This digital age means you have to move with the times. With COVID-19, businesses and firms have moved their businesses and marketeers have become more digital than ever before.
The growing market in Malaysia
One thing that you must not forget, Malaysians are among the top when it comes to spending time online. They are known to be very vocal especially on social media. The Coronavirus pandemic has caused Malaysians and businesses to work and stay at home. Online transactions spiked to more than 250% in 2020. Malaysians tend to speak their mind about digital shopping mainly because they want to have their voice heard. If you are planning your marketing campaign, customer reviews MUST take an important role.
Facts and numbers matter
When your business is online, the facts and numbers will make a lot of difference as to whether you fail or succeed. According to a recent survey, it was found that:
- About 95% of shoppers will read reviews before they make a decision to buy. The more reviews you have, the better it is for your product.
- Customers will more likely to buy a product with 5 or more reviews.
- In another survey, it reported that about 70% of customers will not do anything until they have seen reviews.
Words are not the only way to get reviews. There are situations when you can use ratings which is highly common among e-commerce businesses. Give incentives to your customers to at least rate your product and service. That will give you enough credibility because customers can be influenced to buy a product with a 4 (out of 5) rating and above.
What to do with reviews?
The best platform to go in is with Google My Business. When you have positive reviews, they will organically be useful for your link. The more reviews (positive ones) you get, the better it is for your listing on Google.
If you can get this done nicely, it is almost free of charge and you haven’t even paid anything for SEO. Make sure that you have the necessary tools and apps on your site when Google links customers to you.
On the flip side, if you get negative reviews, you must make an effort to connect with the reviewer. This can be done either on the platform where the review was made or on direct messaging. Be open in the conversation and find ways to improve. Promise the customer that things will change.
One thing for sure:
You cannot please them all!
Every once a while, there might be a customer who will never be happy no matter what you do. Some reviews you cannot change, but you must try either way!
What about your strategy?
Customer reviews work wonders for your marketing strategy. They are as powerful as they come and should be a large part of your overall plan. When you have a good review, one which you can use in your brand messaging, use it to the fullest!
- Never change or edit the customer’s words.
- Some minor grammatical corrections are fine.
- Incorporate the reviews into your ads.
- Customer reviews must somehow be among the main drivers of your marketing strategy.
