In this article we look at the importance of reviews and how Amazon has turned them into Commercials.
Some times when we meet with Clients to prepare the Social Media Strategy for their Company, one of their greatest perplexities and fears, lies in reviews.
Cremonesi, if we expose ourselves a lot on Social, don’t we risk getting some negative comments as well?
Clearly the risk is there, especially, when we are not certain about the service we offer.
But the risk is worth the candle, as some would say.
As a first step, reviews are extremely valuable. They allow us to see if our Products and/or Services, garner the right approval and/or interest.
Factory Communication over the years has designed and implemented communication and social media activities for more than 50 restaurants throughout Italy.
As you can well imagine, the topic of Comments and Reviews, has been constantly on the agenda. We know the importance of reviews.
We see them as a fundamental and strategic element in two main respects.
Monitoring customer sentiment
Reviews allow us to monitor people’s sentiment, what is going well and, most importantly, what areas we can improve in our business activities.
They are a powerful tool for understanding what our company’s strengths and weaknesses are, both in terms of new customers and potential customers.
Often I bring up this example. If many Customers say that the Room Manager of a Restaurant is rude and discourteous, you should not insult them. In fact, you should thank them.
They are communicating to you a problem to be solved.
Even if that Hall Manager is your Associate, or a relative of yours. It is up to you to take prompt action. If you don’t, you take the risk of losing more Customers.
They help the growth of the Company
Reviews, if well managed, allow to improve the Company’s visibility, engagement, web reputation and consequently, the number of Customers.
Even a negative comment can be turned into a goal for your business if you handle it correctly.
In so many cases, a negative comment, well handled, then led to a new purchase.
It is enough to think that the Client is your best friend.
It is sufficient to consider that before being a Client, he is a person and therefore should be respected and loved.
As David MacKenzie Ogilvy , in a famous quote of his, said, “The consumer is not an imbecile, he is your wife.”
So don’t worry, if you have a restaurant, business and are in contact with the public, ask your customer to leave a review on your social profiles, or on your Google My Business page.
If you have a website with eCommerce, you can also ask to receive an online review directly about the product. This will be very helpful when indexing your products on search engines. Google loves reviews.
Importance of reviews
Reviews have always existed, basically, even before modern Marketing was born.
If you arrive in a new city, don’t know anyone, ad have an extreme need for a dentist what do you do? You ask.
And if several people refer you to the same dentist, you take courage and go to that very one.
The Social and Web-style review has exactly the same functionality.
Before the advent of Social, Companies used to create Case Histories. They would interview one or more satisfied customers and make them the stars of their own Advertising Campaigns.
On television today, real Clients, have been replaced by Testimonials.
People from Entertainment and Sports who put their face, fame and credibility, to sponsor all kinds of Products.
And so it is that a well-known Chef, the star of haute cuisine programs on television, became the Testimonial of a “packet of chips” well known to all of us.
He currently sponsors bathrooms and kitchens.
Let’s say that if I have to choose a Kitchen, perhaps a Chef’s opinion may be relevant. But what about the bathroom?
Perhaps because it is an action directly consequent to food intake? If you eat in the bathroom you may have to go there 🙂
But back to us.
My advice? In your Web & Social Media Strategy , the importance of reviews should not be undervalued.
Positive review or negative review.
It is worth more to get a review left by an ordinary Customer, than a hundred commercials made by Testimonials paid to say what they say.
By the way, perhaps those who run large Advertising Campaigns have not yet understood this factor.
But Amazon does.
The importance of reviews: what does Amazon do?
And back to the theme of this article.
If you watch television you may have happened to see Amazon Commercials.
That there is nothing to teach this great American Corporate, I think is a given.
They know perfectly well the importance of reviews and story telling.
They thus analyzed those posted by Customers who bought through their Marketplace.
They turned them into Commercials and, I must say, these commercials are really well done.
I imagine the reviews on Amazon are in the millions, but the Agency that was in charge of the TV Campaign, selected the brilliant, nice, witty, off-the-wall ones.
I dare say they have 100% applied one of Luis Bassat Coen ‘s famous quotes “Advertising excites, enchants, seduces. It arouses emotions. A kilo of advertising may contain 999 grams of rationality, but it will shine and stand out for its gram of madness.”
I hope I have given you some food for thought. If you have a business and want to give it proper visibility, prepare a good Social strategy. Invite Customers to post a Review. Make them key players.
As always, if you found this article regarding the importance of reviews interesting, please leave a comment.
Good review to all.
If you found this article interesting, I invite you to read some articles related to Web Marketing:
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- Corporate Web Reputation: Analysis and Development
- Linkem and advertising with LE IENE. What an odd pairing!
- Reach New or Existing Customers on Facebook. Use users’ information
- Analysis of the Banca Mediolanum commercial aired in May
- Visual merchandising strategies: how to value the customer experience