July 22, 2014
Written by Rich Harshaw.
Dead. Kaput. Lights out… literally.
My little desk lamp that had faithfully illuminated my workspace for a dozen years suddenly died on a cold December morning in 2009. There was no warning; no signs of faltering; no symptoms of old age. I just reached to click it on and nothing happened. I checked the plug. I changed the bulb. I jiggled it around—all to no avail. Suddenly, inexplicably, the lamp was dead.
As I searched Amazon.com for a replacement, I decided I wanted a better, more versatile model. I wanted to find a lamp that I could place at the back of my desk… but that was still big enough and long enough to reach up and over my secondary computer monitor to light the workspace to the left of my laptop.
After a few minutes of searching, I found one that appeared to offer everything I thought I wanted in a lamp: The Z-Bar High Power LED Lamp, manufactured by Koncept. The lamp was sleep and modern looking… but more importantly, it pivoted in three places (hence the name “Z-Bar”) which allowed it to have a very, very long reach. Perfect.
The only problem was the price tag: $195. Ouch. I was thinking more like $30 to $50.
I kept looking for other less expensive lamps, but I kept coming back to the Z-Bar… it had many features that made it the perfect fit for my lamp needs. So I started reading the online reviews—all twenty-three of them—to see what others thought.
Look, I know that you could probably care less about lamps, but I’d like for you to read this review, below, to begin to comprehend how important online reviews are for your prospects:
After spending an hour reading all twenty-three reviews (including twelve 5-star reviews, one 4-star, five 3-star, two 2-star, and three 1-star), I shrugged my shoulders and made the purchase.
Why? Because I felt absolutely certain that I knew what I was getting. Including:
Do you think I could have learned all that from the manufacturer’s description? Do you think I would have believed them if they DID tell me all that? No and no.
Alas, the power of the online review.
By allowing existing customers to detail their experience, we allow prospects to read believable, granular information about what they can expect… which allows them to effectively “crowdsource” their due diligence.
If you fail to actively solicit and make available customer reviews, you are losing a huge opportunity. Think about all the times you’ve personally used online reviews to make purchasing decisions on everything from 99 cent apps for your phone, to Cancun resorts. From local restaurants to Chevy Tahoe’s. And everything in between.
Yet I still find that the majority of remodelers are relying on outdated “testimonials” that have the look and feel of stale, manufactured comments that cheerlead for the company with uninspired platitudes about “how great the company is.”
Read that lamp review again. Does it look canned? Is it full of platitudes? Does it simply say “the lamp is great!”? And most of all—is it believable?
To properly execute online reviews on your website, you’ve got to be smart. Here are a few quick tips:
The benefits of online reviews extend beyond helping your prospects choose you… they also help your SEO rankings; they create a steady helping of relevant, keyword-rich content for your site. Do yourself and your prospects a favor—get started with online reviews immediately.
Rich Harshaw is the CEO of Monopolize Your Marketplace, a marketing services company that has specialized in contractor marketing since 2005. You can email Rich at rharshaw@mymonline.com.
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