Reviews are the lifeblood of your business’ online reputation, and to get more reviews for your business, all you have to do is ask!
Every business owner could benefit from asking for reviews.
Businesses need reviews, and that’s true regardless of how big or small the business is, or what industry it’s in. The fact is that, whether consumers are looking for an experienced electrician or a delicious place to grab a bite to eat, a lot of them are going to let online reviews guide their buying decisions. And unfortunately, even if you make it a point to provide the very best service, most people won’t take the time to write reviews on their own. That’s why you’ve got to ask!
Asking for reviews is more powerful than you might think. An estimated 70 percent of consumers will write a review when asked. However, a lot of business owners feel iffy about the notion of asking for reviews, and it’s important to note that, while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with asking for a review, there is a right way and a wrong way to do so.
10 Expert Tips for Asking for Reviews
#1. Make sure that your customers know how important their feedback is to you.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: most people won’t write a review on their own. It’s not because they’re lazy or they don’t care. In large part, people don’t write reviews because they don’t see the value in it. Although a lot of people utilize reviews to help them make buying decisions, many of them don’t realize how essential they are for small businesses. That’s why you need to let them know!
At the end of delivering the service or product, when the customer is gushing about how much they love your work, it’s OK to let them know that the best way they can thank you is by going online and writing a review for you. Tell them that their kind words online will help you get more business and improve your online reputation. Once they realize what an impact their review can have on your business, they’ll be a lot more willing to write one.
#2. Give them a choice of review sites.
The last thing you want is for one of your customers to have to create a username on Yelp or a profile on Facebook in order to leave you a review. This kind of inconvenience will make the likelihood of actually getting said review much smaller, and it’s why it’s not acceptable to have your business listed on one or two review platforms. You need to make it easy for your customers to leave you a review on the platform of their choice!
Make sure your business is listed on as many review platforms as possible, including the big ones — Google, Top Rated Local®, Yelp and Facebook. And don’t stop there. You also need to ensure that you claim your listing, which will make it possible for you to respond to reviews and effectively manage your business’ online reputation.
#3. Ask in person.
There are a lot of different methods you can use to ask for reviews, and while most of them are effective, the very best way to ask is in person. In fact, asking face to face is the gold standard as far as asking for reviews is concerned. When you ask in person, the likelihood that the customer will actually take the time to write the review is much higher.
Asking in person is especially powerful if you’ve been working with the customer face to face. Let’s say, for example, that you own a flooring store. Your sales associate has spent hours working with the customer on picking the right material, color and pattern for their needs. In those hours, a bond of some sort is formed, and the customer will feel more compelled to write a review.
#4. Get buy-in from your employees.
As a business owner, you’d probably like to be on the forefront of everything in your business, but the reality is that you’ve got a lot on your plate. Most business owners don’t have the time or the resources to be there for every customer interaction, and although you may not be there yourself to ask for a review in person, you can still utilize the power of asking face to face by having your employees on the front line ask for you.
Ensure that your employees know how important reviews are for your business. You can also incentivize reviews by offering bonuses or other prizes when your employee is mentioned in a review, or when a customer they work with leaves a review. This way, your employees are just as bought into the importance of getting reviews as you are, and it also encourages them to go above and beyond in every interaction they have with your customers.
#5. Ask in a follow-up email.
While asking for a review in person is probably the most effective way to actually get one, it’s not the only way, and in some cases, asking for a review via email might be your best bet. In situations where you don’t have a lot of — or any — face-to-face interactions with the customer, asking for a review in a follow-up email might be more comfortable for you or feel more appropriate for the situation. Here are a few tips for asking for a review via email:
- Use the person’s name in the subject line of your email.
- Test out the effectiveness of different subject lines.
- Send the request from a person’s email — don’t send the request from a faceless company account.
- Send a link in the email to multiple review sites, making it easy for them to leave the review on the site of their choice.
- Thank them ahead of time for their business and for taking the time to write you a review.
- Get personal in your email — email can often feel impersonal, but you can make it more personal by recapping the service you offered or your experience with them.
#6. Ask for feedback instead of asking for a review.
