How to Encourage People to Write Reviews for Business

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon.

It'south an splendid marketing strategy to validate your products, services, and company.

Generating social proof isn't as piece of cake as other marketing techniques, such as creating a highly effective Facebook cover photograph.

To become positive social validation for your company, it takes a lilliputian flake more finesse on your end.

What exercise I hateful by this?

Well, y'all don't have complete control over the social perception of your company.

If you're purchasing a banner advertisement or sending an email campaign, you have 100% command over what'southward written.

That's non the example with social proof.

Why?

Y'all have to rely on your existing customers to review your visitor and create a positive influence for prospective customers.

Here's how it works.

The concept is elementary.

But how practice you accomplish it?

The best way to generate social proof is past getting your customers to review your products.

In theory, if you're getting repeat customers and have a high customer retention rate – these people must exist happy with your company.

If they weren't happy, they would not keep coming back.

These are the customers who y'all desire to target.

Getting your loyal clientele to review your products volition:

• Influence others to follow their lead.
• Requite other consumers reliable facts about your business.
• Get your visitor a higher rank on Google.
• Heave your website traffic.

For the almost function, this marketing strategy is relatively cheap.

But how do you convince your customers to review your business concern?

First, brand sure yous focus on the customer experience.

High customer experience is essential.

Happy customers will get out improve reviews.

OK, maybe your customers are happy, simply you lot still don't have a big volume of reviews online.

Don't worry.

I'll give you some piece of cake tips to follow that will convince your customers to review your products and services on the Cyberspace.

These reviews will generate a social proof of concept.

Tip #1: Give them lots of options on different platforms

Don't limit your customers.

Expanding their options will increase the chances that they will leave a review.

For instance, you can't wait your customers to be on your website every twenty-four hour period.

Don't get me wrong – it would be astonishing if that were the instance, just I'm willing to bet they aren't spending hours each day browsing your site.

That'south OK.

Your website should not be the only place where customers can review your products.

Make yourself bachelor on platforms that y'all know people are using on a daily basis.

Permit them review your visitor on Facebook.

Of the 2 billion monthly active users on Facebook, 66% of the people are active on a daily basis.

Information technology's much more than likely that your customers are on Facebook equally opposed to your website.

Facebook reviews can give your business added exposure, because of its popularity.

Due to Facebook'due south metrics, if someone reviews your company, information technology's likely that the review volition announced on the news feed of the reviewer'southward friends.

This accomplishes two things.

1. The other Facebook users will run across the review.
2. It may encourage prospective customers to click on your profile.

Getting potential consumers to your page is half the boxing.

It required very little work on your part and well-nigh no cost to reach this.

Driving more people to your Facebook folio can generate more traffic on your website besides.

Ultimately, this tin can increase your conversions.

Don't limit yourself to merely Facebook.

Make sure you have profiles fix on other review websites such every bit:

• Yelp
• Angie'southward List
• Google Local
• Trip Advisor (if applicable)

Go on in mind – Facebook is yet the superlative place for positive reviews.

With that said, you notwithstanding need to take a presence on those other platforms.

Not all of those are relevant to every business organization.

For example…

If you lot're a clothing company that strictly uses an e-commerce concern model, you won't need a business profile on TripAdvisor.

However, a local eating place would need a presence on this platform.

Fifty-fifty if your company isn't necessarily located in a tourist attraction, it still needs to be on a website that consumers use to read and write reviews.

Having lots of options for your customers to rate your business organisation on multiple platforms is a keen way to increase the number of reviews and to generate some social proof.

Tip #two: Just inquire them directly to write a review

Hither's a tip that you lot may take overlooked.

Inquire your customers to review your products.

It's simple.

And it works.

Allow's expect at an example.

Etsy asked their customers to exit a review with a follow-up electronic mail or text message.

As a event, 25% of purchases on their website get reviewed.

All they needed to exercise was just ask.

