We all know how important it is for a business to have good customer reviews. But in today’s digital world, they’re invaluable. Over 98% of consumers consider reviews an essential part of their purchasing decisions, and those who interact with a company’s reviews convert at a rate that’s 108% higher than average. So why do many businesses shy away from asking their customers for reviews?
Usually, it’s one of two reasons. The first is concern. Businesses are afraid that the customers they reach out to will leave negative reviews. But if you’ve been providing your customers with stellar service, the vast majority of their reviews will reflect that care. In fact, 67% of consumers said they would consider leaving a review after a positive experience while only 40% would do so after a negative one. Besides, there are ways to turn a negative review into a positive opportunity! But we’ll touch on that a bit later.
The second, and more common reason businesses don’t ask for reviews, is because they find the process uncomfortable. Does asking for them sound desperate? Like the business is trying too hard? And the answer is absolutely not. In fact, 55% of consumers said they would leave a review if a business asked them to. And the more you ask, the easier it will be.
Now – without further ado – let’s dive into how to ask for a positive review.
Step One: Decide Who You’re Going to Ask
This one’s easy: anyone who has had a positive experience as your customer! Make it customary for your customer service staff and sales team to ask satisfied customers to leave reviews – at the end of a good call, or the end of a positive email exchange.
You can even ask preferred partners and vendors to review you too!
Step Two: Decide on Your Reviews Platform
While Google Reviews is the top choice for most consumers, there are still hundreds of other platforms where your customers can leave their reviews. The Better Business Bureau (BBB), Facebook, and Yelp are some of the top contenders.
Find out which sites your customers frequent and discover what kind of formatting those sites require for reviews. Do they have word counts? Is there a star ranking system or a point ranking system? Once you know that, generating your “ask” email will be much easier.
Step Three: Craft Your Ask
While your “ask” will be unique to your business model and your product set, here are a few basic principles you can follow:
- Brief is better. The average time your customers spend reading an email is down by around 15%. Keep their attention by getting to your point faster.
- Explain why reviews are important to your company. My advice is that the explanation should be no longer than two sentences.
- Tell them how long it’ll take. We’ve all agreed to take a survey and then realized it’s twenty pages long. Don’t do that to your customers! Give them a short timeframe and even a deadline, to increase the likelihood that they’ll review you right away.
- Keep it simple. Give them the proper links so they can access the site quickly and easily. Provide a specific prompt or ask a series of open-ended questions to get them thinking before they write. You can even include a pre-written template for them to follow either written by you or by your review site.
- Let them know you’ll read their reviews. No one will write a review if they know you’ll never read it – or even look for it. Make sure that you do!
- Thank them. Let them know that you appreciate them taking the time to write you a good review.
Vary your request methods and make sure you send your requests in waves. It’ll increase your chances of getting reviewed! To help get you started, we’ve included a few free templates below.
Review Template: Product or Service
Subject: Are You Enjoying [Product/Service Name]?
Hi [Customer/Client Name],
As your [product/service] provider, we strive to provide you with the best products and services possible. Your feedback helps us do that! If you want us to keep getting better, please consider leaving a review here: [link/URL]
We know how valuable your time is, so we appreciate you taking a minute or two to let us know how we’re doing.
Thanks so much!
[Representative Name]
[Business Name]
[Representative Phone Number]
Review Template: General Feedback
Subject Line: We’d Like to Hear from You!
Hi [Customer/Client Name],
You’ve been our customer for [duration] and we’re anxious to know how we can keep serving you best. Please take just two minutes to leave a brief review here: [link/URL]
Feel free to tell us anything you think we should know! If you’re not sure how to start, we’ve written a few brief prompts that might help:
- Why did you become a customer with us?
- How have we helped your business?
- How would you describe us in three words or less?
- What about us or our services surprised you the most?
- If we could meet other needs you have, which would they be? What’s on your “perfect provider” wish list?
Thanks so much!
[Representative Name]
[Business Name]
[Representative Phone Number]
Review Template: Post-Customer Service Interaction
Hi [Customer/Client Name],
We’re happy we could help you today! If we did a good job of [solving whatever problem drove them to your business in the first place], please take a minute or two to tell us about your experience here: [Link]
We appreciate you taking the time to keep us at our best!
Thanks so much!
[Representative Name]
[Business Name]
[Representative Phone Number]
Asking For Reviews: What to Avoid
Many of you may be thinking: “I already know what to avoid – being pushy and overbearing.” And you’d be right! But there are several other common mistakes businesses make when asking for reviews which can get them into trouble.
- Avoid offering an incentive for their review. Third-party review sites strictly prohibit this practice, and it could result in the reviews being deleted. However, the following
- Donate money to a particular charity you support after the customer submits a review
- Send an email from your email client that includes a discount code or gift card code, but that isn’t dependent on if they write a review or not
- Avoid purchasing a review. Purchasing reviews will ruin your credibility, especially if a potential client finds out. No one wants to work for or with a company whose customers won’t support them.
- Avoid asking in an apologetic manner. No “I hate to do this…” or “Sorry to interrupt/bother you” introductions. It makes your request sound like an inconvenience and customers don’t want to be inconvenienced. Be bright, cheerful, and straightforward.
Step 4: Make it Natural
The “perfect time” to ask for a review doesn’t exist. However, there are a few places in day-to-day customer conversations that could be the perfect segue into asking for a review. And better still, they’re industry-agnostic!
It’s natural to ask for a review after a potential customer, or client:
- Purchases a product or service
- Renews their contract
- Has a positive experience with your customer service team
- Refers a friend or business partner
- Tags your business on LinkedIn, or other social media pages
Be sure that you don’t ask the same customer for multiple reviews about the same product. Over 83% of potential customers agree that reviews must be recent, relevant, and diverse in order to care about them.
QUICK PRO TIP: Once you’ve gotten a review – respond to it! Over 55% of consumers report that seeing a business owner respond to a review makes them feel better about that business. To put it in perspective, that’s nearly as much as they care about star ratings! This also goes for negative reviews. Responding to a negative review allows you to take control of the situation, acknowledge and apologize for any fault, and offer a solution.
Get Better Customer Reviews with GreenStar Marketing
If you’re looking for a way to boost your customer reviews requests, GreenStar Marketing has the tools you need. From templates to advanced marketing automation software, we can help you turn stellar customer service into brand-boosting reviews. Find out more by contacting us today!
