Let's get started!

preferred reply

Logo Footer

Office: 205 Durham Street (top floor)
Christchurch CBD 8011
PO Box 3871, Christchurch, NZ

Enquiries: 0800 30 8996
(03) 964 5305 - Reception
info@activatedesign.co.nz

Web Support:
(03) 961 1106 - Support
support@activehost.co.nz

Socials

Facebook X Instagram Vimeo
Activate Design Limited

Why Customer Reviews Matter

person looking at a website on their laptopIn today's world, where most businesses have an online presence, customer reviews have become an essential part of building trust and credibility. 

Customer reviews offer potential customers a glimpse into your product or service from a third-party perspective. In fact, according to a survey by BrightLocal, 91% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchasing decision.

In this article, we'll explore the reasons why customer reviews are crucial for any business and how to gather them effectively.

Why do I need customer reviews?

Build Trust & Encourage Loyalty

Online reviews are a fantastic form of social proof for your business. They help build trust with potential customers making them feel more confident about making a purchase and in turn increases your conversion rate.

Trust is a big factor in who customers will buy from, so seeing reviews from other happy customers is great, as well as seeing that you care about your customers' experience by responding to the not so good reviews with resolutions. 

Improve Search Engine Rankings

Google and other search engines alike consider customer reviews as a ranking factor in determining which businesses show in search results.

The more positive reviews, the more likely Google will improve your search engine visibility.

Get Feedback on How To Improve

After all, keeping customers satisfied with the products and services your offer is incredibly important.

Reviews provide an external view of how your business is viewed. Whether the reviews are good or bad, it can be incredibly helpful to see where customers think you do a good job, as well as what areas could use work to enhance the customer experience in the future.

So how do I get customers to leave a review?

Now getting customers to leave reviews can be a challenge. There is a fine line between being too pushy and giving yourself the best chance at receiving a review from a customer. Here are some solid tips for getting more reviews.

Make it easy to leave a review - The more effort it takes to leave a review, the less likely customers are to do so. Make sure there are multiple sites and directories for reviews to be left, as well as send out an automated review request tool.

Time your review requests strategically - Ideally, you want to ask the customer for a review when they have had a positive experience with your business. This could be immediately after purchase or service experience. However, if the purchase is online to be delivered, after the product has been received could be a good time to ask for a review.

Offer incentives for leaving a review - You can offer incentives to customers who leave a review to make the time leaving the review worth it for the customer. Examples of incentives include discounts, prize draw entry and freebies. However, make sure you are clear on the T’s & C’s and don't offer anything that could be perceived as a bribe.

Respond to existing reviews - When you respond to the existing reviews (both good and bad), it shows customers that you value their feedback and care about whether they had a good experience with your business.

5 Creative Ways to Ask for a Review

  1. Create a personalised video request: This makes the customer feel like you're not just sending a bulk email and that you care about their individual experience.
  2. Include a review request in your signature: This means you aren’t being pushy and send emails with “give us your feedback” in the subject line but offer the customer the opportunity to review easily.
  3. Create a review contest: Incentivise the customer to leave you a review by offering the opportunity to win a prize when a review is left.
  4. Use social media: Create a unique hashtag for customers to leave reviews under 
  5. Host an event: if you have a physical store, host an event for your loyal customers and ask them to leave a review at the event. Or better yet, get them to leave a review as their RSVP for the event.

How do I handle reviews?

It is very important to respond both promptly and professionally to ALL reviews. Yes, this means both the good and the bad ones. This shows that you value the feedback and want to resolve issues or concerns.

The Good 

  • Positive reviews are an incredibly valuable marketing tool. 
  • Not only do they help build trust and social proof, but you can share these reviews on social media, your website or in any other form of marketing you use. 
  • Just make sure to ask permission before sharing feedback publicly.

The Bad

  • Nobody wants to receive a bad review; however, it is important to respond in a way that shows the customer you care. 
  • How you respond to a negative review can actually lead to a positive review from the same customer. 
  • Make sure to apologise and provide either a solution or compensation when appropriate.

Where to gather your customer reviews

Website

Your Website is a fantastic place to gather reviews. You can have relevant reviews on the respective product and services pages you are advertising. 

This not only provides feedback but allows potential customers to be able to get a better idea of your product/service and builds their trust when there are multiple good reviews.

Reviews on your website under specific products/services can also help potential customers in their buying journey when it comes to what size or colour to purchase.

Social Media

Social Media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are another great place to gather reviews.

Receiving reviews on social media not only means that they are easy to reuse on your own social media, but are shared with that customers following also. This is potentially hundreds of people directly being exposed to your product/service in a positive light.

You can also easily offer incentives such as prizes or discounts for customers who leave a review using social media.

Google Business

Using your Google Business Profile to gather online reviews is also a great way to increase business.

