Alright, you’ve set up your profiles on Google My Business and social media channels.
You’re getting some traffic to your site, likes on your Facebook page, and are seeing conversions from that traffic. That’s great!
But here’s the question: How many of those people are leaving online reviews for your brand?
If the answer is none (or very few of them), then you have to work overtime to get more.
So, why are online reviews important?
An online review can make or break a business, especially in today’s world where a lot of things happen on the internet.
Reviews are essential for businesses to generate sales leads and create a brand awareness.
According to one study, 92% of customers read online reviews regularly and that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
You might be wondering: What can you do to encourage more people to leave reviews?
1. Be proactive in asking for reviews
You want to have more reviews to grow your customer base, however, this doesn’t come easily.
You need to remember that most people will not voluntarily write an online review unless they feel strongly about your product or service.
But here’s a little known fact:
Do you know that 70% of consumers will actually leave a review as long as you ask them to?
Yep! Apparently, all you’ve got to do is ask.
As the saying goes: If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
2. Incorporate reviews as part of your sales process
As a business owner, you may not always be in front of customers.
So, how can you make sure everyone in your team is proactive in asking for online reviews?
The key is to incorporate this step into your sales process.
This way, it will be an automatic or even a natural part of how you do business.
For example:
If you have an online business, send an auto-generated email after a transaction requesting customers to leave an online review on your review platforms.
If you have a physical business location, make this a part of how you train salespeople from the time they get hired. Or introduce a new training program that incorporates this step for existing employees.
Here’s another hot tip:
Ask your sales staff to ask customers to share their email addresses so you can include them in your customer database. This way, you can remind them to leave a review.
3. Simplify the review process for the customer
Many customers are reluctant to leave reviews because they don’t want to spend the time to do it, thinking that it will be a time-consuming chore.
Help your customers overcome these obstacles by making the process easy for them.
When your customers realize that leaving a review does not require too much effort, they will be more willing to do it.
How to make it simple? Here are some examples:
If you are face to face with a customer in-store or in a physical location, you can have a tablet or mobile phone with you to show them how to leave a review.
Do a demo on how to quickly find your website, Google My Business page, or Facebook page and how they can leave a quick review.
If you are asking for a review via email, include a clickable button or link they can’t miss that will direct them to the page where they can leave a review.
If you are already interacting with them via instant messaging, you can send them a link to the review page.
4. Be specific when asking customers for reviews
Another common reason why customers are hesitant to leave reviews is that they are not sure what to write.
Maybe you’ve experienced asking a customer for a review only to be told:
“I don’t know what to say…”
How do you get around this?
Be specific in your request.
If you want them to review your product, get into detail what you want them to talk about.
For example:
If you are running a local café and you want your customers to leave you a review…
Don’t say:
“Please leave us a review.”
Say instead:
“Can you tell us about your thoughts on our coffee selection, breakfast options, WiFi, customer service, etc.? What do you like most about our café?”
See the difference?
Instead of being vague and generic, you’re now giving your customers an idea about the topics you want them to talk about.
5. Respond and engage with your customers
The way a business responds to customer reviews can be an indication of how much they care about their customers.
Moreover, responding to all reviews (good and bad) shows that you are taking time out of your day for each individual customer’s needs.
This can encourage new customers to share their own experiences with your business.
We hope that these tactics can help you get more positive reviews online and increase trust in your business. Need help setting up your online review platforms?
Speak with us today for a FREE CONSULTATION.