landing page where they can easily leave a review on multiple platforms . With our system , there ’ s a button on our clients ’ websites that says , “ Review Us .” To encourage them to do those reviews , we send a series of emails asking them to do it until they do . Text messaging is very effective . The first email and / or text goes out right after the delivery arrives . It might say , “ Thank you so much for using our service . We value feedback from our customers . Can you please take a minute to give us some feedback ?” If they don ’ t do the review , we send other requests by email and text .
We also suggest that our customers :
• Add an active “ Review Us ” link in their email signatures .
• Set up mobile portals so customers can do onthe-spot reviews on their phones as soon as they receive a delivery .
• Claim their business listings on the four big referral sites : Google , Facebook , Better Business Bureau , and even Yelp . Believe it or not , we have couriers where their customers leave Yelp reviews . Yelpers love Yelp !
CLDA Mag : What I ’ m hearing is , “ You want reviews . Ask for reviews .”
Lickliter : That ’ s it . You ’ ve got to ask first , and then you ’ ve got to make it highly convenient and easy for them to do it .
CLDA Mag : Does a carrier respond to positive reviews ?
Lickliter : Oh , yes ! Businesses that respond to reviews see a 13 % increase in revenues . And the response should be on the platform where they got the review . You want to make the response sound like a human . Not a machine . Maybe something like , “ Wow . Sunny , thank you for this incredible review !”
People love that . We know that 88 % of consumers say they would use a business that responds to reviews , compared to only 47 % who say they would use a business that doesn ’ t respond . It ’ s almost double . Fifty-six percent say that when they see that a business responds to reviews , it changes their perspective about that company . We also know that people spend 49 % more money on businesses that get reviews and respond to them . Sadly , most companies ( 73 %) don ’ t respond .
CLDA Mag : What about negative reviews ? How do you handle those ?
Lickliter : Getting negative reviews doesn ’ t necessarily hurt you . Where they hurt you is when you don ’ t respond . If I give you a negative review and you don ’ t respond to it , other potential customers see that . It gives them the impression you don ’ t care about your customers . Every once in a while , it doesn ’ t hurt to get a negative review . If a business has 450 all-5-star reviews , most customers are skeptical . A bad review isn ’ t the end of the world . How you respond is critically important .
The first thing we tell our customers after they get a bad review is NOT to go off on the reviewer . Don ’ t just jump at it and say , “ You stinking so and so ….” Nobody wins a public argument . Be very cautious about how you respond . Instead , use it as an opportunity to demonstrate that you want to learn from them . Say something like , “ Thank you for your candor and honesty . This is really important for us to address this . Please get in touch with me by direct message or cell , and I ’ d be more than happy to address this and make you happy again .” Don ’ t be
summer 2024 I customized logistics & delivery Magazine 29