Whether we are planning to visit a salon or a restaurant, want to have an appointment with a doctor or looking for a luxurious purchase, we always check reviews online. Today, consumers have become very smart and they do proper research before investing in any brand. Potential customers treat reviews as their most reliable source of getting information about any brand because in this way they get to know the experience of the former customers.
It has been commonly observed that restaurants, cafes and bars get more reviews than any other industry because people visit these places more often than any other place. These reviews play a crucial role in making a brand’s position in the market. Reviews alone are enough to make or break a brand. Good reviews are the primary factor for increasing leads and making a distinctive position in the market.
Google gives prime importance to reviews and ranks those sites higher that have a higher number of reviews. Thus, we need to make sure that we have higher reviews in comparison to our competitors.
According to research, companies should have a minimum of 47 reviews on average in order to qualify for local packs. If a company has fewer reviews than this, it has higher chances of going away from the list of “top 3”. Thus, every review plays a role in boosting a company’s position.
We now have an idea of how important it is to get reviews for your brand. Let us see what techniques we can use for letting our customers give reviews:
1-Provide options for giving reviews
Customers will only give a review if you provide proper spaces for them. For instance, it is imperative for your brand to get registered on different sites where customers are present so that giving reviews will become convenient for them. For instance, a new carpet cleaners London franchise wants to have reviews but it is not present on sites like Yelp, Facebook, and Amazon etc. Now, how customers will give reviews even if they want to?
Make sure to have a presence on these sites and keep monitoring the comments made by your customers. Similarly, provide the option of Google reviews as it is one of the most important reviews a company needs for its online presence.
2-Optimize content for quick reviews
Now, you need to optimize your blogs, websites and profiles in a manner that takes your clients directly to the site where they can give a review. For instance, a company optimized its blog by giving a direct link to its Facebook page. Now, the visitors were easily able to find their page and give organic reviews.
Similarly, if we are asking for a review through e-mail, it needs to be concise but affable in manner. Give a link to your review page in the e-mail so that the customer does not face any difficulty in finding it. If direct links are not given, customers usually do not bother to visit the site and write a review.
3-Give something in return
This is human nature that we all want something in return. Your customers will automatically get motivated for giving reviews if you announce something for them like discount points, small gifts, deals and so on.
Besides increasing reviews, you will be able to grab many potential customers and there are high chances for your brand to become viral. For instance, you can announce one point for every review and a flat 30% off for every 20 points. Now customers will never forget to give a review at least until 20 reviews for getting your discount offer.
4-Select appropriate timing
Selecting an appropriate time for asking a review is essential. For instance, it is insane to ask for a review at the top of your website. Review options are usually given at the end or at the side because customers will only give a review after checking your website.
Some companies do not ask for reviews on the first purchase. They give this option on the second or third purchase since only those customers will return to the brand who are satisfied with the product. Thus, the probability of getting a positive review is increased.
Similarly, it is ideal to ask for a review from clients who tag your brand, have suggested your brand to someone or have spent a good amount of time on your website.
5-Start with a discussion
No one will give a review if you directly ask for it. People will think about why we should waste our ten seconds writing a few lines. You have to build a relationship with them. You have to show that your brand cares for them and your purpose of asking for a review is to serve them in a much better way.
Many brands use open-ended questions for reviews like how was your experience with our new variant, how was your interaction with our support team and so on.
6- Share former reviews and respond to everyone
Make sure to share some of the best reviews of your brand on social media sites. This will bring good visibility to your brand and new customers will automatically get motivated for giving reviews. You can share reviews on your Facebook page or as a quote on Instagram.
This will become a social proof for your brand’s quality. This amazing tactic is helpful in creating a distinctive image in the market. It is obvious that you will share only positive reviews but do not ignore the negative ones. Make sure to give a response to the negative reviews. This will be a message for new customers about how your brand is taking care of the individual comments.
In short, getting reviews and making your brand stand out of the mob is an online war among competitors. Every brand is struggling hard in making new techniques of building relationships with its clients and getting positive reviews from them. Thus, every company needs a good amount of positive reviews for increasing its leads and revenues.
