Effective Ways to Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews 

Customer reviews strongly influence the efficiency of doing business, increasing conversion and creating a positive reputation for the brand. In the United States, product ratings and reviews have become a significant factor influencing internet users when deciding where to shop online. So, it is essential to include asking for reviews in your marketing strategy. 

However, in pursuit of the number of reviews, we must not forget about their quality and content. Positive feedback from real people attracts new customers and increases the company’s rating and the product. On the other hand, negative reviews can seriously damage the brand’s reputation.

With that being said, businesses devote more and more time to their customers’ reviews. If you are still afraid to ask for feedback from your customers, you lose profit, reputation, and customers.

Key Reasons Why Customer Reviews Are Important 

Using online reviews as a part of your marketing strategy is a great way to convert potential customers, boost your brand’s SEO, and improve your business reputation.

Winning brand reputation

Reviews are one of the reflections of consumer experience. For example, 79% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family. Therefore, it is reasonable to think about the brand’s reputation on the web before entering the market and immediately build your dialogue with the client.

Working with reviews is necessary for entrepreneurs and marketers, everyone who attracts leads and interacts with consumers. It allows you to manage the brand’s reputation with the help of a positive user experience and correction of errors identified as a result of a negative experience.

It is worth remembering the simple truth that only genuine care, genuine interest, and a desire to benefit customers will consolidate a reliable image of the company in the minds of the audience for a long time.

Social proof in action

Every minute we face the problem of choice, and our subconscious is trying to find the easiest way to solve this problem. Instead of searching for information, we easily trust people’s opinions from a social network or forum.

A proven method of demonstrating the integrity of your brand is sharing customer feedback. This is especially valuable for products or services where one cannot rely on convincing product descriptions or images. Instead, customer reviews provide honest feedback about customer experiences. When it comes to eCommerce, it is one of the most powerful tools for increasing motivation when buying goods and gaining the buyer’s trust.

Customer reviews benefit SEO

Customer reviews can affect a company’s reputation or an online store and the website’s promotion in search engines. When customers leave their feedback, they create additional unique content relevant to the site’s topic. This, in turn, increases incoming traffic for low-frequency keywords. And if you have customer reviews displayed in a snippet, it can increase the percentage of clickability in search results. Moreover, reviews posted on other sites with a link to your brand’s website positively affect traffic and increase the link volume.

All the above factors and repeated brand mentions influence the position of your website in Google. It goes to the top for low-frequency and sometimes medium-frequency queries. And this is a new influx of customers and sales growth.

Learn more about your business

The critical task is to turn customer feedback (including criticism) into a tool for improving your products/services. It is not enough to collect laudatory odes or negative reviews. It is necessary to hear and understand the client. By analyzing customer feedback, you can get valuable information about your product, service and identify possible growth points for your business. You can get to know your consumers personally and find out what they appreciate and what annoys them. Knowing what makes customers happy, you can increase their loyalty.

How to Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews

Customers leave negative reviews more willingly than positive ones. Disappointment is a strong emotion, so people want to tell the world about the unsatisfactory quality of a product or service ASAP. Therefore, responding to customer criticism is a must. At the same time, excellent quality is perceived as the norm, so good reviews are rarely left. Therefore, brands face an essential task – developing intentional strategies to ask customers for reviews.

Below we have listed a few strategies to encourage customers to leave reviews about your business.

1. Reach out to the fans of your brand/repeat customers.

These people have already shown loyalty, so it will not be difficult to get a review here. Check out your database to create a list of those customers who made multiple purchases.

Then, create a newsletter for your power users to express your appreciation for their loyalty and ask to leave feedback about the brand if they are willing. For example, ask what they think about your products or services, whether they will recommend them to their friends and why. People do not mind doing something nice to those they like.

Automatic mailing is good, but send personalized messages to achieve a high letter conversion. This does not mean that templates cannot be used. Create a blank with variational fields: name, product, and a link to write a review. Write in human language, and do not forget about caring. If clients see that the letter is addressed to them personally, they are more likely to respond to the call.