To keep everything relevant, Etsy allows customers to review products inside 100 days of their buy.

That way it's fresh in their minds, and information technology's a legitimate and verified purchase.

Interestingly plenty, xxx% of consumers believe that reviews are fake if there aren't any negative comments.

Giving your customers a timeline to make a verified review is a groovy way to prove the legitimacy of their buy and opinion.

Amazon does this equally well.

Their platform is slightly different.

People can leave reviews for products, even if they haven't purchased the production through Amazon.

However, those reviews won't exist verified.

Amazon highlights all of their verified purchases.

Your customers don't need to make purchases online in order for y'all to ask them to write reviews.

Ask them directly in your retail location as well.

This is a not bad strategy for small-scale business organization owners and restaurants.

When the transaction is complete, verbally ask, "Can you lot please leave us a review on Yelp? We'd dear to hear your feedback!"

It's that unproblematic.

Tip #iii: Make it like shooting fish in a barrel for them to leave a review

If a client has a good experience with your business organization, they aren't likely to go out of their mode and leave a review.

Customers who have had a negative experience are probable to go out of their fashion to speak their mind.

In fact, bad experiences are two to three times more likely to get reviewed.

And so how do you get customers who had proficient experiences to share their opinions?

You need to brand it as piece of cake as possible.

Include a link on your website that brings customers directly to a review platform.

Hither'southward an case from Sheraton Tysons Hotel.

It's one less step for your customers.

They can only click the link on your website, and it volition bring them directly to the review course on another platform, like TripAdvisor.

If you don't do this, it's a much longer process.

Your customer would have to get to the TripAdvisor website in a separate browsing window.

Search for your business concern.

Find a link to leave a review.

Then write the review.

Putting this link directly on your website saves the customer four steps.

Simplicity is primal.

Like we said before, customers won't go out of their way to exit a review unless they had a bad experience.

Nosotros want to encourage the customers who had a keen experience to write reviews too.

Positive reviews generate lots of social proof.

Include a link on emails asking for feedback.

Again, this is simple and easy for your customers.

All they demand to practice is click one link, and they're able to go out a review.

You merely need to make certain the bailiwick line of your email generates a high open rate.

Why?

It may sound obvious, but it's frequently overlooked.

There is a directly correlation between click rates and open rates.

The higher your open up rate, the greater chance your customers will click a link within the message.

If the link brings them to a review page, that increases the chances of the customer leaving a review.

Keep information technology simple.

Tip #4: Give your customers incentives for writing reviews

Requite your customers some extra motivation for leaving a review.

Now permit me clarify this statement.

Yous are not bribing customers to exit good reviews.

That'due south no good.

It's unethical, and it could get messy.

Instead, you're simply giving them an incentive to leave a review.

Read that again.

"A" review.

Not a good review.

Well, you promise that they'll leave a good review, but don't specify that when you lot're giving them an incentive.

Here'southward an case.

Discover how this example doesn't tell the client that they need to go out a positive review.

It just states that if you review your purchase, you'll automatically go entered into a drawing for a $2,000 reward.

In fact, if you await closely, the example fifty-fifty brings up the possibility of a negative review.

On the top left of the paradigm, information technology says, "Honey it, like it, or hate it?"

Your customers have options, and they won't experience pressured to exit a expert review.

With that in listen, offer an incentive volition increase the customer experience.

If your customers are happy, they will exist more inclined to go out a positive review.

Tip #five: Say cheers

"Cheers."

These words tin can become a long way and contribute to the success of your visitor.

It's an essential phrase for customer service.

I've said it before, that amazing client service can help double your revenue.

Employ the same concept to your reviews.

Thank your customers directly on each platform where people are leaving feedback.

Thanking reviewers tin can also better your SEO.

It's a neat gamble to include keywords almost your concern that prospective customers may be searching for.

Here'southward how you do it.

