Having good reviews about your business can have a tremendous impact on your ability to succeed. Most people like to look up what others are saying before buying something. However, if you’re still just starting out, it can be difficult to compete with large companies who have hundreds if not thousands of reviews from their customers. But there are ways that you can get people to leave you reviews, and if you are successful, this can transform your business.
Make Use of Email
Email is a very powerful way to connect with people. Even though most of us get tons of irrelevant emails, we still pay more attention to this account than most anything else. So, if you already have an email list, consider reaching out to subscribers and asking them to leave you a review. Those that sign up to receive messages from you are already supporters, so this should be easy. If you don’t have an email list, start building one by adding a popup to your website.
Another way to use email to get reviews is to set up a trigger email. This is an email that gets sent right after someone makes a purchase, or some set time afterwards, asking them to review their experience. It can be a very effective way to get people to provide a testimonial for your product/service.
Ask Them (In)Directly
Another effective way to get people to leave you reviews is to ask them to do it. Place Yelp stickers on your door, leave table top signs or cards, put a message on the bottom of receipts, etc. All of this will serve as a subtle reminder to leave a review. If you want, you could offer some sort of incentive, such as a small discount or freebie, to encourage people to take action and actually leave a review.
Always Reply to Reviews
Reviews are very useful, but when you start soliciting them, you are exposing yourself to bad publicity. Of course, we all want to think that no customer will ever have a bad experience, but this just isn’t realistic. However, you can mitigate the effect of negative reviews by making sure to respond to them. Even a simple apology or explanation will go a long way. It might not change that person’s mind, but it will provide some context for future users, which can help make sure the negative review doesn’t deter them from doing business with you.
Promote Good Reviews
Sharing good reviews you receive is a really effective way of leveraging them into new sales. If someone lands on your website and sees authentic comments from past customers who were satisfied, this can push them over the edge and encourage them to buy. Consider posting some to your social media profile or setting up a rotating banner on your site so that people can see there are many happy customers out there.
Emphasise Customer Service
One sure-fire way to get a good review is to provide excellent customer service. Invest in things such as a help tool or chatbot, and make sure your sales reps and customer service agents are well-trained. This way, when someone comes to your store or website, they will have a positive experience that will result in them leaving a good review.
Find out more on asking a client for a testimonial