You’ve probably heard that 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and that 60% of consumers view reviews as trustworthy. The proof of the power of customer reviews is in the pudding, as they say. So, if you’re looking to build trust and get more buyers, a great customer review is an ideal place to start. Here’s some guidance about how to get more reviews and make more of an impact in this area.
Be intentional
You wouldn’t ask someone to leave a review for your business after you shipped a product to them late, and it arrived damaged, right? Of course not. This is just common sense, but it begs the question of whether you could be even more thoughtful about who you ask to review you and when. Here’s one of the best tips we have for you.
After a customer purchases something from you, wait a few days and then send out a customer satisfaction survey. This should be simple (we like the NPS model for how quick and easy it is). When you get “promoters” who rate their satisfaction with you as very high, ask them for a review. The odds they’ll give you a positive one are quite high, given the timing and context. You can even automate this in a marketing automation platform, making the whole process a breeze.
Make it easy
One of the reasons many companies struggle with how to collect reviews from customers is because they overcomplicate it or ask too much. If you buy something and are then invited to complete a 20-question survey afterward, you’ll probably roll your eyes and click away. No one has time for that.
The same goes for reviews. If you ask someone to give you a review, but leave it entirely open-ended (or expect them to craft a paragraph about your company), they’ll likely not give any sort of review at all. So, keep it simple. Offer a 5-star rating system (like through Google), so they can click their stars and be done if they want.
You can also take it a step further, and suggest some verbiage to use in a review. Don’t be pushy with this, though. You could write something like, “We noticed you were satisfied with our product! If you’d like to leave some feedback in a review, we wanted to save you some time… Here are some sample sentences you’re welcome to copy and paste if you feel they apply to the experience you had with us!” Some people will love this, and others will ignore it. But at least you offered to save them time, which goes a long way.
Don’t be afraid to incentivize
We’ve heard customers say they don’t want to offer rewards for reviews because it feels like “buying” reviews. But here’s the thing; it’s not. If you’re having trouble getting any sort of volume and/or quality of reviews, incentivizing can be necessary. You can offer something like a $50 Amazon gift card to the first 100 people who leave a review for you on Google (or whatever your budget allows). This is not only ethical and perfectly acceptable, but it’s also smart business.
After all, what they write is out of your hands and you have to honor your offer whether they give you five stars or zero stars. You’re compensating them for their time and their energy, and giving them the freedom, to be honest in what they say about you. You’ll see that no one wants to turn down a meaningful incentive and you’ll get responses this way (note the word meaningful; a $5 or $10 gift card is not going to incentivize most people).
Be ready to respond
What happens if you get negative feedback? It’s a possibility, especially if you have a high number of responses. The key is to be ready for it. Have a plan of attack in place, with one person on your team delegated as the responder. First, they should write back publicly to the review (with empathy), expressing a desire to talk further and make things right.
Next, they should aim to connect personally with the individual and learn more about the problems at hand. Finally, let them know where to route issues based on what they are. This ensures you’re taking feedback seriously and actually trying to act upon it after the fact, which is the best way to improve customer experience.
If you’re looking for how to get more reviews, start with these steps. Still, need more help? We’re standing by and would love to talk!
Work Habits & Productivity
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As StringCan's Chief Operating Officer, Sarah is a solutionist who loves to implement and enhance efficiencies for herself and the team. She strives to support and help people be their best self in and outside of work. Sarah also gets her best ideas by lounging in a body of water. Cocktail is optional. But not really.
Jay, the CEO of StringCan, oversees strategy and vision, building culture that makes going into work something he looks forward to, recruiting additional awesome team members to help exceed clients goals, leading the team and allocating where StringCan invests time and money.
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