Let Your Customers Do the Talking

Online retailers face a unique set of challenges in trying to get us to fill our on-line “shopping carts”. The fact that we can’t touch or test a product sold on-line is a big hurdle when it comes to virtually peddling consumer products. To help you feel more confident in your purchase, websites are increasingly utilizing customer testimonials to tout the pros (and the cons for that matter) of a particular book, toy or new electronic device.

Customer reviews “have proven to be effective sales tools at Amazon.com, eBay and other big sites. Customers say the testimonials reassure them when buying,” according to a WSJ article. This popular and successful idea has taken hold at a vast number of internet retailers to include Target, Best Buy and eToys, just to name a few. So it was only a matter of time before the brick-and-mortar companies jumped on the peer-to-peer review bandwagon.

This past holiday shopping season saw the likes of Cabela’s and Staples snagging positive endorsements from their websites and showcasing them along side products in-store. Well, if it’s a good enough for the big chains, why not for small business?

For the local bakery, clothing or home improvement store, this could provide a needed boost to the clerk’s sales pitch. A third-party endorsement gives customers more confidence when deciding between products A or B or, whether to buy at all. A simple card, display tag or sign posted next to the product with a star rating system and review can put into perspective why, for instance, the Behr interior paint is better than the competitor’s brand. Think about it. How many times have you bought a wine because it had a card next to it telling you it won a gold star and had a 91 rating from the International Wine Review? (By the way…it’s how I buy all my wine).

To roll out this promotional idea in your store, start by focusing on five to ten items. Maybe it’s something that you are pushing for a particular holiday season or areas in which you would like to boost sales.

Next, gather customer reviews. Contact the manufacturer to see if they have any testimonials available. Researching print or web publications may also yield reviews written about certain products. If you find a relevant endorsement, just remember to site the source when using the review. And, don’t forget to ask your customers that have purchased the merchandise for their comments.

Finally, search the web. If you carry a product that a larger retailer does, chances are they will have customer reviews posted on their website. While you can’t use the actual review you find without violating copyright laws, on some sites you do have the opportunity to send the reviewer an email. Drop them a line and ask them to write an endorsement to use in your store or on your company’s website.

If you have a website, don’t overlook this vehicle, it is after all where the peer-to-peer review phenomenon started. Ask visitors to email feedback regarding any products they’ve purchased in your store or online. Finally, another way to gather feedback via the Internet is to start a blog. Various websites offer blogs at no cost (I use blogspot.com) so create a page for your store and ask folks to post comments and ratings on various products. Pick and choose which ones make sense, pair them with a product description and you’re ready to go.