When you ask a customer for a review, you should never try to steer them toward leaving you a positive review or five stars. But unfortunately, in some cases, even if you simply ask, “Would you mind sharing your experience with our company in a review online?”, the customer will still hear, “Would you mind going online and leaving us a five-star review?” As unfair as it may be, it’s also for this reason that some business owners are scared off by the idea of asking for a review in the first place.
This is exactly why you need to be very careful about how you frame the question when you ask for reviews. In fact, you don’t even have to mention the word “review” at all, and sometimes it’s best if you don’t. You may find that, as opposed to coming out and asking for a review outright, sometimes, it’s much more effective to simply ask for feedback. For example, “We’d love to hear any feedback you have about your experience with our company! Would you mind sharing it with us on Top Rated Local?” This way, you’re not even mentioning reviews or attempting to shape the kind of review you’re asking for. It’s also important to frame the question in a way that the customer knows that you want their feedback in order to get better, not necessarily to get more customers.
#7. Ask for reviews in your invoices.
The vast majority of businesses send out invoices to every single customer, which makes them a great place to request reviews online. One of the best parts about asking for reviews in invoices is that you don’t have to think about it; the request is automatically sent to every customer without the need for you to take more time out of your schedule or to make a special request. Plus, this way, it doesn’t look as if you are only asking for reviews from customers who have had a good experience because you’re asking everyone.
Whether you’re asking for a review in a digital invoice or a physical invoice, it’s important to direct your customers to the review platforms your business is listed on. And if you’re sending out a digital invoice, take it one step further by including the links to review sites, eliminating the need for your customers to search for you online. If you’re sending out physical invoices, you can accomplish the same thing by including a QR code your customers can scan that will take them directly to your business’ profile on review sites.
#8. Ask for a review via handwritten thank you note.
Asking for a review in an email and in person are both great options, but there’s another great option that not many business owners utilize these days — direct mail! These days, direct mail is seen as an outdated marketing tactic that can’t keep up with the hustle and bustle of the world of fast-paced digital marketing, but it’s important to recognize the fact that it can still be incredibly effective, especially when it comes to asking for a review.
After the service is complete, take a moment to write out a thank you note by hand. In this note, you should recall what you did for them, thank them for their business and let them know how much it would mean to you if they would take a few minutes to leave you some feedback on Top Rated Local, Google, etc. Direct mail works because it has a significantly higher open rate than email does, and the fact that you actually took time out of your busy day to write out the note in hand will make a big impact on your customer.
#9. Give your customers an incentive for writing reviews.
Sometimes, it’s not enough to simply ask for a review or explain why a review is important. Some people need a little more motivation to write a review for your business, and one of the best ways to get reviews out of those people is to encourage them through incentives. However, you’ll want to be careful when it comes to incentives for reviews. It’s important to note that there’s a fine line between incentivizing reviews and paying for them — which is more than a little frowned upon.
When you incentivize reviews, it’s important to make it clear that you are incentivizing every review, not just five-star reviews. It’s also important to offer the same incentive to every customer, not just the ones who are happy with your service. Here are a few examples of incentivizing reviews the right way:
- Enter customers who write reviews in drawings or sweepstakes.
- Offer a future discount for writing reviews.
- Provide customers who leave you with reviews exclusive offers.
- Add a bonus to the customer’s next order for leaving you a review.
#10. Ask for reviews while everything is still fresh.
Reviews can give you a lot of insight into how customers perceive your business, giving you the ammunition you need to get better and mold your service into something your customers really want. However, in order to get real, honest feedback that you can actually use to get better, it’s important that your customer write a review for you while they remember everything clearly and it’s all still fresh in their mind.
One of the best times to ask for reviews is when the customer is in the process of giving you feedback in person. When they’re sitting there with you, expressing their gratitude or concern, it’s the perfect opportunity to ask them to put that feedback in a review that will help you make your company better and help other customers make the right buying decisions.
Take ownership of your online reputation with Top Rated Local!
In this day and age, asking for reviews is a no-brainer, and it’s something every business owner should be doing. But there’s one other incredibly simple things you can do to take ownership of your online reputation, and that’s to claim your business listing with Top Rated Local! When you claim your business, you’ll be able to respond to your reviews, receive real-time notifications about your online reputation, gain an immediate boost to your Rating Score™, display the Top Rated Local badge on your website and so much more — and the best part is that it’s free!
What are you waiting for? Set up your business on Top Rated Local for free today!
