15 strategies to
have positive feedback
Reading time: 20 mins
Most points and strategies, when you read them, will sound like obvious and logical things to you. Even so, we recommend reading this article since surely you will find something new. And it can be used for reviews on google as well as on Trip, Yelp and others.
There are many factors that go into the customer's decision to make a purchase from your company. When we decide whether or not to buy something (spend the money that we usually find hard to get), we usually ask my friends for recommendations and then make a great research online about my options.
And since it's so quick and easy to shop online without ever connecting with a sales representative, the internet generally sells for you, and that can have a huge impact on whether or not a customer buys from you.
The fact is, your company's best salespeople and sales reps aren't your employees, they're your existing customers.
Customers' trust in companies is fading. A recent study found that customers trust the recommendations of friends and family about any type of online marketing and advertising that your brand may create. And in the absence of reliable recommendations from friends or acquaintances, 85% of consumers trust online reviews.
In short, for businesses to grow in today's competitive online marketplace, they need happy customers who share positive reviews of their experiences to get visitors to your site the first time.
The good news is that your customers are generally more than happy to help you with this - the same study found that of the 74% of customers who were asked for feedback, 50% were willing to do so. So, don't be put off by asking your customers for a favor, because all you have to do is ask, and they'll probably be happy to help.
So how do you get your customers to write the glowing reviews that help close deals? How do you ensure that a customer is satisfied and happy enough to ask for the kind of positive reviews they need? Read on for strategies that will make generating positive customer reviews a breeze.
1. Identify the correct times to ask based on your buyer's journey.
Be sure to solicit customer feedback at the right time in your business journey for optimal results.
Business relationships have natural ebbs and flows, from times of shock or buyer's remorse before a successful outcome to moments of euphoria after your pain / issue is successfully resolved.
Think about it: if you request a review at the wrong time, it could result in a customer leaving a negative review that hundreds more will read when considering whether or not they want to buy from your business.
Solicit customer feedback at strategic times throughout the customer journey, such as:
- After they experience or demonstrate success with your product or service.
- When they come back to buy or reorder.
- After tagging your brand in a social media post.
- If they spend time on your website browsing other products or services.
- If they refer you to another client.
These are just a few examples of signs that your customer is satisfied enough to leave a positive review of your business.
2. Choose a method that works for you at scale.
According to BigCommerce, 50 or more reviews per product can mean a 20% increase in conversion rates. The big bottom line here is that more reviews means more testing, and therefore more trust in your brand. Also, outdated reviews inspire less confidence than recent ones.
To benefit from testimonials as social proof, obtaining them should become a regular part of your process. Here are some common ways to help you request scaled reviews:
- Train your team to request reviews after every successful project or service
- Incorporate review requests as part of your email marketing automation campaigns.
- Use NPS to identify promoters (your happiest customers) at scale and have your service team build relationships with them.
- Include review links after payment or on thank you pages as an optional final step.
Whatever you choose, it should be consistent and frequent. It will not only help you get positive reviews, but build trust between your customers and the company.
3. Ask the customer in person.
If you have close relationships with the portfolio of clients you work with, feel free to add a personal touch and ask your clients to review their experiences in person.
If you're taking your customers out for coffee or lunch, or if you invite them to one of your company events, keep the conversations going and ask them how they are doing with your product or service. (Ideally, you will know whether or not they are achieving success based on your regular communications, so you will ask clients that you know are already achieving their goals.)
If your customers tell you they are satisfied, let them know that you value their opinion and loyalty, and would appreciate it if they could help you with a positive review.
Do you remember the data from the beginning of this post? Most customers will leave you a review; All you have to do is ask.
4. Take advantage of the client's moments of happiness.
If you have just made a breakthrough for a client, or have received praise or positive feedback from you, you have just reached a point of client happiness. At these times, they may not only be more inclined to give you a review as a way to provide reciprocity for good work, but they are also more likely to spread the word to their acquaintances.
5. Start with an open question.
Don't start out by going out and asking directly for a customer review.
Instead, start a conversation and use an open-ended question to start the process.
By asking customers "How do you like the product?" or "Are you ready to renew / buy again?" or "How was your recent interaction with customer support?" You can start a conversation and measure your satisfaction level before requesting the review.
This is useful in two ways:
- You can get helpful feedback from customers
- You can avoid the awkward mistake of asking a customer for a review before you know they had a bad experience
Use the open-ended question to genuinely collect customer feedback and to make sure the customer is satisfied before offering them a reason to submit a review. There is nothing you can do about negative reviews coming in from various sites, but if there is a customer who needs a resolution, focus on that before asking them to rate your business.
