You know your business’s reputation is important. You know that you need to be constantly building up your reputation, both online and in general. Is it possible to get your customers to build your reputation up for you? The answer is absolutely, yes! Here are 3 ways that you can focus on getting your customers to build your reputation for you:

Online Reviews

We all know that online reviews are the number one way to build up your reputation. In fact, most consumers will read the reviews of several companies before making their decision about which one to work with. Almost 90% of customers report that they trust online reviews just as much as they trust a personal referral from friends and family members.

Let’s get to the point, how can you get your customers to leave you those ever-so-valuable positive reviews online? There are a couple things you can do:

• Ask: Make it a point to ask customers to leave you a review after each and every positive interaction with them. There’s no better way to gain reviews than to just be upfront and ask for them. You could also consider having an incentive for your employees to encourage them to always ask customers for reviews to ensure you’re not missing out on any valuable feedback.
• Remind: Reminding your customers about leaving your business a review and providing them with a link to do so is always a great idea. People get caught up in other things and often forget that they said they’d leave a review for your business. However, sending a quick reminder and making it easy by offering a link will make it much more likely that they’ll actually follow through in leaving the review. Don’t forget, FreshLime has automated this process to make it thorough and easy for your business.

Word-Of-Mouth Referrals

Your customers are your best marketing plan. When you work with a customer and things go well, it’s important to make sure they remember your business. You want to continually engage with your happy customers in order to make them loyal, but also to remind them to spread the word about your awesome business. When you are running specials or discounts, let your loyal customers know so they can come back and share the deal with their family members and friends. Your top priority should always be taking care of your customers. This helps them and you, because they’ll spread the word and essentially “pay” for your marketing for you.

If you’re looking for creative ways to gain more word-of-mouth referrals, check out this article from Forbes.

Social Posts & Shares

Having followers on social media makes it possible for you to gain more and more of a fanbase online. Encourage your followers to interact with you on social media by hosting giveaways, asking questions and requesting their feedback. The best way to get shares on social media is by offering something in exchange for their share. You could post a business update and let followers know that if they show you they’ve shared the post, they’ll get 10% off their next service. Asking questions pertaining to your business or the industry encourages customers to engage with your social posts, and makes it possible for their followers to see your business’s social pages. Hosting giveaways is a fun way to get customers to tag their friends in your posts, share your posts and interact with the posts. Each time one of your followers engages with or shares your posts all of their followers are able to see what you’ve posted.

You can get your customers to build your reputation up for you by showcasing consistent, positive customer service in order to give them a reason to brag about your business. Your customers are your best advocates and you should take full advantage of their willingness to market your business for you!

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, subscribe to the FreshLime Newsletter here. Connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. And last of all, if any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!