How to Get More Reviews for Your Brand
As you all know, it’s sometimes not easy to persuade people to do something for you, especially if it takes some time and effort, and most especially if they don’t get anything out of it. You should also read our post on what is review management to learn how to manage your online reputation better!
So, how exactly do you get more reviews? Here are some tips.
1. Create Places Where Your Customers Can Leave Reviews
First things first. Before you start asking people to leave reviews, you have to create places (or business accounts) where they can post what they think about your products or services online.
Where should you ask your customers to go and post their review or feedback? The answer is everywhere! The more positive reviews you have online, the better it is for searches, and the more trustworthy you will look to your prospective customers.
You have to create accounts on various pages (not just one or two) because people have different preferences. For example, some might be active on Yelp, while others are only on Facebook. Create accounts on various review sites (or platforms that incorporate reviews, like Facebook) so your customers have options on where to leave their feedback.
This little bit of information might help. According to a study, the top places people go to for reviews are Google My Business, Facebook, Amazon, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Yellowpages, the Better Business Bureau, Manta, Foursquare, and Angie’s List. You can start with a few (or all) of these sites, and once you’ve created your accounts, you can start with the next step.
2. Know Who and When to Ask for Reviews
If you want reviews, then you’ll have to ask for them. The most important things you should consider here are (1) who you should ask and (2) when you should ask them.
While all reviews are welcome and useful, your ranking or score on review sites is also important. As much as possible, you want more positive reviews. Obviously, those who will most likely leave positive reviews are the customers who are happy with your product. When you’re online, it can be difficult to determine those who are satisfied with your product or service from those who aren’t. Here’s what we recommend you do.
Send an Initial Email to Determine How They’re Feeling
Try to find out how they feel about the product that they bought from you. Remember to thank them first for their purchase, and then ask them nicely about what they think. Include a link where they can quickly rate the product – like a star rating. You can send this within three to five days from when they’ve received the product.
Personalize your email by addressing the customer by their name or by including the type of product they’ve purchased from you.
Send a Follow-Up Email Based on Their Response
You can create two different types of emails based on their response to the first email you sent.
For customers who rated your product four to five stars, send an email asking them to post a review, with links to your pages (like Yelp). These are the people who have a high chance of leaving a positive review.
For customers who rated your product one to three stars, you can send a separate email asking them for feedback on why they rated it that way so you’ll receive insight into how to improve your product.
Remember to respond appropriately. For instance, don’t sound too cheerful when you’re responding to negative feedback. Always be nice and polite, and don’t forget to thank your customers for their responses.
3. Make it Easy for Your Customers to Go to Your Review Pages
You’ll have a higher chance of securing a review from customers if you make the process easy for them. Thus, simplify.
Set Up Badges of Review Pages on Your Website
You can include website badges of your review pages on your website so your customers can see them when they visit. This also makes it easier for your potential clients to read reviews about your products online.
Optimize Your Website for Mobile
Many customers use their smartphones to read emails or browse websites, so your website should be optimized for mobile devices for easier browsing.
Include Links in Your Email
When you send emails asking for reviews, don’t forget to include the links to the pages where they can leave them.
Add QR Codes on Your Flyers or Handouts
If your clients purchase directly from your physical store and you think they’re happy with the purchase, you can give them a flyer or handout that contains the QR code to the page where the links to your review pages can be seen. This way, they wouldn’t have to type the website address manually.
4. Don’t Give Incentives
While it might be easier to convince people to drop reviews by offering incentives, it’s not exactly good practice.
Reviews work because show brand authenticity, and people who write them aren’t paid to do so. That’s the reason why consumers trust them. If you offer incentives to get them, and people find out about it (and they definitely will), it’ll ruin the credibility you’re trying to build through online reviews.
Furthermore, most third-party review sites are strict when it comes to the way businesses ask for reviews. If they find out you’re offering incentives to convince customers, you might get penalized.
5. Respond to Customer Reviews, Especially Negative Ones
You can’t please everyone, so you’re bound to get bad reviews every now and then. When you get one, you have to respond quickly and appropriately. Irate customers are more sensitive to your tone, so be kind and understanding in your reply and never get defensive. Let your customers know that you take their feedback seriously.
6. Use Your Reviews to Improve Your Company’s Products or Service
Your work isn’t done after your customer leaves a review. These reviews are valuable information that you should make use of. So, take note of your customers’ reviews and feedback – both negative and positive. They can do more than just make you look good to your prospect clients. These blocks of text are snippets of your customers’ thoughts toward your product or your brand. You can use them as data to help upgrade the quality of your products or to find ways to improve your customer service.
7. Share Positive Reviews
To encourage more customers to leave reviews for your brand, as well as to let other potential customers know more about your brand’s good points, you should be sharing positive reviews.
Feature Positive Customer Reviews On Your Website
Build your brand’s reputation by featuring customer reviews on your website. You can dedicate an area or a page for it so your visitors can see what your customers say about your product easily.
Share Them On Your Social Media Accounts
You can also share your customer reviews on your social media pages. That way, your followers and page visitors will be able to see them and it’ll be exposed to more people. Seeing you share people’s reviews can also help inspire your other existing customers to leave their own review of your products or services.
Why Customer Reviews Are Important
Now that you have these seven tips for how to get more reviews, let’s expand on this discussion a little bit more. why exactly are customer reviews so important for your brand?
Ads and organic promotional posts highlighting your products’ best features aren’t as effective as they were 20 years back. Yes, people still see them, and yes, they might be effective in catching their interest, but there’s a lot that goes on between seeing the ad and buying the product.
Consumers are smarter now, and they’re also more demanding. Many of them do ample research prior to purchasing a product. And what they find during their research could either make or break the deal. Here’s a clue: Many of them search for online reviews from people like them, who bought and tried the product first. And they’re evaluating the value of your product based on the reviews they’ve read.
You’re probably doing the same! For instance, whenever you’re thinking of buying a product you haven’t tried before, especially if the price point is a little higher, don’t you check out online reviews to confirm if it’s actually worth it before you hit buy?
Customer reviews matter. This is why, aside from improving your social media presence and optimizing your website to improve search rankings, you also have to encourage your customers to leave online reviews.
They Strengthen Your Brand’s Credibility
Reviews serve as testimonials of your brand or product’s credibility. If you have a lot of positive reviews, potential customers will feel more at ease in trusting your company and buying your products. The majority of consumers today rely on other customers’ reviews for information. The more positive reviews your brand has, the easier it is to convert these consumers to loyal shoppers.
Reviews Influence Purchasing Decisions
Customers trust reviews from people like them. In fact, 91% of consumers ages 18 to 34 trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Right now, your biggest and most effective brand ambassadors are not your salespeople. They’re your existing customers. If you can convince them to share their thoughts online, it can help a lot in convincing others to make a purchase.
Reviews Provide More Opportunities for Your Business to Improve
Positive reviews are, of course, great for your brand. However, you shouldn’t take negative reviews for granted. You can get a ton of information from this type of feedback. If you respond to it appropriately and use it right, it can help your business improve.
Reviews Can Help With Your Rankings and SEO
Reviews are helpful for improving your search ranking and SEO. Google My Business is especially great for local businesses. It increases your online exposure and makes it easier for people to discover you and learn more about you.
Acquiring more customer reviews should never be an afterthought. Dedicate more time to it, and your online presence, activity, and engagement will improve.
Don’t forget that you can get a free trial of eClincher by signing up online. We’ll make it easier to manage all of your social media accounts in one unified dashboard.
