Are you looking for ways to get new reviews to your website?
We live in a culture today that holds reviews as gold. Google, Yelp, Angie's List, Zillow, YellowPages, Health Grades, and the list goes on.
No matter which platform or industry you're in, it's critical to have a positive online presence that matches your offline customer experience.
You’ve gathered resources, made connections, networked and filled out paperwork. But, there’s still more to do: Getting online reviews. How do you get people to review your product or service online? Or, if you’ve been in business for a while, how do you get more online reviews?
Getting more online reviews is key in today’s market. About 90% of customers say they take into consideration reviews before they buy. Because this is so important, we’ve put together are 7 simple tips to help you get more online reviews:
Tip #1: Setup your Accounts on Key Review Websites
Yelp is one of the most popular out there, although not the only one. Take into account your industry before selecting which review websites are best for your business.
Google My Business is by far one of the most important review websites the internet has to offer to over 1 billion active users you have a higher chance of your customers leaving you a review.
If you're a real estate agent, Zillow is a great platform to gain credibility with your customers. Whatever site you choose, we highly recommend setting up a profile and claiming your business. When you do this, online reviews will come up in popular search engines like Google.
Pro tip: Perform a branded search for your competitors or other players in your industry and review which websites appear in the search results. The example below shows the top results for "Denver Restaurant".
In the example below, Trip Advisor is ranked 5th which indicates that Trip Advisor is trusted source as is well worth claiming and creating a listing.
Tip #2: Sign Up
Even though some online review sites don’t require you to sign up, you want to do this anyway. Signing up allows you to respond to feedback, such as thank for the comment or apologize if anything went wrong. People can see this and welcome the fact that you took the time to explain or appreciate.
Tip #3: Ask for the Review
Your guests won’t know to leave a review if you don’t ask! Don’t be afraid to ask for a review. Especially if you know they’ve had a great experience. You’ll be surprised how many people already do online reviews for the services and companies they love, so it won’t be difficult for them to add one more. If you’re not into asking for feedback, please revaluate. Being humble in business is a fantastic trait, but being boldly humble is an even better one.
Software like Rocket Reviews helps streamline the process and makes it quick and easy to ask for a review.
Tip #4: Reach Out to your Customer
Now that you’ve asked, make it even easier for your customers to review your business or service. Whatever review company you’ve signed up for, get a link and send it out to an email inviting your customers to review your business. Make sure the email is succinct.
Also, use the right language for your company. Brand identity is one of the reasons your customers identify with you, so matching your verbiage is essential. Lastly, your customers are important to be sure they feel it. Customers have many choices. It’s an honor they’ve chosen you.
An example of being brief and kind, without being cheesy is this:
“Thank you! Having you is a pleasure and we don’t take you for granted. To keep us on track, tell us what you thought. It means the world to us to keep you.” (Attach a link.)
Notice that the first thing in this example is a thank you. If you’re already (which is a great idea) sending thank you notes to your customers, we recommend incorporating your review link in this same email.
Tip #5 Be Timely.
Asking for the reviews when your services are still top-of-mind is key. We recommend asking for reviews within 2 to 4 days of service completion. This gives your customer time to settle into what you’ve offered. Don’t wait too much longer than this.
Customers will either forget the feeling of what they’ve gained with your product (which elicits the right words) or will think it a hassle to receive an email more than a week later.
Tip #6: Learn from the Best.
Your network already has someone who’s excellent at getting reviews. Ask them out for coffee (or a bite) and learn about what they’re doing. Utilize social media channels like LinkedIn or Twitter to reach to leaders in your industry.
You’ll find people want to share their experience and are happy to do so. Most business owners want each other to succeed and collaboration is the start of a great relationship. Be open to what they say and if it resonates with you, test it out for yourself.
Don’t forget to thank this person for their time!
Tip #7: Receive Well.
Getting reviews means getting all reviews, not just the positive ones. Keep calm and learn from any negative reviews. The most important aspect of receiving negative reviews is the insight you get. Pay attention to what the review is saying and why, and incorporate it, if appropriate.
Go as far as thanking the negative reviewer. Yes, this looks great to people reading your reviews, but most importantly, it builds character and it shows people you’re willing to improve.