The Ultimate 3 Proven Ways to Get More Online Reviews for Your Business
TLDR: Getting online reviews for your business can be done in many ways that include: personal follow-ups, email campaigns, or automated review software. The process you choose should be easy for you but even easier for your current and past clients
Please scroll to the bottom to get our negative review template to help you respond to bad reviews
Are you a small business that’s looking to get more reviews online? You’re not alone! Smaller companies are finding it harder and harder to compete with large local companies and franchises, and we want to help you be a competitor in your service area.
Regularly boosting your online presence with reviews will help strengthen your company in a digital arena, gain more organic traffic and result in more leads!
Check out the tips below on how to get more online reviews for your business.
The Importance of Getting Reviews Online
Did you know that before deciding to purchase, 80% of consumers under the age of 50 now check for reviews and ratings online? Studies tend to win consumers’ interest because people trust and rely on them!
In fact, reports and statistics have proven that businesses with a higher quantity of reviews, but a slightly lower average rating, will outrank companies with fewer reviews even if they have a higher average rating, as mentioned here by Review Trackers.
Example: A company with 290 Reviews with a 4.7 – 4.9 Star Rating will be chosen over the company that only has 116 Reviews with a 5.0 Star Rating, as seen below
What’s even more important to note is that getting more online reviews correlates with more bookings over time, increased search engine optimization rankings, and building a great brand in the eyes of consumers!
With the above in mind, check out the tips below on how to get more online reviews for your business.
We’ve even thrown in a template for responding to negative consumer reviews to help win onlookers’ approval!
#1 Get More Online Reviews By Reaching Out Personally
The most effective way to get more reviews online is by personally reaching out to clients after a job is completed. While incredibly time-consuming, there are some very positive benefits to this method of generating online reviews.
Some of those benefits are:
- Creates further rapport and client relationship building with your customer
- Allows the client to discuss any problems with the services rendered before posting a review online
- Allows you to confirm they received an SMS or Email with a link to your review platform of choice while you have them on the phone with you
- It helps promote a better customer experience
Because reaching out to clients personally for reviews creates a personalized experience, the chances of your customer leaving a review increase exponentially as they feel like your company made an effort to understand their experience!
#2 Get More Reviews Online Through an SMS/Text Campaign
When looking for the second most effective way to collect reviews online, SMS and Text Campaigns take the lead over other forms of communication. This is primarily because the average person looks at their phone 96 times per day!
In addition, text messages are sent and received five times more than phone calls and can be accessed during times of the day when taking a phone call may not be possible.
Other pros of SMS and Text Campaigns include:
- SMS Campaigns eliminate the problem of your clients getting lost on the internet when looking for your business
- SMS Campaigns don’t get filtered to junk folders like emails and are sent to an active audience
- SMS Campaigns have more substantial conversions than other methods of review gathering
- SMS Campaigns are convenient and easily accessible by anyone with a phone
- SMS Campaigns are cost-effective and easily measured
As you can see, using SMS messaging is a great way to connect with past and future clients on their time while giving them a quick and easy way to leave your business reviews!
#3 Get More Reviews Online Through Email Campaigns
Coming in third place for obtaining more reviews online is through email campaigns!
With a large variety of email marketing software, you can find an inexpensive route to boost reviews. One of the best parts of email campaigns is that they are highly customizable and can be incorporated seamlessly into the customer journey!
For example, you can send the review immediately after the service is completed or as a follow-up with an additional service discount, or even send a reminder after a certain period if a review request has not been completed.
Based on your company’s unique requirements, you can decide when you want the email to be sent and to who. The options are endless but some benefits of utilizing an Email Campaign in your digital marketing strategy include:
- Tailoring the emails based on your timeline, services, and needs
- Improve your Brand Recognition
- Create a stronger online credibility/reputation
- Optimize your budget
- Easily able to track date and metrics for insight on improvements
- Customizable information so it’s relevant and targeted for clients
- Easy to test and operate
Since Email Campaigns are so customizable, studies have shown that Email Marketing can produce better results than Social Media, although both are important for your business.
By creating and integrating a strong Email Campaign into your digital marketing strategy, you can boost revenue, generate more traffic online and connect with more consumers who are interested in your services!
The Final Verdict About Getting More Online Reviews
We’ve covered a lot above but the takeaway we want you to understand from this article is very forward! If you’re looking to generate more reviews for your business, no matter what size, the three most effective ways are through manual outreach, SMS text messaging, and email campaigns upon completion of work!
It’s also very important to remember that because your customers live such a busy life, prompting them for a review should be done 1-2 days after services are complete so that they don’t forget the wonderful job you have done for them!
In addition, using a customer relationship management system to automate the above can help save more time, increase overall reviews, and help with a streamlined process to increase your brands credibility on the internet!
Our Negative Review Template That Turns Bad Reviews Into More Booked Jobs
There’s nothing worse than a bad review, right? So you may be surprised to hear that consumers prefer 4.8-star companies over 5.0 stars in consumer analysis studies.
The reason for this is that consumers associate perfect 5.0 Star companies with fake review campaigns. Or in other words, they don’t believe a company that has had enough clients can always be perfect!
With that said, if you’re experiencing a bad review, we recommend using the following template!
Hello [Customer],
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, as our company strives to provide our clients with the best [Insert Service Type for Complaint] services available! Since we were unable to earn your recommendation, we would love to not only understand why but to also know if there’s anything we can do to help resolve the issue!
Because we depend on the input of our consumers, nothing means more to us than having your feedback! Please feel free to reach out to our management team at your convenience so we can understand what to do to rectify your less than memorable experience!
All the best!
– The [Company Name] Team
In essence, this response is not for the actual reviewer but for other potential clients in the future.
It also accomplishes the following:
- It helps potential clients see that you take responsibility for the perception of poor or bad work
- Lets potential clients know you’re here for them, and want to find a solution
- Lets potential clients know that you’re actively interested in their feedback, even when it’s negative
- In turn, when responded to appropriately, bad reviews can become an excellent way for you to earn the trust of onlookers who want to know how the business they want to engage with handles disputes!
People Also Ask About Getting Reviews Online
Can You Offer Incentives For Reviews?
No, in the United States it is illegal to offer incentives for reviews unless the reviewer states that it was paid for. This is because the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) prohibits undisclosed paid endorsements, including online reviews.
Should I get fake reviews for my business?
No, you should not get fake reviews as most review platforms now have the ability to detect fraudulent endorsements left on platforms like Google, Yelp, Facebook, and more.
Is it okay to automate reviews?
Yes, it is okay to automate reviews using client relationship management tools as long as you are not participating in the process of what is known as “Review Gating”. Review gating is when a company sends a review request asking for positive or negative feedback, but does not allow those who left feedback the opportunity to leave a review.
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