How to get more Customer Reviews and Testimonials
Customer reviews and testimonials can be incredibly valuable for your business.
After all, the word of a happy customer can carry more strength than the words of a marketing department.
Added to that, a large number of positive reviews will create a positive image of your business for new customers. After all, all these reviews would signify the excellence of your customer service efforts.
Today, we will discuss how to get more customer reviews for your business.
Before you ask for customer reviews
Before you get started asking for customer reviews you need to review your own customer-focused strategies.
After all, you want to make sure that the vast majority of the reviews you are receiving are positive.
Make sure you are tracking different customer support metrics and KPIs and implementing customer service standards in your company to upheld high levels of customer satisfaction.
How to get more Customer Reviews
It’s now time to go over our tips on how to get more customer reviews at your for your business.
Verify your business and all relevant platforms
First, start by verifying your business profile on all the platforms you want to get reviews on. Additionally, make sure all your business information on said profiles is up to date.
While Yelp, Google and Facebook might be some of the most popular business review platforms, do not ignore review websites that might be exclusive for your industry or location.
Lastly, apply the following strategies as per the terms of service of the platforms you’ve decided to collect reviews on.
Ask for reviews directly (At the right time!)
The first recommendation is quite evident, just ask!
However, you do not want to become annoying with your requests for reviews.
You can avoid this by mapping out your customer’s journey and identifying the best moments to interject with a request for a review.
No matter the company or industry, there will always be key moments where a customer will be happy to leave a review for your business.
Incentivize your staff to ask for reviews
Once you identify these moments, make it a priority to train your staff to identify these moments too and interject with request for reviews.
Offer incentives for reviews
An effective way to get more reviews from your customers is to offer an incentive for each review. It could be a discount coupon, a free product or perk.
However, before you introduce this strategy, make sure to double-check the terms and conditions of the review website you’re using since some of them do not allow for these strategies.
Showcase your favorite reviews
Showcasing and featuring your favorite customer reviews is a great way to garner more reviews. This can be done via social media, in-store signage and more.
The goal is to reward your customers with praise and attention for leaving reviews for your business.
Other customers who notice this praise and attention might be motivated to leave a review for your business.
Respond to all Reviews
Leaving responses for both positive and negative reviews will show customers that you truly care about what they have to say and that you’re actively reading their reviews.
When a customer is thinking about leaving a review for your business, they will be more likely to leave one if they notice you’ve responded to all the reviews other customers have left.
Place signage in-store
If you have in-store locations, a great way to drive more customer reviews is through physical signage around the store. After all, these signs will let your customer know what platforms they can find you on for review purposes.
Make sure to highlight the platforms you’re on (Yelp, Google, Facebook) and how to find your business (Either by searching or with a specific link). Adding a QR code to your signage can also help your customers find your business much faster.
Leave your own positive review first
Another great way to get more reviews from customers is to leave a review of your customers first.
This practice was made popular by platforms such as Uber and Airbnb, where hosts and drivers can leave reviews of their guests and riders and vice versa. This not only creates review profiles for everyone but incentivizes guests and riders to leave more reviews as well.
Creating a platform where you can positively review your customers will motivate them to review your business in return as well.
Closing Thoughts
All the strategies we have discussed work differently depending on your business. A strategy that might work for your business might not work for another.
We encourage you to test all these strategies and double down on the ones that work best.