It doesn’t really matter what you sell or who your target audience is; reviews are an important part of success for any business today. But, getting people to write positive reviews about a company is not always easy. Many unhappy customers will let you know how they feel, while happy customers don’t tell you that they are happy. So, what can you do to encourage your happy and satisfied customers to write glowing reviews for your business on social media?
Why Customer Reviews are Important
One of the main reasons why customer reviews are important is that they can boost SEO, especially if you run a local business. Even more importantly, reviews are necessary for any business because they often have one of the biggest impacts on your prospective customers when making purchasing decisions. Self-guided research is only becoming more and more common with the rise of online shopping, and customers are relying more and more on the experiences and opinions of other customers when they evaluate their options and decide whether or not to purchase from a certain company. Having positive reviews on social media can help to build confidence and trust in your brand and the products or services that you offer. So, what can you do to increase positive reviews?
Start with an Ask
Often, the best way to encourage your happy customers to write good reviews is simply to ask them. Your happiest customers may be more willing to write about their experience with your business or the product or service that they paid for than you might realize. It’s a good idea to start with asking for a review with every email you send. It doesn’t have to be a huge ask, either – something as simple as including a link to leave a review on your Facebook profile in your email signature can be a great way to prompt customers to click through and write something positive.
If your business offers a service that involves seeing customers face to face, then consider having business cards printed with a QR code that customers can easily scan to be taken through to a page where they can leave a review of their experience with your brand on social media.
Automate the Process
You can also use a range of tools to create and then automate the process of asking customers for reviews. By automating your review request process based on certain actions, you may find it easier to ensure continuity for requesting reviews. Many experts agree that manually asking for reviews is not a good idea as it can lead to inconsistency and is also a lot of work that can take away from the time you need to focus on the core aspects of your business. Pop-up forms on your website after a customer makes a purchase, along with automatic emails that are sent in a certain timeframe after a customer purchases a product or service can be a good way to remind your customers to make a review behind the scenes so that you don’t have to manually keep track of each one.
Target Satisfied Customers
It is important to avoid solely focusing on asking for reviews; instead, you need to make sure that your business is focused on getting good reviews that demonstrate customer satisfaction. You can do this by timing your review asks after a customer has expressed satisfaction in some way. For example, you can send out a survey for your customers to find out more about their experiences and opinions of your brand, and then invite reviews from customers who have given positive survey answers. This process can also be a good way to find out which customers are not as happy with your business as you would like them to be and find out more about what they need to turn this around.
Explain the Importance of Reviews
You may be able to increase positive reviews for your business by informing and educating your customers on the importance of reviews for your business. Customers who are interested in and willing to support your business may be more likely to leave a positive review on social media to show their support if they understand the impact that it can have. You can do this with a simple email campaign with a link to your social media profile where customers can leave a review or publish a social media post to let your customers know that you are running a review campaign and why reviews are so important for your company.
Personalize the Ask
Just as personalization has become more and more important in terms of marketing your business and its products and services, you can also get better results from asking your customers to leave positive reviews for your business if you personalize the ask. There are several ways to do this including sending a personalized email or even a personal video to each customer to thank them for their business and ask them to review your company. Using personalization effectively when communicating with customers will help you build better rapport and maximize positive reviews.
Make Leaving a Review Simple
It’s important to ensure that the process of leaving a review for your business is as simple and hassle-free as possible. For example, you can use an email drip campaign to encourage customers to leave reviews and send them through to a landing page where they can choose from a few different options when it comes to where they want to leave their review. If you are specifically looking to get more positive reviews on social media, then make this the first link option. However, don’t be afraid to ask for reviews on other third-party sites as customers are more likely to leave a review when they have a few options to choose from, as they will be able to pick the site that they are most familiar with.
Positive reviews can go a long way when it comes to maximizing success for your business. Keep these strategies in mind if you want to increase positive reviews on social media.