Online reviews for your business are great, but what if they are few and far between?
“90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business. And 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.” – Invesp
Reviews act as a kind of social proof that sets your company apart. Here are some ways you can get more online reviews.
Retarget Customers
While customers are often eager to share their experiences, they can forget. You can run retargeting campaigns to remind existing customers to leave reviews.
Facebook ads are a great way to prompt more customer recommendations. Since Facebook is also a community, ads requesting reviews will reach your customers in a place where they are more likely to take action.
“Consider running an ad on Google/Facebook specifically asking for reviews. But instead of targeting everyone, you want to only target people who are on your email list. This consists of uploading customer email addresses to Google or Facebook so these companies can serve ads to your customers only.” – Capterra
Whether you use Facebook ads or email, reach out to followers and subscribers who have already done business with you as a way to get more reviews.
Focus On Good Business
Positive reviews are a result of good business. When you have a good business, customers will naturally want to be associated with it and be more likely to review.
Customers will go out of their way to endorse companies they believe in. “Probably the most altruistic motivation for leaving a review is that consumers want to help other people.
If a consumer has a positive experience with a product, they will want to let others know about it in order to help them have the same enjoyable experience as well. They may also feel that the company should be rewarded with a positive review for the excellent service they provided.” – Spectoos
People want to be heard and be part of a community. You’d be surprised at how many influencers will even promote your company for free. A free influencer endorsement can often be more genuine and powerful than one you paid for.
Offer Incentives
Customers can drag their feet when it comes to giving you a review, so it’s perfectly fine to offer incentives as a way to encourage them.
“Although approximately 1 in 5 customers rely on online reviews when making purchasing decisions, a survey by Clutch, DC-based ratings, and reviews firm, revealed that 81% do not actually write reviews themselves.” – Reseller Club
Incentives are a great way to encourage online reviews, but you have to be transparent about them. Keep in mind that customers are wary of incentivized reviews. Therefore, it is best to use this tactic only as a way to kickstart your testimonials page while you wait for reviews from customers who have brought your product themselves.
Remember To Prepare For Negative Reviews
Be prepared for negative online reviews. Even companies with the most glowing status have a few negative reviews, so it helps to have a plan to deal with them.
It’s most important to resist the urge to delete negative feedback. Customers are getting better at detecting insincerity online and are more suspicious of businesses without negative reviews.
Be sure to check out our best practices for dealing with negative online reviews.
Reviews, whether positive or negative, have the power to transform your business. Your customers are your best source of information about how to best serve them. Here are some powerful stats from Send Mode:
- “90% of consumers read reviews before visiting a business
- 31% of customers are likely to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews
- Reviews can boost your results by using fresh user-generated content
- 72% of consumers will take action after reading a positive review
- 88% of consumers trust online reviews as they would personal recommendations
- 67% of consumers will read 6 reviews or less before forming an opinion on a business”
Online reviews can improve SEO and help grow your brand. Follow these tips and you will be prepared for everything that online reviews have to offer!
Need help getting more online reviews? Contact us today to set up a FREE discovery session with our team!
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