No amount of advertising, tweeting or direct mailing can affect customers the way an objective peer review can. That’s because in the age of social media sites and on-line reviews, it’s not what you say about your business that matters; it’s what others say about you.
According to a study performed by Dimensional Research and sponsored by Zendesk, 90% of participants said that positive on-line reviews affected their buying decisions, and 86% claimed their buying decisions were swayed by negative reviews.
Although online reviews are a precious asset for any business, getting reviews from customers can be a delicate courtship. Oftentimes, the greatest obstacle that small businesses have with online reviews isn’t receiving unfavorable ones– it’s getting them at all. Numerous small business owners can be skittish about asking clients for reviews, worrying that they’ll irritate and turn off a once happy consumer.
Nevertheless, if the success of your enterprise truly hinges on web-based reviews, inspiring reviews is a talent you’ll need to master. Here are seven suggestions to help you overcome the awkwardness and urge customers to leave reviews.
1. Make composing a review as simple as possible.
The typical client is not going to search for means to leave your company a review (except if they have a negative experience to share). That’s why you need to make it as simple as possible for customers to offer a review. Put direct links to your review accounts in several locations, for instance, a thank you or follow-up e-mail.
2. Appear on multiple review websites.
Everybody has his/her own preferred review site– maybe it’s where your customers analyzed your business to begin with. Having a presence on virtually every review website (or every review website which makes good sense for your enterprise) can make the process a lot more seamless and pleasant for your patrons. For example, there’s Yelp, Angie’s List, Google Local, Yahoo Local, LinkedIn, TrustLink and many more.
Ask patrons to leave a review on their favorite site– never ever force them to compose reviews on multiple websites. And take care regarding pressing customers to compose a review on a brand-new site. As an example, if a non-Yelper feels persuaded to create a Yelp account to give you a review, Yelp’s spam filtering system will likely flag their review and all that hard work will disappear into thin air.
3. Be candid.
In case you feel bashful about requesting a review outright, don’t. It’s a part of operating these days. You can help your case and also nourish a good reputation by being as honest and open as possible with your clients.
You can say a little something as simple as, “Your viewpoint matters to us and to other patrons, so we ‘d be truly appreciative if you take a couple of moments to review your experience,” or “Do you read internet reviews? We do, and so do other patrons. That’s why we ‘d love it if you take a couple of moments to review your experience.”.
4. Walk the enticements line carefully.
Many say that offering any kind of incentive for reviews contaminates the process and must be avoided at all costs. However, I recognize the simple fact that any individual writing a review is taking time out of their hectic routine to help the overall community. Offering a modest incentive (such as 20 % off discount) could be a good way to show your gratitude and encourage customers to make the effort to compose a couple of words. You merely need to make sure your offer is for penning a review, not just for writing a good review.
You might likewise delight reviewers by sending them a rebate code or other offer right after they’ve published a review. By doing this, you know your incentive didn’t impact their choice to pen a review, yet you still get to offer a small token of appreciation for their efforts.
5. Think about your market.
If your customers are Millennials, they’re already accustomed to discussing every single experience on-line and will most likely share their thought and feelings without having much motivating. Battering patrons under the age of 30 with appeals to post a review will most likely turn them off.
On the other hand, if you have more mature or much less social media savvy customers, these individuals could require a little more urging or hand-holding.
6. Transform reviewers into brand ambassadors.
While a favorable review is great for your business, the true worth lies in the reviewer. Think about it. That person took the time to describe and share the excellent experience they had when it comes to your business.
Think about exactly how you can further take advantage of this particular relationship. For example, you could create video reviews from your top customers to upload on your website. Absolutely nothing tells a story better than well-produced, honest video clips from real individuals.
7. Don’t ignore the unfavorable reviews.
While your objective is to get great reviews, you’ll more than likely encounter a bad review or two. Bad reviews aren’t always a business-killer, but exactly how you deal with a negative scenario can be. Listen to and attend to the bad reviews; you could have a chance to turn an unhappy customer into a brand supporter.
At the end of the day, the most effective path to possessing great reviews is to offer an excellent product and customer experience. If you’re doing all you can to produce an exceptional experience for your customers, there’s absolutely no reason not to tell them about the significance of sharing reviews.
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