Referrals from satisfied customers have always been a great way for generating new customers. The next-best source are pleased customer reviews and testimonials. Small businesses are uniquely positioned to garner and leverage this form of referral being so close to their customers.
Why are Customer Reviews and Testimonials so Effective?
They are a powerful first step in establishing believability, credibility, and a sense of security for new customers. They help to break down natural barriers and distrust new consumers feel with an unfamiliar merchant.
Any opinion coming from a third party, not the business itself, instills confidence in prospective customers and dissolves buyer skepticism. Buyers increasingly tune out the mind-boggling flood of commercial messages that present themselves everywhere all the time. On the other hand when customers with no economic interest say good things, it breaks down skepticism laying a foundation for trust.
The Internet provides many new ways to leverage your small business reputation by strategically placing, at key customer decision-making moments on your website, local business consumer review websites and even a resource section that lists local search engines, city-specific directories, and dedicated consumer review websites in one convenient place—your website.
If you are a small business, or especially an online business incoporating these tactics will pay dividends for you in the long run.
