SEO

8 Techniques To Get More Customer Reviews For Your Local Business

In the age of the Internet, few things shape purchasing decisions as much as online reviews. why not?

They provide real, honest insight that no marketing campaign can replicate.

The modern equivalent of the all-important word of mouth, customer reviews can make or break a local company’s reputation—and have a huge impact on sales numbers.

Not convinced of the importance of reviews for small businesses? Here are some key online review statistics you should know:

  • When shopping online, over 99.9% of people read reviews at least occasionally.
  • 91% of consumers acknowledge that positive reviews make them more likely to support a business.
  • 79% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
  • Only 13% of people would consider using a company with a rating of two stars or less.

Online reviews provide social proof of the quality of your offer, validate your expertise, and build trust — making it extremely important for local businesses to have as many positive ones as possible.

Here are eight techniques you can use to encourage reviews on your local business,

1. Collect email addresses during billing

Asking a customer’s email address and phone number at the time of purchase is a big step towards getting a review from them.

Normally, if someone is willing to share these contact details with a company, they are likely to have a satisfactory experience and, therefore, are very likely to share their experience with others.

Once you have their email address, send a friendly follow up after a week and ask them to write an honest review about their experience with your business.

Important: Always review and follow the latest official guidelines from the review platform about soliciting reviews:

2. Use in-store signage to encourage reviews

Being a local business with a physical store, you can use in-store signage to drive reviews. This can be in the form of banners, flyers, brochures, and window stickers.

You can also include a review request at the bottom of invoice receipts.

What’s more, you can have a kiosk with an in-store app that can direct customers to a page on the business’ website to leave a review on the site.

Or, you can even get a QR code that, when scanned, will indicate a list of review profile links that enable them to choose the platform of their choice to write a review.

These are clear signals to customers that you want and value online feedback, demonstrating that you care about their opinions and the continuous improvement of your services.

3. Verbally state how much you appreciate the honest feedback

Train your staff to say how much honest appreciation would be appreciated, especially if the customer appears satisfied.

This tactic will not be effective if there is a line of customers and the person at the counter repeats the same “please check back with us” message to everyone.

But when the time (and familiarity) comes, the friendly employee should be authorized to use their judgment to say, “It would be great if you’d consider dropping a review about <اسم النشاط التجاري>.”

In this case, the request for review will sound straightforward rather than urgent.

Keep in mind that this applies to both in-store staff and online/telephone support.

4. Provide incentives for future purchases

While hopefully the most loyal customers will already herald your brand to their friends and family, others may need a friendly nudge to get them to leave reviews.

One of the best ways to do this is to offer discounts, coupons or other incentives in exchange for reviewing.

Just be aware of that Google searches for fake reviews for fake reviews and other types of participation it considers authentic.

This doesn’t mean you can’t offer incentives – you can’t offer incentives for positive reviews.

As long as you give the two-star reviewer the same coupon as the five-star writer, you stay within the guidelines.

5. Include review reminders on your website

The easier you make it for your customers to leave a review, the better your odds of getting more reviews. It sounds obvious, yet many companies make no effort to streamline the review writing process for their customers.

You see, most people don’t leave a review because they don’t want to take the time to “learn” how to do it.

Even if they know how to do it, it is seen as an unnecessarily tedious process that they cannot be bothered with.

So, make it as simple as possible for your customers to leave their valuable feedback.

Use call-to-action buttons and popups (not in an annoying way) on your website to direct them to your Yelp review page or Google Business Profile.

Consider using a direct link builder like supple Generates a unique Google review link for your business and sends it to your customers via email.

Clicking this link takes customers directly to the URL on your Google Business Profile, where all they have to do is write a review and post it.

Don’t expect your customers to follow a step-by-step review-writing funnel, because they are unlikely to do so.

6. Take advantage of social media

You can use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to post specific questions related to your work performance.

Interested followers can be directed to leave a review on their choice of review platform.

For example, if you have a restaurant project, you might ask informally if there’s an old discontinued menu item that your followers really miss. Then, you can encourage customers to mention it in their review as a “vote” to bring it back again.

This technology enables customers to share interesting stories in the form of reviews while boosting your brand’s social media engagement.

7. Respond carefully to all reviews

No matter how busy you are, it is your duty to respond if someone takes the time to review your work.

And while it’s always a good idea to avoid sounding robotic as a brand, a simple “thank you” at the right time can encourage customers to stick with your business.

In other words, your response should ideally be personal and uniquely worded.

When people see that you respond to every review – good or bad – it gives the impression that the company truly cares about consumer sentiment, providing incentive for new customers to take a moment to share their own experiences.

Also, don’t be saddened by negative comments – they help make your brand more authentic.

If all reviews are sunshine and rainbows, there is always something fishy. People will start to doubt the validity of those reviews.

Here are some guidelines to follow when responding to negative comments:

  • Respond as quickly as possible.
  • Admit your mistake.
  • Tactfully explain your point of view.
  • Write a personal and meaningful apology (even if you think it’s not your fault).
  • Provide immediate solution or compensation (such as refund, coupon, etc.).
  • Ask to take it offline if things seem to be getting out of hand.

Use bad reviews as an opportunity to improve your business and show that you care about your customers’ satisfaction.

Go back to the drawing board and fix the root cause of the problem.

Long story short, follow the golden rule for responding to reviews: Always reply, never harsh.

8. Delight your customers with a great experience

Your customers’ experience in the store is pivotal to the amount and quality of reviews you will receive.

If a customer is amazed by your product or service or the experience they had, they will feel obligated to leave a review.

Delighting customers and exceeding their expectations is key to getting more and better reviews.

So, if you strive to provide the best customer experience possible, rest assured that it will pay off.

Find reviews of your business

If you’ve already requested, monitored, and responded to your feedback, congratulations! You are ahead of the game. If you haven’t already, there’s no better time to get started than now.

The first thing you should do is find out what your customers actually say about you. This means checking out the best review platforms.

For almost every business, a Google Business, Yelp, and Facebook profile will work towards your online reputation.

Depending on your industry, you may also have industry-specific review sites to manage.

For example, Capterra is known as a software review site, while TripAdvisor keeps tabs on hotel experiences.

For a detailed explanation of how to find reviews for your local business, be sure to read Matt Southern’s article here.

Online reviews can change the course of your business

Online reviews are a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in your business, gather feedback, and expand your customer base.

This applies to both good and bad.

Good reviews tell potential clients how great you are, and why they should do business with you.

Bad reviews give you an opportunity to take responsibility, identify shortcomings, and turn negative experiences into positive ones.

Online reviews are vital to the success of any business, especially on a local level.

By describing actual interactions with your business, they give potential and existing clients insight into your operation and provide an authenticity you can’t find anywhere else.

More resources:

  • 11 tips for promoting your local business on Instagram
  • 18 Online Review Statistics Every Marketer Should Know
  • Local SEO: The Ultimate Guide to Improving Local Search Rankings


Featured image: Black Salmon/Shutterstock

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