A little while ago I was looking for a nice restaurant for Mothers' Day, so I asked some friends for a few recommendations. Back came a shortlist of their favourite places to eat. I booked the one that sounded best, and a lovely meal we had, too. But what if, instead of going for a meal, I'd been trying to buy a product or service that none of my friends had had any experience of? What would YOU do if nobody you knew had used, say, a driving school, recently?
Well, if you're like me, the answer is that you'd be searching for REVIEWS of driving schools. If you're the owner of a business looking to grow, this is important stuff. Reviews recommend your business to people who don't know any of your existing customers. They are social proof that your business is better than the competition. They are nothing less than the start of your relationship with your new customer.
If you're not using reviews from happy customers in your marketing, then you're almost certainly damaging your business growth. It's probably even more damaging if you have some reviews, but the latest one is two years old. You might have just got too busy to keep collecting them, but to a prospective customer it looks like you used to be good two years ago...
Fortunately, reviews are easy to collect (assuming your customers are happy). A simple 'Would you mind giving us a review?' is often all you need to ask. And displaying framed thank you cards and reviews on your walls not only proves to new customers what a great company you are, it also shows how important feedback is to you. And that's great for business.
Now, if you're looking to book a local restaurant for that special occasion, I can recommend a great one.
For more information, call Victoria Hunter on 01992 308182 or email hertfordandware@thebestof.co.uk
