We will not beat around the bush and get straight to the statistical data. As the survey by Bright Local states,’91% of people aged 18-34 years trust online feedback as much as if they heard it from friends and relatives.
That is why, it is impossible to ignore the importance of online reviews for your business. Still, the question remains ‘How to encourage customers to leave feedback online?’ In this article, we have singled out 5 tips that will help you get more online reviews and improve your business reputation.
1. Keep it Simple
Let us be honest, no one wants to spend their time answering dozens of questions or searching where they can leave comments about your company. If you want your customers to leave their feedback after the purchase, the process should be fast and easy.
Whether you are going to receive reviews via email campaign, SMS, or review sites like TrustPilot, SiteJabber, Yelp or Google, you need to guide your client through the process. Leave the signs like ‘Find us on Yelp’, or consider sending follow-up emails asking for feedback with all the links to review websites.
2. Encourage Leaving Reviews
Usually it works like this: if everything is great, why leave the comment? If something is bad, ‘I want to express my anger’. For this reason, people are more likely to write negative reviews, and it is truly difficult to make somebody write about something good.
The best way to deal with this problem will be by encouraging your clients to communicate. You can get as creative as you can. From leaving messages at the bottom of your receipts to placing a card with ‘Thank you for your purchase! Leave your feedback on Yelp’ into a shopping bag. Anything can work.
You can also give your customers incentives for writing reviews. For instance, you can offer a little bonus or a discount on the next purchase. Incentives increase customer experience.
3. Share Reviews
Another piece of advice that can help is sharing the reviews you have already got. Especially, it works on social media. For example, companies often share clients’ positive reviews on Instagram and mention the person. ‘Thank you, Jessica, for such appreciation! Looking forward to seeing you again at our restaurant’. People are social creatures and they like when they get noticed, so other customers may feel encouraged as well to leave the reviews about their experience.
4. Respond to Your Clients
Always communicate with your clients. Do not forget to thank for positive feedback. What is even more important, do not forget to respond to negative reviews. Negative reviews are a perfect means of getting to know your clients’ needs and desires. If you understand what drives your customer mad and then solve the problem, your business will definitely hold all the aces. It is difficult to respond to every customer’s review and not replying to the customer may cause less profit to the business. It is suggested that business owners can find an opportunity to buy Sitejabber reviews to look more credible to the customer and to bring more profit to the business.
“Replying to your clients in a timely manner is crucial for any business. Customers like when they are heard, no matter what kind of review they leave: a positive one or a negative one. Quick replies show that the company is professional and that it really cares about it’s online reputation. Try to personalize each and every response. Show some empathy for your customers’ distress or leave a thoughtful reply to a positive review to make your customer feel valued,” suggests Adam Simon of LegitWritingServices essay writing services review website.
5. The Right Question at the Right Time
To get useful feedback from clients you need to ask the right question. As a business owner, you should know all the pros and cons of your company, so use this knowledge to your advantage. Do not limit your questions to ‘Did you like the service?’. Think what has been bothering you as an owner, and ask your clients about it. It is often the little details that matter, like ‘Did you like the food for breakfast?’ (asked by the hotel you stayed at).
It is also important to ask the questions at the right time. If a client gets an email asking them to leave review about their experience at some shop a year ago, do not expect them to answer. As the saying goes, make hay while the sun shines.
Summing up, getting online reviews is one of the business priorities nowadays. The word of mouth has become digital, so do not lose the opportunity to boost your business and try out at least some of the tips straight away.