It’s Okay to Ask for Reviews!
Positive online reviews are critical to the success of your business. People buy from the business with the best reviews. Consumers are turning to search engines to help them with all their buying decisions. The most influential factor in getting local businesses found on search engines, like Google, is frequent and positive reviews.
The challenge is that customers are more likely to leave a review when they’ve had a negative experience. However, capturing the positive voice is possible. Most of the time, customers will also share their positive experiences if asked. Especially if they are provided with a simple way to contribute. The only questions left are: How does your business measure up? And how do you pull in more reviews?
Simply ask them! Promptly send your happy, satisfied customers an email while their positive thoughts are still fresh in their mind, requesting a review. Happy customers will act as the best brand advocates.
• Keep the email short and sweet, and as straightforward as possible.
• Personalize it by using your customer’s name.
• Thank them for being a customer and ask them to leave you a review.
• Include key points like why you are asking for a review, how to leave a review and how long it might take.
• Include your gratitude for their feedback. Let them know you are looking forward to reading their review.
To make it even easier for them, include a link to your review site. Sometimes those link URLs are long. Here’s a tip on how to create a shortened URL link:
• Sign in to the review site you wish to use (if you aren’t sure, start with Google)
• Go to your listing
• Click on ‘Write A Review’
• Copy the URL
• Go to any of the free URL shorteners available online
• Paste your URL in the ‘Paste Your URL Link to Shorten Here’ box
• Click Shorten
• Copy the shortened URL link
• Paste it into your email (remember to save the link for future reference)
By sharing this link in your email, it will take your reviewers right to the review page. This is a quick, simple process for your customers. It increases the likelihood of them actually leaving you a review! And once you’ve seen their new, positive review come in, thank them right away! Your rank, credibility and reputation will flourish.
Email seems to be an easy way to request reviews. Here are other options for asking for a review:
1) You can use a review form if your business has a physical location.
2) You can add a review widget to your website.
3) You can have your custom shortened URL on your social media sites, your website or on review websites.
In the end, you most likely won’t get a review if you don’t ask for it. Don’t be shy, but don’t be too aggressive either. If you aren’t using any of these methods to ask for more reviews, you might want to reconsider and start soon. Chances are your competitors are using them. Power Metrics Marketing can help by requesting reviews and responding to them for you!