You are to assume the role of the owner of Custom Pottery, a small business located in a city with 300,000 people. An entrepreneurial consultant has recommended that you begin allowing and encouraging customer reviews. You will meet with the consultant to explain how you will encourage reviews and how the reviews can be used as a marketing technique.
Custom Pottery allows customers to choose designs, colors, and patterns for pottery pieces. While the company does sell completed pieces, most sales come from customers that want help designing their own piece. Customers first select a pottery piece, then can either choose a design or pattern from a Custom Pottery catalog or can submit a personal design. After two days, the finished pottery is available for pick-up.
When a customer places an order, an employee helps the customer choose the design and colors for the pottery, gathers the customer’s contact information, and collects payment in full. Once the pottery is finished, the customer is alerted by both phone and email for pick-up. Detailed instructions on caring for the pottery is included in the packaging at pick-up.
Custom Pottery has been in business for three years. The company operated for the first two years without a physical store location. During that time, Custom Pottery sold pieces at local craft fairs, farmers markets and through the company website. While their first physical store location opened last year, Custom Pottery still has a presence at craft fairs and farmers markets.
Custom Pottery has a company website, a Facebook page and an Instagram account. The company uses those platforms for marketing the business, displaying the unique pottery pieces available and showcasing customers’ creations.
You have met with an entrepreneurial consultant to discuss marketing techniques since you have very little money in your budget to allocate to marketing. The consultant has recommended an inexpensive marketing technique: allowing customers to market the company by providing reviews.
The consultant wants you to determine how you can encourage both past and current customers to write customer reviews. The consultant wants your ideas on how to encourage reviews, where reviews can be posted, if reviews should be responded to and how customer reviews act as a marketing technique.
