantial weight when it comes to decision-making as a consumer. For example – how many times has a friend or family member recommended a product or brand for you to try? When was the last time you thought about buying something, and you read a positive review that sealed the deal?

We all experience this as consumers – and you can be sure it’s happening across your base of current and potential customers. Prospects who read reviews about your business can be more likely to convert and become customers themselves. And, if they have a good experience, they might leave another review, which will influence prospects in the future. It’s a self-fulfilling cycle that has endless benefits for your business.

So, how can you earn reviews for your business if you don’t have any, or very few? We would recommend that you set up a Google Business profile to start. When customers are searching for your business online, this profile will appear and display your business hours, contact information, location, and more. Most importantly, customers can also leave reviews on your profile. After every interaction with your customers, encourage them to leave a review. This can be done by sending them an email, text message, or printing out a QR code to scan that links to your profile.

Once you start getting reviews, it’s time to incorporate them into your marketing strategy. Here are a few tactical ideas:

• Incorporate testimonials into your print promotional materials, like a sales sheet or rack card
• Create a page on your website that houses your customer testimonials
• Develop social media posts that promote your testimonials
• Include testimonials to emails that are sent out to your entire customer base

There is power in letting your customers tell your story! Use your reviews to your advantage, especially when it comes to marketing. As always, the Addison Clark team is here to help you with how to use reviews to market your business!