"Tom – Give thanks yous and so much for your feedback of (the name of your concern). We strive to be the best (type of business) in (name of your city)."

That way, when someone searches for "best mechanic in Seattle," your company has a greater chance of getting a top hit.

Respond to positive reviews.

Find the offset words in this reply.

Thank you.

Thanking your customers will brand them experience good.

It's a bully way to permit them know that their opinions are being heard.

Ultimately, information technology establishes a more personal connectedness betwixt yous and the client.

In the example in a higher place, the respond addressed the reviewer directly, instead of just a generic response.

The manager went as far as saying that he commended the waitress for a job well done.

The positive recognition may even entice this client to exit reviews on other platforms as well.

And it all started with a uncomplicated, "Give thanks you."

Tip #six: Stress the importance of reviews to your employees and customer service representatives

Brand sure that all of your employees know how important customer reviews are.

Your staff should know how to do the things we outlined earlier.

• Ask for reviews
• Say thank you
• Remind customers of the different review platforms

This also holds your employees more accountable for their actions.

Earlier nosotros looked at an example where the reviewer mentioned a positive feel with an employee by name.

If your staff is doing a bad job, they could risk getting blasted online by a disgruntled client.

Don't underestimate the importance of local business reviews.

What practise these numbers tell you?

Even if a consumer doesn't know the reviewer directly, they all the same have the recommendation as if it were coming from a personal friend.

Your employees demand to understand this.

These reviews are only every bit of import to your staff as they are to yous.

If negative reviews hurt your business organisation, it could put your employees out of a chore.

Regular conversations with your staff most the goals and mission of your visitor will keep your employees engaged.

Engaged employees work harder.

Brand sure your customer service staff is promoting online reviews to your clientele after each transaction.

Tip #7: Use surveys to get client responses

Sometimes, customers may be too lazy to leave a review.

Maybe they're not great at typing.

Or sometimes they just don't know what to say.

"It was expert."

That's not actually an effective or informative review.

There are other ways to engage with your customers to detect out how you're doing.

You can display these results on your website or social media platforms as well.

How can yous do this?

Ask your customers to fill out a survey.

The case above even tells the customer how long it will take them to complete the review.

Yous can design surveys that are shorter equally well.

Hither are some popular options to create a survey online:

• SurveyMonkey
• SurveyGizmo
• Zoho Survey
• SoGo Survey
• SurveyPlanet

If you've never built a survey online before, these websites are a bully place to start.

I like them because they are unproblematic to use.

They also arrive really easy for you to integrate the links with your e-mail campaigns or social media marketing strategies.

Surveys are a great manner to get client feedback in general.

You lot can learn what you're doing and well and what parts of your business need some improvement.

Using surveys to generate social proof is an added bonus.

Tip #eight: Pictures help validate social proof

Pictures help validate that the reviews are coming from real people.

Yelp allows customers to include their proper noun and a photograph for their profile.

Here's a review of a bar in my neighborhood in Seattle.

The reviewer, Chelsea, has a photo to validate who she is.

Her picture fifty-fifty shows her eating food at a eating house.

Images like this resonate more with consumers.

They tin also see that Chelsea has made over 300 reviews on Yelp.

She'due south a legitimate source of information.

That's another reason why social media pages, like Facebook, are bully sources of reviews.

People are using their full names and profile pictures to support their statements.

Consumers aren't hearing from an anonymous user – they know exactly who is offer an stance nigh a detail business, production, or service.

You can practice this on your website, as well.

If customers are willing to give your visitor a testimonial, enquire them if y'all can include a high-quality photo.

On your website – y'all desire to make sure these pictures are professional, like the image above.

Don't use a social media photo of your client drinking beers on holiday.

Images like that will accept a negative effect on their credibility.

Tip #nine: Storytelling connects with customers

I've explained this concept before.

You lot can apply storytelling to increase your conversions.

Reviews that tell a story can have the aforementioned impact.

