I talk to my coaching clients and industry colleagues about reviews a great deal. Why? Because the words of those who have used your services or product – talking about the value or the results or what it was like to work with you (or all of the above) – can be so much more powerful than anything you could say about yourself! And, since they are coming from the perspective of someone likely similar to the couples checking you out now, they are usually speaking in a language that fits that potential new couple, too.
So, now what?
First, be sure that you’re getting new reviews from your past clients, and regularly. Recency is just as important as quantity. After all, if you were checking out reviews of a restaurant or hotel, for instance, as you planned a night out or an upcoming trip, and you saw none from the past year, wouldn’t you wonder about that place? Are they still in business? Has their quality fallen dramatically? Plus, if you’ve been in business for a while, you have likely seen your couples change over the years, maybe in what they are looking for, their priorities, or how they express it. So, having recent couples talking about you do matters. And, yes, quantity does sure help too, not only in qualifying you for industry awards like The Knot’s “Best of Weddings” and WeddingWire’s “Couples Choice”, but in building confidence in those reading them that those many reviews they see are real and not just a handful of your friends and family members who did you a favor and wrote some for you.
How do you do this? ASK! I know that that sounds simple, and yet many people I’ve worked with over the years don’t have a process to do just that. I greatly recommend adding an email into your workflow to ask your couples to write you a review, with links directly to the places you want reviews (except for Yelp, who doesn’t like seeing businesses solicit reviews, so include it in your list, but don’t give a direct link). And usually about 2-3 weeks after your work with them is done (I know that some of us deliver our work before the wedding, others of us do so on the wedding day, and others aren’t done until well after the wedding). I used to send it in my “thank you” email the day after the wedding, but I’m finding that I’m getting more now that I wait about 2-3 weeks. Couples for whom you exceeded their expectations, and gave them a great customer experience as well as end-product, likely want to say thanks and help you as well – this gives them the chance to do so! If you haven’t been doing this, you can absolutely do a catch-up now, emailing all of your couples from the past 6-12 months, and I highly recommend it.
Then, what do you do with them? This is where the superpower of reviews comes in. You want to use them everywhere! Wait, what? Especially if coming from a past client that you would consider an ideal couple (as that helps you attract more like them), and if it is expressing something that you want others to hear or know. So, yes, use snippets on every page of your website, in your marketing materials, in your online listings, and in any place that you are communicating with couples, like your email signature and even in your verbal “elevator” pitch at wedding shows. Use full screenshots on your social media (as it gives more legitimacy to see the full and unedited verbiage) – this gives you fresh content for social media, plus allows them to be seen by more people.
Let me add a note on using their words on your website. The days of a single “testimonial” page being of the most value are behind us, and instead you want to weave your couples’ words all throughout your verbiage throughout your website. Use what they say to illustrate or to emphasize things you want to say, as their perspective can often help you to do so.
Also, don’t forget to respond to them! I always email my couples to thank them for writing one, letting them know how much I appreciate that they took the time to do so, and that I absolutely loved hearing what they had to say. And this is important, I think, for continuing the positive feelings in your customer experience with them. But you also need to respond publicly, right on the review website, as those responses are for future couples reading your reviews. Be positive, be thankful, and be you. This is one more place for your personality and your connection with your couples to be seen, so don’t pass up the opportunity to do so. But always remember that the target audience for your response is those reading it as they research you for themselves – whether it was a raving review, good review, or maybe a not-so-great or quite bad review, the response is really meant for future couples (or fellow vendors) who don’t yet know you.
Please be sure to fully read your reviews to be sure that you are making any changes in your business that comes up as an issue. One not-so-great review definitely requires a personal response, but probably doesn’t require a business change. But, multiple of not-so-great (or quite bad) reviews definitely do. So, read them looking for a pattern – whether it was your communication or professionalism or end-product – and improve accordingly.
On the flip side, if there’s something that couples are consistently mentioning as something they loved or particularly appreciate about you or your process or your end-product, can you do even more of that or make it even better, or talk about it more as a selling point? Our businesses should be in a state of constant improvement, as the wedding market and couples are constantly changing. Improving even what you are doing well and what couples love will help keep you ahead of the curve!
Embrace the power of reviews, and the “social proof” that they provide, and see what they bring to your future business!
If I can help you figure out how to best use reviews in your business, or help you narrow down what messaging to use, drop me an email below and let’s chat!
