Requesting Reviews

How to Get More Online Reviews

Many of us already know the value of online reviews, yet it can be a struggle to collect them. Sending review requests to each customer can put unnecessary stress on your staff and be a drain on your resources. Even after all of that work, you may not see a high response rate. Here is how you can make the reviews collection process easier for your business and get more responses.

Automate Review Requests

When it comes to collecting reviews, you want to strike while the iron is hot. The longer you wait to ask a customer for feedback, the less likely they are to give it. Automate your review requests to increase the chances of response. With an automated system, you can send timely review requests without overwhelming your staff.

Make the Process as Easy as Possible

At the end of the day, customers are doing you a favor when they leave a review online. They are taking time out of their busy schedule in order to help your business’s reputation. Because of this, make sure the review requests process is as straightforward as possible. Include the appropriate link within the review request so that your customers don’t need to do anything more than click and respond.

Respond to Each Review

It’s important to make a practice of responding to your reviews, both positive and negative. Google has confirmed that responding to your reviews boosts your local SEO. In addition to enjoying a higher ranking in Google, responding to your reviews makes customers feel appreciated and heard, which encourages future customers to leave reviews as well. When a customer leaves a good review, thank them for their response. When a customer leaves a negative one, work with them to find a solution to their problem.

Important Online Review Sites

There are many online review sites that your business can get new reviews on and be chosen by customers. The two main review sites that help with visibility are:

Google:

With Google being the most popular search engine, it only makes sense that it is also the most popular review site. Google accounts for 57.5% of all reviews worldwide. Take advantage of this by claiming your Google My Business profile and setting up Google reviews for your business.

Facebook:

Facebook is the second-largest review platform. With 2.41 billion monthly active users, Facebook is a great way for your business to gain visibility. Facebook’s wide reach makes it easier for your business to be discovered easily. Create a business page on Facebook and utilize this to start collecting more reviews for your business. (FYI Facebook now calls their reviews ‘recommendations.’)

Apart from these, there are several vertical-specific sites that you can invest your time and resources on.

Online Review Management

More review responses means more reviews to manage. In order to deliver top-notch customer experience, it’s important to learn how to track and respond to your reviews. When you are managing your online reputation, it’s important to be aware of the responses you are getting.

Let’s say you are a contractor, and one of your customers wrote a review saying that your technician left a mess behind after they finished up the job. This would be an issue you’d want to know about as soon as possible so you could rectify the situation. Similarly, if a customer had a fantastic experience with your business and wrote a glowing review about your technician, you’d want to thank the customer for their response and business.

It’s important to monitor your reviews so you can respond to them accordingly and have the best picture possible of your customer experience. Through a proper online reputation software you can effortlessly manage your reviews by:

• Sending automatic review requests right after a customer interaction.
• Getting notified when you receive negative reviews so that you can respond quickly.
• Tracking your reviews over time and identifying trends to know what your business is doing well and where you need to improve.
• The right review management software will have all of these qualities and more.

Start Collecting Online Reviews Today!

There is a lot to learn when it comes to online reviews, but don’t be overwhelmed. Here are some easy ways to get started.

Start small. Focus on getting more Google reviews first. The more reviews you get on Google, the higher you will rank in relevant Google searches. Focusing on Google reviews is a great way to help your business be found.

Industry specific sites may be helpful. Once you feel confident with Google reviews, expand your reach to other industry specific review sites. For example, if you work in hospitality or tourism, TripAdvisor is a great site to utilize. If you’re in the auto business, Cars.com is a good site for reviews.

Get a review management system. Invest in a software that can help you send review requests via email and SMS to get feedback from your customers. It should be able to alert you the moment a new review is written on any of your business review profiles. Last but not the least, the software should be able to help you quickly respond to reviews, and track your customer feedback over time.

Enjoy the benefits of more reviews! With more reviews your business will be discovered easily online through improved SEO. By establishing your social proof through reviews, you’ll attract more customers. And finally, you’ll establish more trust and credibility for your business through having a great reputation.

Online Reviews Are The Deciding Factor For Potential Customers

%

People that trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations

%

People that say a review must be written within last 2 weeks in order to be relevant

%

People that would choose a business with a 3 star or below review rating

%

People that are more likely to use a business that has responded to their existing reviews

58% of customers that judge local businesses on reviews say that recency of reviews is the most important factor.