Few purchases are made without reading reviews of a product or service online. According to Zendesk, 90% of customers are influenced by online reviews. Reviews provide key insight about the quality of the product and the reputation of the company. Unfortunately, reviews can be easily skewed toward the negative as customers with a poor opinion are often the most motivated to write reviews. Below are some ways to gather honest reviews from more customers so you can present the most accurate view of your company as possible to potential customers.
First, it’s so important to have your profiles on review sites set up, streamlined, and easily searchable. The number one site that people use to leave reviews is Google My Business. It’s usually the first platform that people check and leave reviews on because it’s so easily accessible from the Google Maps app. Facebook is also a major source of reviews because most people are on Facebook regularly. Other popular sources of reviews include Yelp, Amazon, TrustPilot, the Better Business Bureau, and Angie’s List. Which platforms you focus on is going to depend on your business but keep on top of these profiles and check them often. Consumers are checking reviews all the time.
A good way to get more reviews from your clientele is by requesting that they write them. After a purchase is made, send a follow-up email requesting a review. You can provide a discount code, bonus points, or a similar motivation to leave a review. You can also simplify the request by sending a survey that’s easy to respond to. Make it easy for them to leave the review by providing a direct and easily clickable link to the review site.
Responses to reviews are also important. Respond to your reviews whenever you can, but whatever you do, don’t respond to them with a template or pre-written response. Take the time to directly respond to what they actually mention, positive or negative. Addressing negative reviews with a desire to make things right can go a long way towards repairing the damage. Responding to positive reviews makes the customer feel like they are appreciated and that your business is engaged and approachable.
Customers are motivated by extremes in experiences when leaving reviews. A mediocre experience usually doesn’t warrant a review. Fantastic or terrible experiences do. Make sure that you are consistently providing excellent service to get those positive reviews. Everyone checks reviews and if you have strong positive reviews you will absolutely get more sales.
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