In the digital age, online reviews quickly became a go-to source for all the potential customers who consider buying from a business.
Of course, everyone wants to have positive customer reviews: they enhance your brand reputation, attract new customers, and can even drive sales.
But getting customers to leave feedback for your business can be challenging.
In the following article, you’ll learn effective strategies to increase the number of customer reviews your business is receiving and to get not only quantitative, but qualitative feedback as well.
Why customer reviews matter
Customer reviews can make or break your business.
While it’s true that word-of-mouth remains detrimental for your brand reputation (especially when it comes to local businesses), online reviews are critical for a few reasons:
- Trust and credibility: Positive online reviews provide proof that your offerings are reliable and of high quality. However, be aware that negative reviews can work in your favor as well, if you know how to handle them. After reading this article, you can learn more about how to respond to negative reviews as well.
- SEO benefits: According to Brightlocal, online reviews contribute to about 17% of search engine rankings for local businesses. That’s because search engines favour websites with positive reviews. It’s important to make sure that your business has a good presence on Google and that you always keep track of your incoming reviews.
- Increased sales: Positive reviews can directly influence purchasing decisions. According to research, 90% read online reviews before visiting a business. That means that it’s crucial to have several qualitative reviews to help potential customers make a decision or even just consider buying from your business.
Strategies to get more customer reviews
- Deliver great customer service
According to Gartner, customer experience is responsible for more than two-thirds of customer loyalty, surpassing the relevance of brand and price.
That being said, it’s clear that the foundation of getting positive customer reviews starts with providing excellent customer service.
Make sure that your team is trained to handle inquiries promptly and that your employees always have a good attitude when interacting with clients.
- Just ask for a review
According to Brightlocal, 68% of all consumers provide a review for a local business after being asked to do so.
Sometimes, customers don’t immediately think about leaving a review, even when they are satisfied with the service provided. It’s your job to remind them that you would appreciate their feedback.
Research says that up to 80% of reviews come from follow-up emails asking shoppers to rate their purchases. This will be an effective strategy if you sell your products online.
If you own a business with a physical location, you should instruct your employees to ask for an online review during the conversation with the customers.
- Make it simple for the customer
The truth is that the customer doesn’t really gain anything from leaving a positive review.
That’s why you should make sure that the review process is as simple as possible for your shoppers.
Update your pages on all the review platforms that fit your business.
You should also provide easy to access links and ensure that your website has clear CTAs that guide your customers towards leaving a review.
- Reward customers that write online reviews
Offering incentives can motivate customers to leave reviews.
Consider providing discounts, coupons, or entry into a prize draw as a reward for leaving a review.
Be mindful of the guidelines on review incentives to ensure they remain ethical and transparent.
- Use social media in your favour
Social media platforms are a great place to promote and gather customer reviews.
Encourage your followers to leave reviews on your Facebook page, or share their positive experiences on social platforms, like Instagram or X (remind them to tag you or to use a specific hashtag, if that’s part of you marketing strategy).
You can also give your audience a little nudge through your content.
Next time you’re out of ideas for a story or a post on your business socials, you can post a customer testimonial and create content that revolves around the reviews that you already got.
Make sure to use the right CTA and remind your audience that they can be part of your journey as well by leaving you feedback.
- Use a reputation management tool
A reputation management tool can help you with the process of collecting and managing reviews.
These tools often offer features such as automated review requests, review monitoring, and analytics to track your brand reputation over time. They can help you respond to reviews promptly, showing customers that you value their feedback.
A great review management software will offer features such as review monitoring, review gathering, unlimited users number, review filtering by different criteria and custom reports.
Wait a second. I just described FeedCheck.
If you’re interested in a review management software, don’t hesitate to contact us or request a demo.
Conclusion
Customer reviews are invaluable assets for your business.
However, it’s important to remember that their quality is just as important as their quantity.
If you want to get more authentic online reviews, you firstly have to make sure that your business offerings reach the highest standards. After ensuring a flawless customer service, don’t hesitate to ask your shoppers to give you feedback.
When you’re all set and the customer reviews start flowing, consider using a review management tool.
Because it’s useless to get so many reviews if you don’t monitor them, right?
If you want to learn more about our reputation management software, get a demo or contact us.