In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, customer reviews have become a cornerstone for enhancing brand reputation and sales. We’ve gathered insights from Founders, CEOs, and Marketing Directors on how to leverage this powerful tool. From launching a customer referral program to employing user-generated content authentically, explore the diverse strategies used by sixteen professionals to boost their small businesses. Here’s how to leverage customer reviews for digital marketing success:
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- Launch a Customer Referral Program
- Encourage Reviews on Software Platforms
- Incorporate Reviews in Email Campaigns
- Respond to Customer Feedback Publicly
- Use Testimonials in Content Marketing
- Showcase Positive Reviews for Credibility
- Display Rolling Reviews for Branding
- Analyze Reviews to Refine Marketing
- Gamify Customer Feedback for Engagement
- Highlight Reviews for SEO and Sales
- Showcase Abundant Positive Feedback
- Add Testimonials to Sales Pages
- Differentiate Services Using Customer Reviews
- Achieve Growth With Video Reviews
- Build Trust With Review Excerpts
- Employ User-Generated Content Authentically
Launch a Customer Referral Program
We’ve launched a referral program that rewards customers for referring others based on their reviews. This word-of-mouth marketing strategy has significantly expanded our customer base. We also provide resources and guidance to help customers refer their friends and colleagues effectively.
Stephan Baldwin, Founder, Assisted Living Center
Encourage Reviews on Software Platforms
As a Founder and CEO, I’ve strategically used customer reviews to bolster our digital marketing efforts. After every client engagement, we encourage them to share their experience on popular software review platforms like G2 and Capterra. We provide easy-access links and time our requests for when clients are most satisfied with our services.
This approach has significantly increased our visibility on these platforms, leading to a noticeable uptick in inbound traffic. These authentic reviews not only enhance our credibility but also provide valuable social proof to prospective clients browsing these sites.
Brett Ungashick, CEO and CHRO, OutSail
Incorporate Reviews in Email Campaigns
We occasionally incorporate customer reviews into our email marketing campaigns. In my experience, using customer reviews and testimonials in these campaigns helps in our overall digital marketing. Emails are a great channel for talking to both existing and potential customers, and putting reviews and testimonials in them builds trust and reliability with the people we want to reach.
We also tailor our email marketing to different segments of our audience, sending relevant reviews and testimonials to specific customer groups. This approach makes our email campaigns more effective, leading to increased sales.
Customer reviews are crucial in email marketing because they offer authentic user experiences that resonate with potential buyers. People often trust peer opinions over standard advertising, making these reviews a powerful tool for persuasion. Including them in emails personalizes the message and enhances its relevance, significantly impacting purchasing decisions.
Precious Abacan, Marketing Director, Softlist
Respond to Customer Feedback Publicly
We strongly believe in the importance of building trust with customers, and one way to do this is by actively responding to their feedback and comments. This practice is not limited to only positive reviews; we also try to consider negative reviews.
Our strategy involves resolving any issues that arise and publicly showing that a positive resolution has been reached. This demonstrates to our potential clients that the company truly cares about its customers and is committed to supporting them even after the sale has been made. The results of this strategy have been very encouraging—instilling a sense of confidence in potential buyers. They understand that the business will not abandon them and will be there to help if any problems arise.
This has not only helped improve the customer experience but also positively affected the overall brand reputation, leading to increased customer loyalty and ultimately faster business growth.
Yevhen Koplyk, Head of Marketing, WiserBrand
Use Testimonials in Content Marketing
We have used customer testimonials across our different content marketing efforts to build more brand credibility and authenticity. Customer reviews are excellent for middle-funnel content, where you’re trying to gain the confidence of your potential customers. And there’s nothing like actual positive feedback from your existing clients to inspire this confidence. Here are a few ways in which we’ve capitalized on customer reviews:
1) Used the reviews in case studies and success stories to complement the proof of work and project details.
2) Created social media posts (especially LinkedIn posts) around the testimonials to reach out to B2B decision-makers.
3) Leveraged the testimonials during the Consideration phase of the personalized email marketing funnel to make it easier for the audience to move further down the funnel.
4) Strategically showcased the reviews across our website content to bolster our brand reputation.
Using customer testimonials has solidified our MoFU content strategy and delivered quite promising results. We’ve been able to transition our MQL leads to SQL leads much more easily. We’ll continue to leverage these more and more for our different digital marketing efforts.