2. Simplify the process as much as possible.

Simplify the review writing process as much as possible — the more straightforward the process, the more customer feedback you will receive. Sometimes customers do not mind sharing a positive impression, but registering on the site and completing endless steps can discourage them from leaving a review. Using icons makes it easy to leave feedback.

In a message or an e-mail, provide a ready-made link by clicking on which the user immediately gets to the reviews section. If this is a form on the site, avoid numerous fields that confuse your client. You can integrate a particular option on the page to leave comments by authorizing through social networks.

Offer several options for leaving a review about the company. Of course, the user must have a choice. This increases the loyalty of the audience and the chance that the comment will still be left.

3. Offer a small incentive.

It is impossible to make customers leave reviews, but motivating them with a small incentive is possible. Many large online brands and retailers use this method. As a bonus, you can offer a discount on repeat purchases, a promo code, free shipping, a probe, and more. Yes, it can increase your expenses, but at the same time, you will reduce the cost to get more returning customers.

Some brands put small gifts in the package, creating a wow effect for the buyer. Even if everything was not smooth with the order, the buyer is more likely to leave positive feedback.

4. Share user-generated content.

When it comes to sales, reviews are the most popular type of user content. A person who has already received a product shares impressions about its quality, pros, and cons of service. It can be left both on the seller’s website and third-party platforms.

UGC is trustworthy. Users have not just chosen your product but are also ready to tell others about their choice. Some brands create special sections on social networks so that customers can speak out. Businesses subsequently use them for advertising purposes.

Thanks, Erick! We're blushing 😊 https://t.co/6VpkUIKN3T

— Simply Measured (@simplymeasured) May 30, 2017

5. Use a Review management tool.

If you are looking for solutions designed for more reviews, a higher star rating, and a winning online reputation, Vista Social’s review management tool is here to help. You will manage reviews across the platforms that matter to your business. Easily monitor and manage reviews across Facebook, Google My Business, Yelp, TripAdvisor, OpenTable, and TrustPilot in a single stream so you can stay organized and informed. To build a more focused and personalized approach that meets review management needs for your organization, Vista Social allows you to sort, filter, and create custom views.

6. Create compelling case studies.

What do you do first when buying a product or service? Most likely, first of all, you google or collect information from friends/colleagues/acquaintances. You know that little research before the purchase can save you from unpleasant surprises in the future.

Your customers do the same. Therefore, a case study is one of the most effective elements when working in B2B. After all, they demonstrate how your business has already helped other customers solve specific problems.

Why it works:

• Track Record. If you helped someone with a similar problem, you could probably help me.
• Easy choice. If someone has already chosen you, you are better than the rest.
• Build Trust. If I consider you an expert, I am more likely to come to you.

The more cases you have, the more likely it is that site visitors will find something that resonates with them. Do not forget to make access to the cases as easy as possible.

A Few More Tips to Remember When Asking for Reviews

• Reviews must be honest. Opinions of non-existent clients will not be able to convince potentially existing ones. It is unnecessary to get on this road of fake reviews – this is the way to nowhere. Competition must be fair.
• Always respond to reviews — your customers need to know that you care about their opinion.
• Do not be intrusive — it is acceptable to remind about the review 1-2 times, but annoying letters will only alienate the client.
• Do not delete negative reviews — if there are only raptures and praises, it will seem suspicious to potential customers.

Conclusion

You can praise your product as much as you want, but people will still go online and believe the reviews, not the ads. Online reviews about the company indicate that the organization is working. Customer and user ratings are not just an occasion for reflection, but a powerful tool that forms public opinion, increases brand confidence and increases sales. 

Explore Vista Social and its variety of powerful tools, including review management. Whether collecting reviews on your corporate website, social media, or other tools, choose one centralized platform for a more cohesive and efficient strategy. No credit card is required.