When asking for #reviews from your customers there are several factors that should be considered to encourage favorable feedback. Many consumers struggle with trusting a company, especially online. Consumers want to ensure they are choosing honest, tried, and consistent products and services. Thus, many times before a purchase, consumers consult with family and friends for recommendations. However, in this modern society, online reviews and feedback from customer’s purchases are now widely used as a guide worldwide.
Knowing that positive reviews are easily achieved once asked, the question is how do you appropriately create the avenue to ask your customers for good reviews to receive the best outcome for your business?
Make varying spaces available to leave reviews
Facebook, Google, TripAdvisor, email testimonials, surveys, are all potential spaces for consumers to leave reviews. Which websites do you use the most for your products or services? Make sure you give a space for consumers to tell you how you're doing.
Incorporate incentives
Give your customers a reason to leave a good review eg. discounts and coupons. Or offer repeat customers a discount on their next purchase. The more interactions a consumer has with your products or services, the likelihood increases they'll tell other consumers about it.
Enhance content
Set up website badges to lead to your review pages. Link from social media to your preferred review sites. On email campaigns leave the links in your footer or sidebar. After a consumer experiences a service, send an email/text message with links to your review profile. The more spaces there are for consumers to review your products or services the chances increase that they will leave a review.
Respond positively to even bad reviews
Bad reviews are going to happen. It's the price of doing business. You want to make sure that you don't respond right away. Research the claims in the review. Is there any truth to what the review says? Are there opportunities to make changes within your business? Are there extenuating circumstances that aren't mentioned? Be honest in your response to the consumer. Be positive. Invite them to call and discuss the experience further. Offer a discount if necessary to make up for a mistake of the company. It's important to respond to all reviews, even bad ones.
Share positive current customer reviews.
If you receive a positive review from a client, make sure you share it on social media or display it on social media. You want to reassure your current/future consumers about your brand.
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Credible research proves that the trust consumers have in companies is rapidly depleting. In order to create trust in your #brand or your company, you have to facilitate online reviews from consumers who have actually used your services. NEVER pay for reviews. It will cause harm to your brands' image. No one trusts a product that just launched and has over 100,000 reviews. Or have over 1K reviews on Amazon that are all 5 stars. It's impossible that a product/service can be loved by everyone all of the time.
With the knowledge that customers generally give positive feedback when asked, it's important to remember to ask past clients/customers about their experience. Visitors within the online marketplaces make decisions about purchases based on positive reviews.
Just in case you are still unsure of how to truly ask for online reviews for your business here are some methods:
Ask your customers when they are at their happiest and most satisfied point. The truth is customers when satisfied easily say the most positive things about your business without reservations.
Ask immediately after the product purchased or service received. Maximize on their impressions while they are still enthused. Asking for a review immediately after you have done business with your client is recommended to encourage good reviews.
Ask customers to give feedback before review. This will allow you to decipher if the business relationship was not to their liking and this will save you from receiving bad reviews. Asking for feedback displays a level of care that customers need to feel comfortable. Requesting feedbacks also prove to be less daunting for customers.