8 Ways To Increase Customer Reviews For Local Businesses

8 Ways To Increase Customer Reviews For Local Businesses

Few factors influence shopping decisions as much as online reviews in the internet era. Why not, then?

They offer real, straightforward information that no marketing strategy could possibly duplicate.

Customer reviews, the contemporary analogue of crucial word-of-mouth, have a significant impact on sales figures as well as the reputation of a local business.

Still, have doubts about the significance of reviews for small businesses? You should be aware of the following important internet review statistics:

• More than 99.9% of people check reviews at least occasionally when they shop online.

• 91% of customers admitted that favourable evaluations increased their propensity to patronize a company.

• Online evaluations are more dependable than personal recommendations for 79% of consumers.

• Only 13% of consumers say they would use a company with a two-star rating or less.

• Online reviews establish your expertise, foster trust, and serve as social proof of the calibre of your service, therefore it's critical for local businesses to have as many favourable ratings as they can.

The following eight strategies will help you encourage evaluations of your local business:

Gather email addresses. When Billing

To increase your chances of getting a review from the customer, ask them for their phone number and email address after they make their purchase.

Typically, if someone is prepared to give their contact information to a company, they have probably had a positive experience and are therefore extremely likely to tell others about it.

Once you have their email address, follow up with them politely a week later and encourage them to leave a frank assessment of their interaction with your company.

Important: Always read and abide by the most recent official instructions from the review platform when asking for reviews.

• What Google has to say about reviews.

• what Yelp has to say about reviews.

• What TrustPilot has to say about requesting testimonials.

2. Employ store signage to promote reviews

As a neighbourhood company with a physical location, you can use in-store signage to encourage feedback. This can take the shape of window decals, banners, pamphlets, and booklets.

At the base of the bill receipts, you can also write a review request.

A kiosk with an in-store app that can connect clients to a page on the company website so they may submit an in-person review is another option.

You might also use a QR code that, when scanned, leads to a list of review profile links, allowing users to select the platform they prefer to use for writing reviews.

These give customers a clear indication of your desire for and gratitude for online feedback, demonstrating your concern for their thoughts and the ongoing improvement of your services.

3. Mention it out loud How Much You Would Value Straightforward Criticism

Train your staff to express the value of an honest review, particularly when a consumer appears satisfied.

This strategy won't work if there is a queue of customers and the cashier keeps saying, "Please review us," to each person in turn.

However, a nice staff member should be permitted to exercise their discretion to ask a customer to "consider dropping a review about [business name]" when the timing (and rapport) is appropriate.

In this situation, requesting a review will sound sincere rather than pushy.

Remember that both in-store employees and online/phone assistance are affected by this.

4. Provide incentives for upcoming purchases

While you hope that your most devoted customers are already telling their friends and family about your company, some other customers might need a kind reminder to submit reviews.

Offering consumers discounts, coupons, or other incentives in exchange for reviews is one of the greatest methods to achieve this.

Just be aware that Google despises false reviews and other forms of activity that it considers to be unauthentic.

You can still provide incentives; you simply can't provide incentives in exchange for favourable ratings.

You abide by the rules as long as you provide the two-star reviewer with the same coupon as the five-star author.

5. Incorporate Review Reminders Into Your Website

The simpler you make it for your clients to post a review, the higher the likelihood that you will receive more reviews. Even though it seems clear, a lot of companies don't try to make it easier for their consumers to write reviews.

Because they don't want to spend time "learning," the majority of individuals don't leave reviews.

Even if they are aware of how they simply don't want to bother with such a time-consuming process.

Therefore, make it as simple as you can for your customers to provide their insightful comments.

Use call-to-action buttons and pop-ups on your website to send visitors to the review section of your Yelp or Google Business Profile.

To create a special Google review link for your company and email it to your clients, think about using a direct link generator tool like Supple.

Customers can write reviews and post them by visiting the URL on your Google Business Profile by clicking this link, which takes them there immediately.

It's quite unlikely that your consumers will follow a complicated process when leaving reviews, so don't expect them to.

6. Utilize social media.

You can publish specific queries about the performance of your company on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Followers who are interested can be encouraged to post a review on their preferred review site.

For instance, if you run a restaurant, you might casually inquire as to if there was a previous menu item that was dropped that your customers truly missed. Then, as a "vote" for bringing it back, you may encourage customers to include it in their reviews.

This tactic increases your brand's social media engagement by enabling customers to contribute amusing tales in the form of reviews.

7. Considerately Reply To All Reviews

No matter how busy you are, you have a responsibility to reply if someone reviews your company.

While it's usually a good idea to avoid being robotic as a brand, even a brief, sincere "thank you" can persuade people to continue doing business with you.

To put it another way, you should try to be specific and original in your response.

People will feel that a company genuinely cares about customer satisfaction if they see that you answer to every review, good or poor. This will encourage potential consumers to spend some time to share their own experiences.

Additionally, don't be discouraged by unfavourable evaluations; they contribute to the authenticity of your business.

If every review is positive and uplifting, there's virtually always a red flag. They would begin to question the veracity of those reviews.

Here are some suggestions about how to reply to unfavourable comments:

• As soon as you can, respond.

• Recognize your error.

• Give a polite explanation of your position.

• Even if you believe you are not at blame, express your regret in a heartfelt letter.

• Give a prompt settlement or compensation (such a refund, gift card, etc.).

• If things start to get out of hand, ask to have the conversation put on hold.

Make the most of negative feedback to grow your company and demonstrate your concern for your clients' contentment.

Retract your steps and address the issue's underlying causes.

In conclusion, remember the golden rule of replying to reviews: never be critical in your response.

8. Give Your Customers A Wonderful Experience.

The quantity and calibre of the reviews you'll get heavily depend on the in-store experience your consumers had.

Customers will feel compelled to post a review if they are overjoyed with your good, service, or experience.

In order to get more and better reviews, businesses must delight customers and surpass their expectations.

Therefore, you can be confident that working hard to provide the best client experience will be worthwhile.

Discover Reviews For Your Company

Congratulations if you've already started asking for, tracking, and answering reviews. You've got the upper hand. There is no better time to begin than now if you haven't already.

Finding out what your clients are already saying about you should be your first step. That entails looking through the leading review sites.

Your internet reputation will be taken into account by Facebook, Yelp, and Google Business Profile for almost every business.

You might also need to administer review sites for your industry, depending on your line of work.

For instance, TripAdvisor tracks hotel experiences whereas Capterra is well-known for its software reviews.

• Online reviews have the power to alter your company's course.

• Online reviews are a fantastic method to stay up to date on your company's progress, collect feedback, and increase your clientele.

And both the good and the terrible are like this.

Positive customer feedback highlights your strengths and convinces future clients to work with you.

You have the chance to accept responsibility, find areas of improvement, and transform negative experiences into positive ones when you receive negative reviews.

Online reviews are crucial for any company's success, especially locally.

They bring an authenticity you won't find anywhere else by recounting actual interactions with your company to present and potential clients.