Shivani Maheshwari, Content Specialist, WrittenlyHub
Showcase Positive Reviews for Credibility
By strategically showcasing positive customer reviews on our website and various social media platforms, we have successfully fostered trust and credibility with potential customers. This approach not only amplifies our brand reputation but also significantly influences purchase decisions.
When prospective customers observe a plethora of great reviews from satisfied individuals, it instills a sense of assurance and confidence in the quality and authenticity of our products or services. This sets us apart from our competitors and establishes a solid foundation for long-term customer loyalty.
Keith Sant, CMO, Eazy House Sale
Display Rolling Reviews for Branding
We keep a banner of rolling five-star reviews on our homepage as part of introducing new clients to our service and regularly share reviews and patient testimonials on our social media.
These reviews and testimonials are priceless for branding and assuaging the naturally occurring concerns many pregnant or would-be pregnant mothers share about their prenatal care experience.
Over time, and through various optimization efforts, social proof and reviews have become central to our model for helping customers vet our service, answer questions and concerns, and gain insight into the care we regularly deliver.
Joanne Demeireles, CXO, Oula Health
Analyze Reviews to Refine Marketing
Customer reviews provide valuable insight into how satisfied customers are with our products and services. We use these reviews in several ways to enhance our digital marketing efforts. We actively respond to reviews on our website and social media channels, addressing customer concerns and thanking them for positive feedback, which shows our commitment to service. This builds trust with current and future customers.
We analyze reviews for recurring themes of what customers value most and least. We then adjust our marketing messaging to highlight the features and benefits that customers find most useful. This helps ensure our messaging resonates better with the target audience. We also look for reviews that provide constructive criticism or suggestions.
We evaluate these ideas for potential changes or additions to our offerings that could provide more value. Implementing improvements based on customer input shows we are listening and willing to evolve.
Megan Kriss, Chief Editor, Hunting Mark
Gamify Customer Feedback for Engagement
In my capacity as CEO of Panda London, we have transformed our approach to digital marketing by gamifying customer feedback into a fun and interactive experience. With the introduction of the “Panda Points” system, users can now accrue points for sharing their experiences on social media and posting thorough evaluations besides making purchases.
You can exchange these points for exclusive offers, limited-edition goods, or even VIP admission to events. In addition to encouraging our consumers to voice their opinions, this innovative gamification of customer reviews has fostered a sense of community and competition among our clientele.
The number and caliber of reviews have significantly increased, yielding excellent outcomes. This creative strategy has not only strengthened our digital marketing initiatives but also transformed our customers into brand advocates, driving organic growth through word-of-mouth and social media shares.
Matan Gilan, CEO, Panda London
Highlight Reviews for SEO and Sales
Our company has leveraged customer reviews as user-generated content to highlight our service’s quality and customer service excellence. For instance, we have incorporated testimonials from satisfied customers on our homepage, product pages, and in our email newsletters. We also share positive reviews on our social media platforms, further amplifying the reach of these endorsements.
The strategic use of customer reviews has resulted in significant improvements in our business metrics. We have seen a surge in organic website traffic because of the SEO benefits of fresh user-generated content. Our conversion rates have also climbed as potential customers find the positive reviews reassuring, leading to higher sales.
We have also noticed an increase in customer loyalty, as existing customers feel valued seeing their feedback publicly appreciated. Overall, using customer reviews in our digital marketing efforts has substantially contributed to our small business’s growth and success.
Rehana Aslam, Head of Marketing, Oh My Luck
Showcase Abundant Positive Feedback
We have seen great success at Write Right (www.write-right.in) by leveraging our customer reviews in our digital marketing strategies. With over 2,000 reviews (Number 1 in India) on Google My Business, 50 on Clutch, 50 on GoodFirms, and more than 90 on Trustpilot, we have a wealth of positive feedback from our clients. These reviews are like gold for us; we use them as testimonials, sharing them with prospective clients.
This happens especially through automated emails sent to those who fill out our contact form, serving as an “impressive first impression.” This simple yet effective approach has significantly helped in building trust and credibility with new clients. It’s as if the prospect is thinking, “Wow, the company must be good.”
