Naked Marketing: Reviews Show The Emperor’s Clothes

You have given time, effort, and money in hopes of making your business solution flawless. Your product has the perfect marketing strategy and a flawless sales pitch. Your service providers are well-trained, consistent, yet personable, and excited about making a difference for a company. Your company’s future is looking bright and you are ready for the next step.

Then comes the nightmare; your business solution is naked in front of all of your sales prospects. Yes, they acknowledge the sales pitch, the marketing strategy, the training and the consistency that you worked so hard to achieve. They also point out the flaws, the blemishes, and everything else that you had been trying to brush under the rug.

To make it worse, the social media realm is sharing these reviews, so you cannot even track where the message is spreading. And people are seeing this information from their tier one influencers; their friends and colleagues. Needless to say, you didn’t expect this.

But you should have. Thanks to verified-user reviews, your prospects know everything.

No longer are salespeople or company websites enough to convince the average prospect. Solution review websites are offering third-party validation, whether you like it or not. Testimonials, reviews, and case studies are highlighting both the good and bad aspects of your product or service.

Did you know that according to recent data,90 percent of buyers are reading up to ten online reviews prior to making a service or product decision?

Don’t be nervous – it’s time we look at this newfound information as an opportunity instead of a threat. This is your chance to embrace naked marketing.

Review Strategy

A review strategy will allow you to learn just what it is about your product or service that customers love, and things you may need to improve on. Engage your customers, respond to their reviews, and let them know that you’re committed to making your business solution the absolute best it can be.

Empower your current customers to review your product or service. The more reviews you have, the more prospects you’ll have – simple as that. Having ready and plentiful information for your potential buyers makes you a more viable option in their search for a business solution.

Engage With The Reviews And The Reviewers

Don’t shy away from your reviews when you find that they’re not all positive, five-star responses. Even negative reviews offer value, maybe even more so than positive reviews. Identify and leverage the positives. Then, use the free information you’re learning from the not-so-good reviews and use it to better a customer relationship or improve your product.

Always remember: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Negative reviews make your product or service seem realistic and trustworthy. Which would you trust more: a service with three, five-star reviews or a service with 25 reviews, a few of which are less-than positive?

The social media driven world has created a buying process where prospects no longer believe in perfect products. Every product must prove that they are not perfect, but are striving to improve.

Embrace Negative Reviews

Here is your opportunity to build loyal, trusting, and repeat customers. Buyers love to see a company that engages with their customers to address an issue. By publicly engaging your customers, you’re showing not only them, but all the other prospects observing, that you’re committed to providing them with the highest quality service or product. Commitment to your customer’s satisfaction is what potential buyers love to see.

Reviews Create Transparency

Professionals want to know what they are getting themselves into before they buy. The products companies use and the service providers they hire are tied to their professional credibility. Being able to see both the strengths and weaknesses of a given product or service allows prospects to make the most informed decision.

Learn From Reviews

Users are transparently sharing your product’s strengths and weaknesses. This information is incredibly valuable, and best of all, free. Use this information to better the product or service your offer – your present and future customers will thank you.

By adopting naked marketing, your prospects will have the most clear idea of just what exactly your product or service will offer to them. Make this relationship flourish, and they’ll even be inclined to write a positive review themselves. Best of all, if they know what to expect, yet you continue to exceed their expectations, they’ll become some of your biggest advocates. The successful outcomes of naked marketing are happy customers, the right prospects and a successful business.

^{* Adapted lead image:  Public Domain, pixabay.com via getstencil.com}