Alan Berg at ALWEP
Last week I attended my first ALWEP event here in Birmingham where they had brought in Alan Berg in to speak about selling more and using your reviews to make money. I have heard him speak before back in Virginia and the man is a brilliant speaker with many years in the wedding industry both at The Knot and Wedding Wire.
Getting Reviews
It was interesting to find out that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation from a friend yet many small business owners neglect getting reviews from past clients on a consistent basis. When you first meet with your clients, begin setting the stage for getting the review by bringing it up. When it comes time for actually getting the review, expect to have to remind your clients at least once in order to get the review.
Responding to Reviews
Once you have received a review, make sure that you respond to it by thanking the person who wrote it. If it is a negative review, online is not the place to respond back to them. Rather do that via email. When responding to the actual review . . remember that it is about all the potential clients that will read it down the line and not justifying your actions to the person who wrote the review.
Using the Reviews
Once you have obtained the reviews, don’t leave them to languishing in just one place. Consider showcasing them on social media or under the images on one of your galleries. If you don’t share your reviews with potential clients then they won’t know your unique point of difference according to past clients you have worked with.
