Businesses should watch out for some common traps when it comes to online reviews. For example, if your business gets most of its customers from referrals, you may not have any reviews or may not give weight to the reviews that you do have. On the other hand, you don’t want to spend a lot of time trying to get reviews unsuccessfully. There’s a balance to find between the time you spend getting reviews and how many reviews you get. In addition, you’ll want to find the balance between not caring around reviews and obsessing over them. This guide will help you do both.
Business owners like yourself also need to remember that it’s not just about a positive review. Many consumers are more likely to write negative reviews than positive ones, and you absolutely want positive reviews to balance it out. However, the easiest way to get a positive review is to think of your relationships with customers as potential ambassadorships. Every customer who uses your services or purchases your products has the ability to spread the word — good or bad — about your company.
Make It Easy for Customers to Review Your Company
Businesses who already connect with customers via email have half the job done. They’re already signed on to their PCs or phones so all you need to do is ask for a review in email. This might be a “Thank you for choosing us” email that includes a link to a page where they can review your company.
You may not have the email address of everyone who uses your services, so don’t forget about print media when it comes to getting reviews. You can add a QR code to your pamphlets. Many consumers will scan a QR code out of curiosity. These QR codes can be a link to Google+ or other citation site where they can leave a review.
Learn from Experience
Here are a few tips to help get online reviews:
- Don’t ask for Yelp reviews from people who are not regular reviewers on Yelp.
- Don’t send links to people to review you on Google if you don’t know that they have a Google email address.
- Ask people for their feedback promptly after a transaction.
- Remind people, like Amazon does, to write reviews for specific products or services if they do not immediately review you. 3 to 5 days late is ideal.
- Google may red flag getting many reviews in a day, so try to get reviews in a natural method over time.
- Many consumers will write a review for free so don’t make them feel bribed to write a review.
While you’re aiming for online reviews, don’t forget to simply ask people face to face. This is especially helpful when you’re performing service at a customer’s home or office, where they already have access to their computer. You may have to explain how to write the review, so be prepared to explain this when you make your request, no matter how you make that request for a review.
