There are plenty of online review statistics to prove it: 91% of consumers say they are more likely to use a business with favorable reviews.
It may seem daunting at first, but getting more reviews for your local business isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Try these seven techniques
Collect email addresses when invoicing
Asking for your customers’ email addresses and phone numbers at the point of purchase is a great step towards getting reviews from them. Usually, people who give these contact details to the company are more likely to have had a satisfactory experience and, as a result, are much more likely to tell others about their experience… Once you have received the email, send a friendly follow-up a week later, asking them to write an honest review of their business experience.
Important
When requesting a review, always check and follow the latest official guidance from the review platform: Google’s opinion on getting reviews Yelp’s opinion on getting reviews Believe what the Pilot says about requesting reviews.
Use in-store signage to promote your reviews
As a local business with a physical shop, you can use in-store signage to promote your reviews. This can be in the form of banners, flyers, brochures, windows links etc. You can also include a request for a review at the bottom of your invoice receipt.
These are clear clues that you want and appreciate online feedback, that you are interested in their opinions, and that you are committed to continually improving your service.
An act of gratitude for honest feedback
Let your employees know how much you appreciate their honest reviews, especially if the customer seems satisfied with the service. Of course, if there is a queue of customers and the person at the counter repeats the same “please review” message to everyone, this tactic will not be effective.
However, if there is a relationship of trust, the friendly staff member has the right to use his or her own judgement and decide that you might want to consider removing the review of <company name>. This must be the case.
In this case, the request for a review sounds heartfelt, not forceful. Note that this applies to both in-store staff and online/telephone support.
Stating your review on the website
The easier it is for customers to post a review; the more reviews you are likely to get. This sounds very obvious, but many companies don’t try to simplify the customer review process.
The main reason why most people don’t leave reviews is because they don’t want to make the effort to ‘learn’ how to do it. Even if they knew how to do it, it would be seen as an unnecessary and tedious task.
So make it as easy as possible for your customers to leave you valuable feedback. Use action buttons or pop-ups on your website (it’s not too much trouble) to direct them to your Yelp or Google My Business review page; use a direct link generator like Supple to generate your own Google Review for your business Consider generating a link and emailing it to your customers.
This link will take your customers directly to your Google My Business URL, where they can easily write and post a review. Don’t expect your customers to follow an elaborate path to write a review.
Use social media
You can use social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to post specific questions about your company’s performance. We invite our followers to leave a review on the review platform of their choice.
For example, if you run a restaurant, you can informally ask your followers if there is an old menu item that they miss a lot. You can call this a “poll” and ask your customers to refer to it as part of their review. This way, your customers can share a fun story in the form of a review and increase your brand engagement on social media.
Respond to every review with compassion
No matter how busy you are, if someone takes the time to review your business, it’s your responsibility to do so. And while it’s always preferable to avoid sounding robotic as a brand, even a simple and timely “thank you” can help customers become attached to your business.
In other words, your response should ideally be personalized and expressed in your own words. Knowing that you have responded to all reviews, good or bad, gives the impression that your company genuinely cares about consumers’ feelings and allows new customers to share their experiences. It’s an incentive to take the time.
It also means that you won’t get tired of negative reviews. It increases your brand’s credibility. If every review is sunshine and rainbows, there’s almost always something fishy going on. People will start to question the authenticity of the review. Here are some guidelines to follow when responding to a negative review.
Respond as quickly as possible
Acknowledge your mistake. Explain your point of view politely. Write a meaningful and personal apology. Offer an immediate solution or compensation (refund, voucher, etc.). Ask for the problem to be taken offline if you feel it is out of your control.
It is the customer’s experience in our shops that determines the quantity and quality of reviews. If customers respect your products, services or the experience they have had, they will want to leave a review.
In order to get more reviews, it’s important to meet and exceed expectations. So if you’re trying to deliver the best customer experience, you can rest assured that you’ll get results.