May 16, 2018 — Lex Last modified on November 08, 2019
Reviews are everywhere these days, and becoming a more important factor in the way we make decisions online. No matter if you are looking for a nice restaurant or a new washing machine the internet is full of reviews. Consulting reviews before buying something has become a common consumer behaviour.
Your potential clients will read reviews online before they decide to book an appointment at a hairdresser or beauty salon. People are even willing to travel for a couple of hours to visit the salon with the best reviews. In this article you will learn more about the impact of online reviews and how you can increase your sales with your own online review page.
Let's start of with some facts:
(source)
These numbers show that you will miss out on many potential customers if you do not use your customer reviews effectively
Reviews increase trust
Customer experiences on your website provide a sneak peak in your salon’s kitchen. Potential customers can quickly determine if your service suits to their wishes. Of course positive reviews are great since they increase customer’s trust in your salon. However, also the more negative reviews will positively influence your salon’s image. In the end nobody is perfect and by showing negative reviews people will consider your review page to be more trustworthy. By providing a professional comment underneath the review, you show you listen to your customers and take their feedback seriously.
More reviews means more online appointments
Once a potential customer has read some reviews on your salon website they will most likely want to learn more. Therefore, they will feel more engaged with your salon and the chance they will make an online booking via your online booking form increases.
You are fully in control
There are many review platforms available. A benefit of these platforms is that they can help you reach potential customers. A con on the other hand is that these platforms do not promote your salon free of charge. In most cases you pay extra money to be presented more prominently or you pay a fee for each new customer acquired via the platform. With your own review page you will never run into hidden or unexpected costs and you have full control over the reviews presented. Only those people who really visited your salon will be able to leave a review.
Get to know you customers
Online reviews are a great way to get valuable insights for your marketing strategy. When you discover a correlation between people who are extremely happy with your service and women between 21 and 35 years old, you know this is your target audience. Learn what they love and what you can do better and share these selling points with the right audience in your next Facebook or Instagram message.
Awesome! You now discovered the benefits of your own review page. Now let’s put everything into action.
1. Don't be afraid to publish negative reviews
Our online review page allows you to manage which reviews will be published online. So it can be tempting to only publish your positive reviews. Nevertheless, you should consider providing a mix of negative and positive reviews on your website. By showing you have nothing to hide people will perceive your review page as a more realistic representation of your salon.
2. Don’t quit after 10 reviews
The more the better. A review score of 4.8 out of 5 stars is a great signal that people are happy with your service. But it is important if this score is built on 2 or 2000 reviews. The more reviews the more reliable your rating becomes. The more people trust your rating is reliable the more affect your positive rating will have on their demand to make a booking.
3. Respond to all your negative reviews
We already mentioned the importance of publishing negative reviews. Always respond to each negative review. This is a great way to spin something negative into something really positive. In your comment you can show you listen to customer feedback and you give customers an example of your customer-friendly attitude.
4. Create a super easy feedback loop
Strike while the iron is hot. Our software automatically sends a feedback request a couple of hours after a customer had an appointment at your salon. A customer can easily leave feedback when their experience is still fresh in their memory. Because the hurdle is low a customer will be very likely to leave positive feedback. Via the opt-in button they can easily grant permission to publish their review online.
Are your clients also your biggest fans and would you love to share their positive reviews with other potential customers? Try Salonized for free, collect your first valuable customer reviews today and discover the other benefits free of obligation.
Lex likes to chat, surf, play records and spend time with his dog, Sjors. He is always up to date with the latest online marketing development and enjoys sharing information and advice about online scheduling software and more with you.
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