In the past, competition between businesses used to exist only in the physical world - now, a large part of who succeeds is dependent on the Internet. When it comes to online shopping, reviews from other customers are key; they’re used as research by 82% of consumers. For your company to thrive, you need to develop strategies to generate more reviews from your customers.
Customers want to read more than one review about your business; they’d prefer to read at least 10 before they’ll trust you. It’s difficult enough to ask one customer to leave you feedback - how do you get dozens more? An effective review generation strategy can give your company the competitive edge it needs in the local market. Here are a few ways to produce more reviews for your business:
Find which websites you want to target. There are a few review website giants that you shouldn’t ignore, like Google, Yelp, and Facebook. Depending on your industry, there may be other niche directories that consumers will browse; doctors use HealthGrades and lawyers use Avvo. It’s very important to claim your listings so that you can respond to reviews that are posted. The websites with a high volume of visitors are ideal places to focus your efforts. Split your focus between niche and general sites to see the greatest impact.
Be mindful of each website’s terms of services. Not all sites are willing to let businesses ask their customers for reviews. Even if you don’t offer a monetary reward or ask specifically for a positive rating, contacting customers for feedback may violate a website’s terms of service. When you’re developing your strategy, read up on review guidelines for the websites you’re targeting.
Contact your loyal customers for feedback. For accurate and representative reviews, you need to reach out to those who have experiences with your business. There are a few ways you can go about this, so take the approach that suits your management style. For one, you can contact them via email. This method allows you to send a massive amount of requests all at once; it’s time and cost-effective. Another option is to ask them in-person the next time they visit your business. Data shows that it’s 34 times more successful to approach them rather than ask online. The best time to ask for a review is when your customer has just had a positive experience with you - for a hairdresser, this might be after you unveil the final result, or for a restaurant, after they finish dessert.
Display reviews on relevant pages. Now that you’ve collected valuable customer testimonies, put them up where they’ll be seen by other consumers. Prospective customers will be persuaded by the quantity and quality of reviews featured on your website’s homepage. Your business will appear more credible when it features feedback from returning customers.
Use reputation management software. With more reviews, your company will appear more trustworthy to consumers, have increased web traffic, and see higher conversion rates. RepCo offers reputation management software to help your business consistently generate reviews. For more information about how this tool can grow your company, contact us today.
