Online reviews are becoming increasingly important to many businesses. Because everybody involved in marketing is clearly a liar (or so we got told regularly), potential customers are far more likely to trust real people that your marketing efforts.
Having testimonials and positive reviews plays a bit part in persuading prospects to at the very least consider doing business with you. There are now a growing number of platforms for customers to leave reviews and depending on your industry this could include Google, Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor.
Getting your customers to spend time writing reviews can be tricky and if done wrong can even influence the review itself. Here are our best tips for how to get your customers to leave a review:
Ask in person
Ultimately, the best way to get a review is always by asking face-to-face. And the best time to ask is once the job has been finished and you have established a positive connection. Whoever is responsible for the sale or service is in the perfect position to request a review. They have built a bond, and the customer will feel more inclined to than being asked by another figure (such as the owner).
If you are considering asking for customer reviews, figure out which employees build the deepest relationships with customers. This person/s should be in control of asking.
The very best time to ask is after they have just thanked you for your service / meal / lesson. All you need to do is ask them to repeat what they have told you in writing for others to read.
Via email
Sometimes it isn’t always possible to ask in person. There are times when you don’t have a lot of face-to-face interaction with a customer. In such situations, email may be your only option.
The only problem with this technique is that it is hard to gage if the customer will be leaving a positive or negative review. For this reason it is recommended to pre-screen with an internal survey before inviting to them to leave a public review.
The email should come from an employee’s personal email address, preferably someone the customer is familiar with, and should be as personalised as possible. Make sure to follow the goal -remove all social and website footer links, and leave a sole review click-through button.
Incentive
Some of the time your most loyal and satisfied customers need a little nudge and incentive to take time out of their busy schedule to write a review. Giveaways where you choose one reviewer at random on a monthly basis for a prize are an effective way to encourage reviewers. It is important to make sure that your offer is for writing a review in general and not for writing a good review – leave no impression that you are paying for a good review.
It is also worth checking terms and conditions for different review sites as some are very specific about what they allow.
It’s in your hands to ask for reviews. It is all too common for business owners to wave the white flag and assume that there is nothing that can be done when in truth quite the opposite is true.
There is no special formula or strategy to getting a page-full of five stars reviews. If you are confident in the product or service that you offer, all you need is a commitment to see the process through and there is no doubt that the positive reviews will follow.
When you do receive a negative review, think of it as useful feedback. The chances are the reviewer is doing you a genuine favour. For everybody who posts about ‘cold food’ 10 or 20 people will have experienced it and silently vowed never to return. By pointing it out they are giving you the chance to improve situation in the future.
For marketing advice specific to your business, get in touch and speak with a marketing specialist on 01858 374 170 or email info@idealmarketingcompany.com