When people google your business, they don't even need to enter your website to see a star rating and review summary.

Receiving good reviews on Google can also increase your visibility and online presence by ranking higher in google search results.

Person holding a mobile phone using google maps

In conclusion, customer reviews are a vital part of any business's success, helping to build trust, improve search engine rankings and provide valuable feedback for improvements. By making it easy for customers to leave reviews, strategically timing review requests, offering incentives, and responding to both positive and negative reviews professionally, businesses can gather feedback to build credibility and grow their customer base. So, if you haven't started gathering reviews for your business, it's time to start now!

Posted in Marketing, Social Media

Social Commerce: The Future of Online Shopping

person looking at analytics on their laptop

Social commerce has become a powerful tool for businesses to boost customer engagement and sales through social media platforms. 

With the acceleration of online shopping and ecommerce due to the pandemic, it has become essential for businesses to find new and innovative ways to connect with customers. 

Social commerce allows businesses to interact with customers in a more personal way, providing them with the opportunity to browse, research and purchase products without leaving their favourite social media apps. 

In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of social commerce, ways to overcome its challenges, and examples of businesses that are using it successfully.

What is Social Commerce?

Social commerce refers to the use of social media platforms to boost customer engagement and sales. In simpler terms, social commerce is online shopping through social media. We live in a digital age where social media has become a crucial aspect of your business’s digital marketing strategy, whether you have an e-commerce or a physical store.

But why is it so important to leverage?

  1. We live in a digital age where social media is becoming less of an option and more of a requirement for businesses, whether they are purely ecommerce or with a physical store.
  2. Thanks to the pandemic, the shift toward the number of people online shopping has been accelerated, and it is now crucial for businesses to find new, innovative ways to engage and connect with customers. Social commerce provides the opportunity to do just that.
  3. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are just some of the social media platforms that allow you to interact with customers in a more personal way. Customers can browse, research and purchase products without even leaving an app.
  4. Let’s just say you can consider yourself out of the loop if you’re not leveraging social commerce…

Pros and cons of social commerce

Pros

Increased Reach and Customer Engagement

Social media platforms have a massive user base, and using these platforms for social commerce opens your business up to a much wider audience in a more cost-effective way.

Seamless Shopping Experience

Social commerce allows customers to shop without having to leave the platform they are using, creating an easy process from start to finish that they are less likely to abandon.

Effective at Building Trust

Customers are able to see, in real time, the reviews and recommendations from others who use your products, which is fantastic at building trust. 

Reviews are already a fantastic tool to leverage; reviews that come with photo/video, as well as being able to see that a reviewer is a real person by going to their profile, provides the extra reassurance customers look for.

Cons

The balancing act of commerce and social media

Social media is a fun platform where people can interact with their friends and family; too much promotion may lead to frustration and a negative pushy perception of your business.

Businesses need to find the balance between having fun and interacting with customers and using social media to promote and push products.

Privacy and Security Concerns

Customers want to feel in control of how their data is being used and can be hesitant to share their personal information.

Therefore, it is important for businesses to be transparent about how customer data is used and that it is protected and secure. For example, using secure payment gateways and consistently monitoring for security threats.

Conquering the Algorithm 

Social media platforms use an algorithm to figure out what content is shown to what users, which means you can put in a lot of work for little traction.

How can I leverage social commerce for my business?

Like all things, social commerce does come with its challenges. The following points will help youovercome the challenges and make the most of all social commerce has to offer.

mobile phone with tiktok

Choose the right social media platforms for the demographic and user behaviours of your target audience. Put in the research. Instagram is great for a younger audience, where Facebook caters to a wider age range.

Integrate your chosen social media channels with ecommerce to streamline the customer journey. Don’t make the customer have to exit the social platform they are on. Use the shoppable post feature so customers can shop in their chosen app.

User generated content (UGC) is your friend, as satisfied customers post about your product in reviews, photos and videos. This content not only means less work for you but provides an authentic way to build trust and credibility with potential customers.

Invest in influencer marketing to reach new audiences and build trust by working with influencers who fit your brand values and have an audience that consists primarily of your target market.

What does the future hold for social commerce?

Although it has already seen so much growth in the past few years, social commerce still has much further to go.

What can we expect?

  1. The number of businesses using social commerce will continue to grow and will quickly become less and less of a choice and more of a requirement to succeed. 
  2. It is predicted that over time social commerce will use data and analytics to refine and personalise marketing campaigns further.
  3. Augmented reality (AR) and Virtual reality (VR) will likely increase in popularity, providing a more interactive and immersive shopping experience than ever seen before.
  4. As technology evolves, it's expected that chatbots will improve and become a key tool in creating a personalised experience for customers.
  5. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also becoming more prevalent and will be able to help businesses in analysing customer data for marketing purposes.

