Millions of business owners all over the world
struggle when it comes to generating a positive image of their company online.
Despite their best efforts, they just can’t seem to get momentum behind people
expressing positive sentiment.
But one simple strategy can change all that:
ask for a review.
Businesses that consistently ask people to
review them after a transaction or service has been completed are far more
likely to receive a higher volume of positive reviews. They also tend to get
more detailed feedback from both happy and unhappy customers, which can inform
strategic improvements.
Developing a habit within yourself and among
your employees to ask for reviews is therefore _the_
most important thing you can do. Doing so won’t just make you
look better online; it will also help you genuinely become better thanks to the
feedback you earn.
If you are a business owner or a marketer
trying your best to improve your online reputation, you can use the following
tactics to increase the rate of reviews you get.
Recognize Why Positive Reviews Are So Important Yet So Hard to Get
As with most best practices, understanding why
asking for reviews is important helps a ton with motivating your
follow-through.
Firstly, people care about online peer reviews
more than any other form of information on a product or service.
According to eMarketer, 31% of people 18+
trust the information they receive from online reviews. That’s the
highest-rated source, beating out the 23% of people who indicated they trust
recommendations and feedback from friends, family and colleagues the most.
Think about that: 8% more of the population
trusts strangers online more than their own family and friends!
Millennials — those 18-35 years old — have an
even bigger gap. 40% of them trust online reviews the most compared to 24% who
prefer input from people they know personally.
Yet, there’s an even bigger gap between the likelihood
of someone reading a review versus leaving a review.
Around half of people say
they check reviews
either “always” or “most of the time”. But 35% of people say they “rarely”
leave online reviews and 20% say they “never” do it.
Making matters worse, people are more likely
to leave a review after a negative experience compared to a positive one.
Getting happy customers to review your
business is therefore a huge challenge, but one definitely worth meeting head
on.
Business owners must recognize the importance
of pushing through the uphill battle to earn more reviews. To help them find
success, they can use any of the following tactics.
Make Verbal Requests Part of Every Customer Customer Interaction
Employees must be trained to ask for reviews
at the end of their interactions with a customer. People are more likely to
feel positively towards an individual requesting a review compared to a
faceless request bearing a company logo.
“The person-to-person request is incredibly
effective, particularly if the requester has spent a lot of time with the
customer,” says digital marketing firm owner Brian Patterson. He reveals
that in-person requests get seven to
eight times more reviews compared to email.
Everyone in your company should therefore make
it an instinct to ask for a review. Don’t be pushy or directly ask that they
say something positive. Just request politely that they leave feedback “if
they’ve had a good experience.”
Better yet, ask about their experience
beforehand just as a barometer. If someone feels positively, suggest they leave
a review.
If they react negatively, do everything you
can to record their input and correct their issues. This helps them feel
listened to, gives them an outlet to vent before they go online, and also gives
you information for improving your services later on.
Make It as Easy as Possible for Someone to Review
How many times have you thought about leaving a review but didn’t?
This happens to people all the time, and they quickly forget that they meant to leave a review in the first place.
Fix this problem by sending helpful digital reminders.
Asking in-person is the first step since it creates intent in the mind of the customer. They promise someone something, so they have more intention to follow through compared to a generic “Review Us!” request.
The second step is to make leaving a review as effortless as possible.
Ideally, you email them a direct link to your preferred review site, such as Google or Yelp. You can also send out general reminders periodically on Facebook and other social media so past customers can remember to review you.
Some customers may even respond well to links sent via SMS, so take surveys and have customers indicate their preferred option so you can work with their tendencies, not against them.
Emphasize Strong Customer Service Basics
When it comes to positive reviews, consistent
service that delivers on baseline expectations is far more important than
“wowing” the customer.
According to the Harvard Business Review, many efforts to
“surprise and delight” the customer fall short. They write that “89 of the 100
customer service heads we surveyed said that their main strategy is to exceed
expectations. But despite these Herculean—and costly—efforts, 84% of customers told
us that their expectations had not been exceeded during their most recent
interaction.”
Instead of going above and beyond, try to get
the ground level right. Hammer home basic customer service practices, such as
asking if someone needed help or if they experienced any problems.
Listening to customers during their
transaction helps improve their positive sentiment towards their overall
experience. If someone has an issue, try to resolve it or offer some way to
make it up to them.
Speaking of which, gathering data from older
reviews is an important step for businesses looking to improve their online
reputation. Find patterns within negative feedback, and work to improve these
recurring issues.
Also, make note of any positive feedback so
you can explain the importance of certain aspects of the customer journey to
employees, such as having a friendly attitude.
Monitor Online Reviews and Respond to Those That Need Your Attention
Respond to a reasonable rate of glowing
positive reviews — maybe around 5% to 10% — and try to address issues presented
in negative reviews.
When responding to negative reviews, always
take the customer’s feelings and experience as gospel. Work on moving the
relationship forward towards resolution rather than making excuses or arguing
about what happened in the past.
You want to appear pro-active and eager to
resolve conflicts rather than interested in starting publicly visible fights
online.
Constantly Collect Customer Review Data to Improve Your Online Reputation
Once you begin your efforts to earn more
reviews and improve your reputation, track your results.
Try to look for patterns among the types of
customers who are more likely to leave positive reviews. As an example, people
who use a specific product or service may come away feeling more positive
compared to others. Focus more on these people when requesting feedback.
You may also notice that certain tactics are
more effective than others. Sending an email from a named employee email
account compared to a generic “customer support” account can increase your
positive review rate, for instance.
Over time, data generated from your reviews
will reveal a path forward where a higher rate of your customers leave reviews,
and a higher percentage of those have something nice to say.
Keep asking for reviews, and maintain focus on
providing great experiences, and you should be able to improve your online
reputation in no time flat!
Content written for Digital Harvest Marketing.