6. Reduce friction where you can.
If leaving a review becomes a hassle, your customer will be less likely to do so. That means you need to make it as easy as possible, especially when requesting an email testimonial. Here are some ideas:
- Include multiple options so that the customer can choose the platform in which they feel most comfortable
- Include a link directly to the page where they leave a review to minimize the number of clicks or steps they need to take
- Give them a heads up so they never miss what to write (for example, "Will you leave a review about your experience with your most recent visit to the store?")
7. Let them know how long it will take.
One of the biggest sticking points to mention is time. If the customer perceives that they do not have time to enter and write a review, they will not do it. However, if you address this objection beforehand during your request, you can change your thinking while you have the urge. For example, you can say or write "It only takes half a minute" as a margin note or post script for the request.
8. Optimize your content.
Your customer reviews may come in unsolicited from happy or unhappy customers on third party sites.
But once people are on your site, make sure it's easy for them to leave comments there, too.
Optimize your website, blog posts, social profiles, and emails to provide quick and easy ways in which to write comments:
- Set up website badges to quickly and easily direct visitors to your Google my Business or other pages.
- Optimize your website for mobile devices for people who visit your website when browsing social media or searching on your phone
- If you are requesting customer feedback via email, keep the questions short and pleasant.
10. Create incentives.
Your time is valuable, and so is your customers, so be sure to give them a reason to leave a comment.
Offer incentives for your customers to want to write a review, such as discounts or coupon codes, entering a contest for an even bigger prize, or gift cards for coffee, online shopping, or cash.
11. Know customers where they are.
Don't send an email to your customers asking them to leave you a positive review on amazon for example, but for Google My Business.
Instead, make sure your requests match the path where you want your customer to write a review. If you send an email requesting a customer review, make sure the email links exactly where they can leave their feedback. For feedback on your Facebook page, please submit the request via Messenger. And if you have to request a cross-platform customer review platform, make the request as seamless as possible, for example by linking to your Yelp page in your email signature, or ask customers to review their purchase in their Amazon store post-purchase follow-up email.
12. Respond to every criticism, even negative ones.
No one is perfect, and mistakes sometimes happen that cause a customer to leave a scathing one-star review on your website.
However, when you get a one-star review, be sure to take the time to respond carefully, without being defensive, to reach a resolution. It's the right thing to do if you work in customer service, and it could actually help your business in the long run.
Harvard Business Review discovered that companies that Responding to negative reviews online actually led to better overall ratings. Your customers are human beings too, and the value of empathetic and compassionate customer service strikes a chord and actually leads to an increase in overall reviews, particularly positive ones.
13. Share positive customer feedback you have already received.
If you want customers to leave you a review, you can leave them one first to get the ball rolling.
This isn't always possible (depending on your industry or product), but in many cases, you can get customers to reciprocate your positive words.
If your product or service allows customer profiles to be reviewed (Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, VRBO, and TurnKey are examples), please leave them a positive review if you want them to review it in return. Of course, if they were bad customers, you don't have to do that, but if you want to get more feedback, taking the first step might get you one returned in exchange.
Another good option is to recommend your client on LinkedIn. If you have an account management role and work with people for a long period of time, you can leave them a recommendation or endorsement on LinkedIn. Those are a big step for your own personal brand, and could force them to reciprocate on their own by leaving your business with a positive review. And if they appreciate the endorsement, you could politely ask them for a specific review on a different platform during that exchange.
14. Give your customers a positive review first.
To create opportunities to request in-person reviews as details in the above strategy, and to create the conditions in which customers are more likely to leave positive reviews, host a notable user conference or industry event to create more value for your customers beyond the products or services you sell.
By creating an engaging and helpful experience for customers, where they can network with a community of people like themselves, gain access to new product launches and discounts in advance, and learn about their touch points at your company, you will increase their positive sentiment towards your business and creates the probability that they will leave more reviews.
You could even make customer reviews part of your post-event feedback process: After customers complete a survey asking how they would rate their experience, you can ask them to share the highlights of their event experience on one site. of public review.
To start implementing customer review cultivation at scale, the best thing to do is incorporate it into your business as a process. This starts with an active strategy for customer service, as well as online reputation and testimonials. Start by building from templates and ask your current customers for reviews.
15. Host an event.
To create opportunities to request in-person reviews as details in the above strategy, and to create the conditions in which customers are most likely to leave positive reviews, host a notable user conference or industry event to create more value for your customers beyond the products or services you sell.
By creating an engaging and helpful experience for customers, where they can network with a community of people like themselves, gain access to new product launches and discounts in advance, and learn about their touch points at your company, you will increase their positive sentiment towards your business and creates the probability that they will leave more reviews.
You could even make customer reviews part of your post-event feedback process: After customers complete a survey asking how they would rate their experience, you can ask them to share the highlights of their event experience on one site. of public review.
To start implementing customer review cultivation at scale, the best thing to do is incorporate it into your business as a process. This starts with an active strategy for customer service, as well as online reputation and testimonials. Start by building from templates and ask your current customers for reviews.