Customer reviews play a crucial role when it comes to your company’s reputation and recognizability. They help other people and companies decide to send an inquiry or start cooperation with your business. However, in order to benefit from customer reviews, you need to get many of them and, if possible, regularly. Let’s see how you can encourage customers to leave more reviews.
Earlier this year, BrightLocal conducted research on customer reviews and their impact on your business. As it happens, customer reviews play a huge role in improving your CX. Nowadays, more consumers are reading online reviews than ever before. In 2021, 77% of them did so ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ when browsing for local businesses. Moreover, just 3% said they would consider using a business with an average star rating of two or fewer stars. This means that you have to take care of your reviews; otherwise, customers won’t be interested in working with you.
Of course, the way to great customer reviews starts with excellent customer service. But doing your best to serve customers isn’t synonymous with getting more reviews. You need to do more and encourage your customers to share what they think. How?
Encourage your customers to leave more reviews
DISPLAY REVIEWS ON YOUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES
What’s the point of leaving a review if no one’s going to read it? Make sure reviews that you get are visible on your website and in other places where your company is present. When you showcase reviews that you get, you tell your customers that you value their opinion and want them to be heard. Here’s an example of how customer reviews could be displayed on your website:
Note that every product in this section has a star rating along with the information on how many reviews there are to see. When other customers see that their reviews are visible on the website, they will feel more encouraged to share their thoughts about a given product. Everyone wants to be heard.
ASK FOR A REVIEW
Sometimes, all you have to do is just ask nicely. People are super busy these days, and they can simply forget about the option of leaving a review. Try sending them a short email or displaying a short message on a thank-you page. It could be something like that:
Hey, Mike! Thank you for your order! Are you satisfied with your shopping experience? Tell others what you think about our store!
[link]
OFFER INCENTIVES IN EXCHANGE FOR REVIEWS
That’s probably the most effective way of getting more reviews. You have to be transparent, though. You cannot offer rewards for positive reviews; that’s an example of unfair business practices. What you can do is reward customers for in-depth reviews that go beyond “all is fine” (regardless if they are positive or negative). Such rewards should be easy to get and not too expensive; after all, it’s just a review. You can offer one-time free delivery or a 5% discount for the next purchase. Here, you need just a little trigger to help customers make the decision to share their opinion.
PUT A GOOGLE REVIEW BUTTON ON YOUR WEBSITE…
You can place a simple link/button on your website that directs customers to your Google My Business profile, where they can leave their reviews. You can do so with other websites (e.g., Yelp, Facebook, Amazon), but Google is the most common choice. All you need is a small icon with a link leading to your GMB profile (you can find a direct link in your GMB account: Customers -> Reviews -> Get more reviews).
Embedded video:
…AND ON YOUR STOREFRONT
If you run a brick-and-mortar business, you can also place an appropriate information on your storefront and near the register. If you feel like it, you can even mention about the possibility to rate your business to every customer that enters your store and buys something. Even Google distributes such stickers to companies that start a new GMB profile. Such a short request can be very effective! After all, remember that according to aforementioned study, 67% of your customers consider leaving a review after a positive experience.
RESPOND TO REVIEWS THAT YOU RECEIVE
It is beneficial to thank everyone who placed a review on your website or GMB/SM profile. Respond to every review, especially if it is negative or neutral. You can promise your customers to improve customer service or fix the problem mentioned in the review. This way, you will earn your customers’ trust and respect. Here’s a good example of a good reaction to a bad review:
Automate reviews with iPresso
The last thing you can do is employ marketing automation to get more reviews. First of all, you can send automated emails to everyone who has placed an order at your store or ordered a service. Such an email could be sent within a week after the service/product was ordered. Ask your customer about their experience and show them how they can place a review for other users. Here’s a good example of such an email:
Hey, John!
Thank you for your order! We’d like to know how we did – do you mind sharing your thoughts in a short online review? You can do so on our Google My Business/Yelp/Facebook account. All you need to do is click this link and write a few words.
We appreciate the time you take to tell us about your experiences with our company.
All the best,
Your online store team
iPresso offers email marketing automation that enables you to send personalized emails according to specific marketing automation scenarios, but we can do more! Take a look at our two other useful tools:
Would you like to know more? Start your free trial or reach out to our team today!
Leave a Reply