We’ve observed a clear increase in conversions since we started showcasing these reviews. It’s been a game-changer for us, making these customer reviews a key part of our digital marketing success story.
Bhavik Sarkhedi, Growth Head and CMO, Content Whale
Add Testimonials to Sales Pages
Adding customer testimonials to our home and sales pages adds another level of validity that builds an immediate connection between us and potential clients. Word-of-mouth is powerful in marketing, arguably just as powerful as content marketing; therefore, providing real reviews from real people on your site shows customers they can trust you.
Having testimonials on your website is like having a mutual connection between you and your customers. Sure, your customers don’t necessarily know who the person giving the rating is, but they do know that this person has tried the product or service for themselves and found your business helpful enough to take time out of their day to recommend it to others. There’s power in that, and we have seen an increased conversion rate because of it.
When we ask customers how they heard about us and they say they made a judgment call based on our ratings and customer recommendations on our site, it’s a win for us. As we continue to grow and connect with more clients, we plan on putting more recommendations up to show people that we hold ourselves to the highest standards, guaranteeing professionalism and service worth the cost.
Mathias Ahlgren, Owner, Website Rating
Differentiate Services Using Customer Reviews
We are using customer reviews to differentiate our services from the competition in our digital marketing efforts. As customers make their buying decisions, they want to know what makes our product different from others. They often rely on ratings and reviews to choose between different software options.
In our company, in-depth reviews from peers and experts help buyers compare different products and make up their minds. We make sure our reviews emphasize what’s special about our services and compare our ratings to those of our competitors. For instance, our Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) uses this information to reduce the time customers need to pick products, and our sales team uses it to prove the value of our software and explain why we deserve their business.
Pro tip: Check if your software or business has received any reviews or research badges from Gartner Digital Markets. If you have, put these badges somewhere easy to see on your website, like the top of your homepage or your customer testimonials page.
Karl Kangur, Managing Director, DreamGrow
Achieve Growth With Video Reviews
We have used customer reviews at Editorial.Link and achieved a 20% increase in conversion in the first year. Customer reviews are more than accolades we post on our website and social platforms; they have been our fuel for growth. We ask our customers to leave us reviews, including video reviews that show how they relate to Editorial.Link through authentic customer voices. Video reviews have been impactful because they feature real people, with real faces, sharing their experiences.
We use these reviews to build trust with our potential customers and encourage them to seek our services by displaying them on our website. During our first year, as we were building brand awareness, we would also add some reviews to our pitch decks. It helped us win over some clients, some of whom became long-term customers. Our customer reviews are not just metrics; they are stories of the bonds we have forged.
Dmytro Sokhach, Digital Marketer, SEO Entrepreneur, and CEO, Editorial.Link
Build Trust With Review Excerpts
We always include short excerpts of good reviews that talk about things like the quality, attention to detail, and unique style of the clothes we pick. This builds social proof and supports our idea that quality is important. These good reviews are posted on our website, social media pages, and Google My Business page. This helps potential customers who value honesty and openness trust us.
We not only showcase positive feedback, but we also respond quickly and professionally to constructive criticism, whether it’s in reaction to a positive or negative review. We thank customers for their feedback and constructively address any issues. This shows that we care about our customers and are responsive, which builds even more trust.
We also don’t just highlight positive reviews; we also highlight reviews that talk about how the quality and design of our products make them stand out from other brands. This constant focus strengthens our unique value proposition.
Ryan Thompson, Editor, Men’s Flair
Employ User-Generated Content Authentically
Customer reviews, which are widely posted on our website and marketing materials, serve as genuine endorsements of our products and services. These favorable evaluations show potential customers that actual individuals have had positive experiences with our company, which contributes to the development of trust and credibility in the competitive world of e-commerce.
Some customers go above and beyond by sending us photographs or videos of our items in action. We employ user-generated content in our marketing efforts and on social media to give our promotional materials a more authentic feel. This allows potential buyers to witness our items in action, building a stronger bond with our brand.
We carefully monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to customer reviews to ensure we stay on target. These include review volume, average rating, and sentiment analysis. We can reliably monitor the influence of consumer feedback on our digital marketing activities this way. This data-driven approach enables us to make sound decisions and continuously optimize our strategies to better serve our clients and fulfill their changing needs.
Joseph Manktelow-Pimm, Editor, 7Gents
