How to Get Reviews That Validate Your Company & Bring in More Customers

Reviews are an excellent way to bring more customers in to your business. However, actually getting reviews is harder than it sounds. Good reviews validate your business. They add to your reputation and entice new customers to give you a try. These are some of the proven methods for gaining these valuable reviews.

Ask for Reviews

Your customers will be more likely to leave a review if you simply ask them. They know how important reviews are when it comes to choosing a professional service or product. If they really like your company, they will be more than happy to leave you a good review. Customers can be asked at the time of sale or in a follow-up e-mail later. Follow-up reminders are often better because they remind customers to review after they’ve had a chance to form their opinion. However, in-person requests ensure an honest, immediate reaction. Various companies, like Success Path Reviews, follow this model.

Build Review Gathering Into Your Business

You want to integrate review gathering into every level of your business. This is because a steady stream of reviews is critical. A long gap in reviews will look suspicious to both customers and review site filters. Reviews that are more than a few months old are also not particularly useful. Do not offer incentives for reviews. This breaks the rules on most of the major review sites and it is a bad business practice. You can, however, offer deals that sell more product. This, in turn, gives you more opportunities to ask for reviews. You can also add incentives for your own employees to ask customers for reviews. The number of reviews you receive after implementing such a program will likely rise because employees will remember to ask.

Maintain Profiles on Multiple Review Sites

While Google is certainly the juggernaut when it comes to online reviews, there are other sites to use as well. Your business should not neglect them. You never know where customers might prefer to look for reviews. Yelp and Facebook are also big names, as well as a number of industry-specific sites. Even LinkedIn can be very helpful for reviews, particularly if your business sells B2B. Using multiple sites simply gives you more places to build your reputation. Make sure you choose sites that are compatible with your business. Only pick three or so sites to focus on so your attention is not too thinly divided. Make it easy for customers to find you on the review sites by posting signage detailing which sites you’re on.

Decide Whether to Respond to Negative Reviews

Sooner or later, your business will get a negative review. Do not be too concerned—it happens to every business. Many review sites allow the business to respond to reviews. Because of this, you will have to decide whether it’s a good idea to respond to these bad reviews or not. In many cases, it is best not to respond to negative reviews. If you do it too often or incorrectly, public opinion may sour. You will be seen as whiny. However, sometimes a response is warranted. Intelligent reviews where the customer had a legitimate grievance may be good candidates for a response. Reviews that are flat-out lies might also warrant a response. Responses should be apologetic, factual and outline what your business did to fix the customer’s problem. Don’t throw employees under the bus and don’t try and deflect blame. Also, learn from these reviews and make needed changes to your business.

Try different methods to get customers to review your business. So many people take reviews into account when deciding whether to do business with you. You want these reviews to assure potential customers your company is valid and reputable.