Allowing your customers to post their comments and observations on your web site can seem like a risky move, but according to Jez Hall, Director of the online garden machinery supplier, Mower Magic (www.mowermagic.co.uk), it’s a great way of bringing you online store to life.

“I saw SellerDeck’s feedback service, Feefo, being plugged on their forum and decided it was worth a try.

“As a specialist retailer, we like to provide the best possible advice and service to our customers, but unless they’ve known us for while it’s understandable for them to be sceptical about the recommendations we make. We felt that implementing Feefo would support their decision to buy from Mower Magic and boost our credibility.”

With that in mind, Jez set about implementing Feefo, which went better than he anticipated.

“Feefo was already integrated into SellerDeck, so there were few technical issues to overcome. The big problem was how to get enough initial feedback to generate an impact,” Jez commented.

“SellerDeck advised us to approach all customers who’d purchased from us over the last three months. The SellerDeck software automates the process, so we contacted more than 1000 customers, asking them to comment on their experience. The response was amazing and in a few days we had feedback across much of the site.”

With the service up and running, Mower Magic has since enjoyed a number of important benefits.

“There’s no doubt in our mind that having feedback published alongside product information has improved closure rates on our site,” said Jez, “And our 97 per cent approval rating dispels most fears shoppers might have about us as a supplier. They also get to see our customer feedback score in Google which means we generate more visitors.” He added.

“We do get negative feedback as well, all of which we try to respond to. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but you can please almost all of the reasonable people, which can reflect well on the business. We’ve also found negative feedback useful, helping us identify and fix operational issues.

So what tips would Jez give to other Merchants implementing Feefo?

“There are three pieces of advice I’d offer. Firstly, once you have tested the waters, contact as many previous customers as you can to generate feedback. Secondly, publish feedback on the site below the product. And finally, respond to as many negative reviews as you can.”

“If your business is offers true value to customers, then Feefo can help it to grow.”