The minute you ask your client to review your business, there is a strong chance that the person will claim that they know how to write a review, but that fact of the matter is it’s difficult. Asking your customers to review your business is easy in theory. As soon as your client sits down to their computer, they will either:
- Forget about the review entirely
- Not remember which websites to submit a review to
- Be confused as to how to write the reviews
We want to give you a few tips on how to get more reviews for your business. Here is a clear cut strategy that you can “copy and paste” and send it directly to your clients to make it even easier to submit that precious review.
Build Reviewing Into Your Sales Process
If you want to get serious about your reviews, build online reviews into your sales process. Take a look at your sales process and find a way to add online reviewing to help your online footprint. The strategy does not have to be invasive. We found that customers do not have a problem writing the reviews and testimonials, but are confused about how to write them. Using template emails is a great way to get your customers an easier time to write the reviews you’re looking for. Here is a template that has an 80% success rate that you can send to your clients.
Hi [CLIENT NAME],
Thank you for being a loyal customer to (BUSINESS NAME) thus far. We are excited about growing our relationship. At (BUSINESS NAME), we take your feedback seriously. So, we would like to ask a quick favor.
We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes out of your day to post a positive review on our Google business page. This will help us spread the word about our services online.
If you have never posted a review on Google (ADD OTHER REVIEW SITE) or may be unsure of how to do it, here is how:
(COPY INSTRUCTIONS)
Thanks again for your business and we appreciate you taking the time to do this. Your time means the world to us.
PS: This Google review process works best on a desktop computer at the moment
It Helps Your SEO
As you know, more people are searching on their smart phones than ever before. We Google things like “Insurance Company in ______” or “Design Company” and expect to see the results that are local to that search.
Google has stated that reviews are a factor in ranking a business locally. To learn more about this, our friends over at YOTPO have written a detailed article about the SEO Benefits of Reviews. By getting more reviews throughout these channels, it can assure your business the opportunity to rank higher on Google. Of course, there are other factors in ranking, but this is a great start.
Give an Incentive
If you’re building the online reviewing process into your sales process, this could be a great way to bring your customers back. Loyalty is everything if you’re a small business. Add incentives like:
- Discounts
- Swag items
- Consultation Hours
- Design
- Coffee
- Food (Because who doesn’t like food)
- Toys
- And if you’re trying to WOW me personally, I’d like a drone. 🙂
Don’t Let Your Employees Leave a Review While Working
In theory, this may seem to be the easiest way to expand your review count. Have a staff meeting and tell all of your employees to write awesome reviews about the business. Sounds great right? WRONG. See, Google and other websites throughout the internet are smart. They track your IP address, which basically means that they know where you are, when you post, and how you’re posting. If the review website sees a considerable amount of reviews from an area directly related to that business’ location, they may either ban your account or delete the reviews themselves.
Save yourself the hassle and DO NOT ask your employees to review your business in the office. Outside the office, on the other hand, is a different story. Our rule of thumb is to let it happen organically. There is much to be said about a business that is able to grow naturally. Let your customers do the talking on major sites like Google, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, etc. If you want your employees to review your business, we have something for you.
Online Review Sites
- Google Business
- Go on Google Maps
- Search for the business on Google Maps
- Click the name of the business you would like to leave your review on
- Look at the business name on the left hand side
- Scroll down until you see the words “Write a Review”
- Write an awesome review about the business
- Submit
Facebook
- Log onto Facebook
- Search for The business name
- Click on the Business page and look on the left side under the logo
- Click Reviews
- Click the star you’d like to give the company and wait for the popup to appear
- Write review and hit submit
Yelp
- Go to Yelp.com
- Type the name of the business on the top search bar
- On the top of the listing, there is a red button that says “Write a Review”
- Complete the review process after clicking on the red button
Angie’s List
For Members
- Go onto Angie’s List Website
- Search for the business
- Once you search for the business, there will be an option in the middle that will allow you to write the review
- One you click on the review, it will need to be submitted to the Angie’s List team for review.
For Non-Members
- There is a specific page that you have to go to, to submit the review. You can find this at this non-member review here.
Glassdoor
- Search Business on the top of website
- Find business and in the middle of the page, there is a blue button that says “Add a Review”
- Submit review and be sure to be as detailed as possible upon submitting the review.
Better Business Bureau
- Search for business by location
- On the left hand side, click “Submit a Customer Review”
- Write review by filling out a lengthy form
- Accept the terms and agreements
- Submit Review
Amazon
- After you receive your product, you will have an opportunity to submit your review. The process is simple. Be sure to check your email after your purchase has arrived
- You can also submit the review after you received your purchase upon logging into your Amazing account
