Persuading Customers to Leave Online Reviews
All businesses could benefit from online reviews because the vast majority of customers are influenced by them, and many places will show star ratings for you in the search listings which also helps to get potential customers to your website in the first place.
But persuading existing customers to leave a review is not easy. How many times have you bought something online, been very happy with the purchase but just not bothered to leave a review even when asked kindly by the company from whom you bought?
And have you noticed how even well-known high street shops (Marks & Spencer and Boots for example) are also getting in on the act – giving you an extra slip with your till receipt with the chance to win £250 (or whatever) if you leave an online review. And have you?
So don’t expect a huge uptake on your request for online reviews but, nevertheless, even just a few good reviews can make a difference.
“As few as 6 reviews on Google+, for example, can result in a star rating being shown as part of your search listing.”
So what can you do to persuade customers or clients to leave a Google+ review?
- Add a direct link to the review page in your email
- Be honest about why you are asking for a review
- Offer a small incentive
For example, for a service company you could write:
We would like to thank you for your continuing business and hope that you have been happy with our service and would be willing to spend a few moments to write a short review on your experience with us (a single sentence would do).
We have tried to make the process as quick and easy for you as possible and the link below will take you to our Google+ Review box.
https://plus.google.com/117932084920949332025/posts?hl=en&review=1
If you already have a Google account (and that includes Gmail, YouTube, Android and Blogger accounts) and are already logged in then you will be taken straight to our review box where the process will take no more than a few moments.
If you don’t have a Google account or are not logged in you will have to go through a short registration process or login before you can rate our company.
You may have noticed that many people are now using online reviews to assess a company before doing business with them so we are very interested in what you have to say (good and bad) and understand that even the simplest review process takes time from your busy schedule so we would like to offer the first 10 clients who leave a review a bottle of wine in appreciation of your time.
Simply click on this link https://plus.google.com/117932084920949332025/posts?hl=en&review=1
Remember that just a few reviews could make you company stand out from the competition in the search listings.