Those little golden or blue stars next to your website or business Facebook page are everything. Not surprisingly, consumers tend to be significantly influenced by what other people have to say about a business and its services.
In an individualistic society focused on user experience, making sure each customer walks away satisfied is essential, because other people will take to heart what they have to say. From Yelp to Angie’s List, we care a lot about what other people think.
That’s why good review stars can actually improve your CTR by 20% and convince new users of your credibility.
Okay, reviews are important – point made. Now here’s how to get them.
Learn the appropriate way to ask
How you ask for a review can make or break your chance of getting your clients to respond positively. First of all, target people who you know had good experiences with your business. The last thing you’d want to do is open the door for negative comments.
Two of the best ways to ask for a review are…
In person
Requesting anything in person is the “gold standard” and it’s typically more effective because it’s direct and personal. For example, if you own a landscaping company, you could ask right after you take care of their lawn as long as they were happy with your services.
If you don’t get the opportunity to interact with your clients face-to-face, another option is to ask in an email…
Through email marketing
Although emails may seem like a dated form of communication, email marketing is still effective because it reaches customers more directly than social media and you can link other resources, invest in relationships, and provide timely information.
Below, is the email we’ve crafted in our nurture series campaign to ask clients for reviews:
Google Review Request
Hi [first name],
I was wondering if you’d be willing to leave a Google review about how Key Web Concepts has helped you with your [specific service]. Simply click https://goo.gl/iJEfq7 and share a few comments. I’m working on boosting our online marketing and this would be a huge help to us.
Thanks for your consideration. Let me know if you have any questions!
Best,
[employee name]
Mind the timing
When you ask for a Google review is extremely important in getting positive, timely responses.
Superb.digital explains, “Too early and your customer may not have got the full benefits of your product or service and may simply not have an opinion on it yet; too late and that initial sense of impressiveness you incited may have faded.”
If you do receive a review, it’s crucial to comment back, especially to the negative ones (check out Google My Business for easy access). When you get less than four or five stars from a customer, immediately craft an apology. Be sure to ask them what went wrong and how you can do better next time. Remember, effective marketing is always about meeting your clients’ needs and not about proving a point.
Here’s a good example of how to respond to a negative Google or Facebook review:
“[client name], we’re so sorry that you had a bad experience and weren’t satisfied with our services. Please let us know how we could have done a better job and how we can improve for next time! Your feedback is important to us.”
As exemplified in this response, it’s important to use the following guidelines when dealing with a negative review:
- Keep it short and to the point
- Always apologize and don’t say “…but”
- Ask for more feedback
Make profiles in the right places
In addition to knowing how and when to ask, another great way to set yourself up for success is to create profiles on various sites that give people the option to leave you a review. Although this can open the door for negative feedback, it also allows happy customers to jot down their positive experiences.
Some great sites to create an account on so that you can build up your credibility include:
By building accounts on numerous sites, you’ll be able to collect reviews to share on your website and show visitors some testimonials from happy customers.
We hope this blog was helpful in your quest for more Google reviews. If you’d like more insights about acquiring and responding to reviews, reach out to us today! We’d love to share more tips and tricks.
