“My business comes from word of mouth.” Equipment dealers understand the power of a word of mouth from satisfied customers to new potential buyers to bring business to their dealerships, yet many pay very little attention to what their customers are saying online. The importance of online reviews and testimonials had been steadily increasing over the years. Just as the personal customer service equipment dealers provide and what that says, it is just as important what customers say about the dealership online. Consider online testimonials as virtual word of mouth! The findings of this year’s Local Consumer Review Survey (2012) show approximately 72% of consumers surveyed said that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. With consumer behavior evolving, those with a virtual word of mouth presence are meeting the needs of human behavior and capturing more of the online business available.

We recommend to dealers to include a dedicated page to customer testimonials and reviews. Your customers want to know about the type of customer service you provide and customer’s experiences. By placing positive testimonials on your website you are showing your businesses’ credibility and expertise. 70% of Americans say they look at reviews before taking the next step in a conversation. (Google, Zero Moment of Truth www.zeromomentoftruth.com) Testimonials have become an extremely important part of an effective web presence.

Tips for gathering testimonials:

1. Ask for them! Many of your loyal customers would be glad to give you a raving testimonial if you just ask!

2. Place a comment box and encourage customers to leave feedback.

3. Create a survey with a comments section for all of your departments to hand out to customers. Not only will you gather testimonials, you will also know about issues your customers may have had and use this information to create more satisfied customers.

4. Ask your social media friends to write a recommendation (Facebook) and tweet a review about your business.

5. For more ideas or a free website analysis click here!