It’s no secret how critical reviews are to a business.
At this point, it’s essential to stand out against the competition since people heavily rely on reviews to help make their buying decisions.
In fact, “nearly nine out of ten (89%) consumers worldwide make an effort to read reviews on review sites before buying products (Oberlo).”
We know reviews are critical, but you also need reviews first (good or bad) because no reviews can equally be as damaging as negative reviews.
However, businesses are often hesitant to ask. They don’t want to seem desperate or intrusive. Therefore, many won’t ask.
It doesn’t have to be daunting to request a review, and thanks to technology, you have options that don’t involve face-to-face interaction.
We’re going to recommend several options to ask for reviews from customers!
Email Campaign
Email campaigns are a fantastic way to connect with customers. Even better, you can include a portion for requesting reviews on certain review sites such as Google and Facebook.
Many businesses will send a generated “thank you” email after a service or purchase has been completed. At the bottom, you can include a prompt to ask for a review.
You can have one or more links to different review sites (those most critical), but we do recommend sticking to one or two, not to overwhelm the customer.
The beauty of asking via email campaign is you can add more text and be thoughtful about what you’d like to see.
SMS
SMS (short message service) is used through text messages to reach the customer (if they provide a phone number).
Using SMS is one of the best ways to connect to your customers and prompt a review.
The open rate is the highest of all your options. It has a whopping 97% available rate (RedEye). It proves SMS is probably your best avenue to ask for a review.
Using SMS marketing is incredibly helpful to businesses, whether asking for a review or promoting a service or product. That 97% says it all.
Social Media
Social media is one of the easiest ways to encourage customers to leave a review. Granted, it’s more subtle than other options we’ve listed, but creating posts to remind customers to leave reviews can help.
Add it to your social media calendar, using regular posts to ask for a review. You can also request within the comment section if you directly communicate with customers.
Ask in Person
Crazy, right? Of course, this is the most obvious, but often people are intimidated to ask, feeling it might be desperate-sounding or if people say ‘no,’ but if you never ask, you’ll never know!
Plus, the benefits of asking in person mean customers can express concerns, if any, before a possibly negative review. You can defuse any tension or even create a positive rapport that the customer feels energized to write a positive review.
Automation through Reputation Management Software
Aside from asking for reviews, it’s essential to manage them properly.
Businesses with reputation management software can easily automate requests for reviews by email. At ReviewInc, our Review Flow Preview shows the process of asking for reviews via emails, feedback forms, thank you follow-ups, and more.
With ReviewInc’s reputation management software, businesses can also set up automated text requests asking for reviews via Campaign text. To learn more about ReviewInc’s Review Flow can Campaign Text, request a demo here.
If you want to expand your brand and build your business, reviews are essential and here to stay. It’s best to learn how to increase positive reviews.