Examples of businesses using social commerce today

Instagram

Most people have heard of Instagram as it is one of the most powerful social media platforms today. Instagram has millions of businesses using the platform to promote and sell products using the integrated in app shopping feature.

Shopify

Shopify is a super popular ecommerce platform that uses social commerce well, integrating with platforms such as Instagram and Facebook for a seamless customer experience. They allow businesses that use Shopify to sell directly on social media.

Poshmark

Users of Poshmark are able to buy and sell their new and used clothing and accessories. This is all done through customer profiles so they can follow each other and shop for relevant products.

In conclusion, social commerce is becoming a crucial aspect of digital marketing, whether your business is purely ecommerce or has a physical store. However, as with any new technology, it also comes with its challenges, such as the need to balance commerce with social media, privacy and security concerns, and the challenge of conquering the algorithm. By choosing the right social media platform, integrating with ecommerce, leveraging user-generated content, and investing in influencer marketing, businesses can overcome these challenges and make the most of all that social commerce has to offer. The future of social commerce looks bright, with the increasing popularity of augmented and virtual reality and the potential of artificial intelligence to analyse customer data for marketing purposes.

Posted in Marketing, Mobile Apps, Social Media

New Email Spam Marketing Trends In NZ

DON'T BE FOOLED BY ALARMIST CLAIMS ABOUT YOUR WEBSITE!

Current marketing trends you need to be aware of include bulk emails (spam)? and cold calls that use scare tactics to prompt investment in arbitrary services. arbitrary - adjective: capricious; unreasonable; unsupported.

faceless call centreCompanies Are Targeting Website Owners...

Many of our customers are calling us after receiving unreasonable and unsupported claims from aggressive cold callers. These claims have so far included:

  • suggestions their website is outdated
  • false or unsupported claims that their website is ranking poorly and missing out on traffic
  • vague offers of design updates and pressure to undertake SEO campaigns

Due to the nature of these cold calls and spam emails, we believe the companies targeting New Zealand businesses are canvasing the industry, using unscrupulous tactics to panic people into investing in unrequired services.

We are hearing from an increasing number of our clients who have wisely contacted us before agreeing to undertake services from companies using these tactics, such as YellowPages, Fatweb and search engine optimisation companies in India. We welcome the opportunity to disprove these negative claims and reassure you.

A Recent Example...

We were recently contacted by a client who was alarmed after receiving a cold call from Fatweb, who claimed they were missing out on thousands of online searches each month and that they ought to get a new website through them. However, doing a simple google search showed that their site is actually ranking 3rd for their product term. A very good result considering no significant search optimisation has been done.

The claims being made are consistently unfounded. As we receive these types of contacts ourselves on a regular basis, we know that most blanket callers are not even looking at the website first (let alone undertaking a technical investigation) to see exactly whom they are in contact with. If they had, they would surely realise we are direct competitors who know our stuff and could easily disprove their claims.

An Invitation To Contact Us For Professional Advice...

If you are concerned about any aspect of your website or search rankings as a result of contact from any of these aggressive cold callers or spammers, we encourage you to contact us before making any hasty decisions.

If required we do offer search engine optimisation at competitive rates. Our SEO services are performed using a measured, targeted campaign, and we will be happy to discuss this service with you.

 

Posted in Social Media

3 ways to grow your business with social media

Social media is one of the most powerful tools on the entire web to get more exposure and credibility. Some small businesses have used it to go from having no audience to havingsocial media design sketches hundreds of thousands of followers. However, there are many small businesses that are struggling to grow their social media audiences. Some small business owners are putting in hours of work but getting little results from their social media efforts. These three tips for small businesses trying to grow on social media are aimed to stop stagnancy and spread your message to a larger audience.

  1. Interact with your followers. There are so many people who are focused on growing that they forget to interact with the followers they already have. Some of the people I have interacted with on my social networks have become returning customers who frequently buy my books and leave reviews. In addition, as you connect with more people, you will get more opportunities. I have been able to write for numerous guest blogs because some of the connections I made on social media wanted my content on their sites. Here are some tips you can use to start more conversations.
  2. Identify your targeted audience. There are three types of followers. There is the fake follower (which you don’t want at all), the real follower (which is okay), and the targeted follower (the one you want). Your targeted audience is the audience that will help you be successful. In order to identify your targeted audience, ask yourself two questions. What do I do? Who would benefit from it?
  3. Go after the people in your targeted audience. You want to follow and interact with as many people in your targeted audience as possible. Targeted followers are more likely to share your content and buy your products and services than any other type of follower. Interacting with these followers and gradually building your audience (a targeted audience in particular) will allow you to grow on social media.

Those are the three ways small businesses can grow with social media. It all comes down to identifying your targeted audience, growing that audience, and interacting with the people in your audience. Then, you will be able to grow on social media.

Posted in Social Media

Recent articles

Categories