It helps the reader connect with another customer'southward experience.

So, how do you lot get customers to tell a story?

We discussed this before – only ask them to.

"Delight write a review and tell the story about your visit."

Encourage your customers to tell a story about their experience.

Bonnie reviewed a local pizzeria in Seattle.

Notice how her post wasn't merely a vague review.

It was a personal story about her specific feel.

Why was she there?

Information technology was her girl's birthday.

What blazon of music was playing?

Lots of Bob Marley.

When did she visit?

Dominicus afternoon.

How was the service?

Service was amazing.

All of these points are highlighted in the review.

Prospective customers can really get a glimpse of what to expect if they visit this restaurant, all based on the review above.

Stories create a connection and generate social proof.

Tip #10: Use different types of social proof

For the most role, nosotros've been discussing social proof based on user experience.

However, that's not the simply fashion to generate social proof.

You tin can also use:

• Experts
• Crowds
• Celebrities

Encounter if yous tin detect an expert in your industry to validate your products.

For example, permit's say your business organisation makes chairs.

Find a chiropractor to generate social proof by saying your chairs have plenty lumbar support for people with sore backs.

Utilize crowds to generate social proof besides.

Look how Tesla used crowds to generate social proof.

Tesla Motors is explaining that 124,000 people voted for their company to receive this honour.

Consumers follow the oversupply.

If over 100,000 people think this is the all-time car – it must be, right?

That's the point of social validation.

Celebrities tin help promote your products as well, specially if it's an unpaid endorsement.

Discover someone with a large social post-obit who enjoys your products.

Treat them similar any other customer and ask them to write a review.

Tips to Go Client Reviews Often Asked Questions

Is it ethical to enquire customers to review my products?

Many companies enquire customers for feedback.

Should I ask my customers if I can use their reviews to promote my products/services?

Yep, you should always enquire earlier you lot utilize client reviews in ads or promotions.

Where should I inquire customers to review my products?

Y'all can ask customers to review your products on social media, Google, Yelp.

What are some easy means to go customer reviews?

Inquire customers to review your products, brand leaving reviews easy, and transport follow upwards messaging reminding customers to leave reviews.

Tips to Get Customer Reviews Conclusion

88% of consumers have been influenced past a review they saw online.

Yous can validate your products, service, and business by getting your customers to write reviews online.

While you don't accept control over what your customers say, you lot can have an influence over how many reviews are posted online past following the tips we've outlined.

A loftier number of reviews can increase your Google rank and make it easier for customers to discover you.

Make sure yous have profiles on multiple platforms where customers tin write feedback virtually your company.

Facebook is a great identify for reviews because the content is exposed to a big number of people.

But but using Facebook alone is non plenty.

Here are the most trusted review sites.

Yous want to make sure that all of your reviews are verified and legitimate.

Ask your customers to write reviews.

Information technology'southward uncomplicated but constructive.

Y'all can enquire them verbally when they visit your identify of concern.

Online platforms such as email campaigns can get a high response rate as well.

It'south essential that yous make it equally easy as possible for your customers to exit reviews.

The more than steps they have to take, the less likely they are to consummate the review.

Surveys work well as well.

You tin integrate surveys into your review profiles for customers that don't desire to have the time and write open up-ended reviews.

For the customers that don't mind some extra writing – encourage them to tell a story.

Reply to your customers' reviews.

Always say, "Thank you."

You can fifty-fifty use your reply to market your business. Add some promotional information about products and services.

Entice your customers to write reviews with giveaways and contests, but don't try to bribe them for a good review.

All of your staff and client service squad need to understand the importance of these reviews.

Follow these tips to start generating social proof with customer reviews instantly.

The reviews volition validate your visitor and improve your lesser line.

How many profiles volition you create on different platforms to offset generating social proof with customer reviews?

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Source: https://neilpatel.com/blog/convince-your-customers-to-review-your-products/