Word-of-mouth is now online and it’s permanent. In this digital age, from buying the right kind of water bottle on Amazon to choosing the best kind of Chinese food for dinner, reviews play a bigger role than we might give them credit for. By default, our fingers scroll to the product or service that has more 5-star reviews and at that point, price and branding take a backseat. So how do we get those highly-coveted reviews for our own business? Well, if you have been providing a quality product or service, there will already be people who compliment you. If you’ve asked your customers to leave reviews a million times and have not gotten the reviews you were looking for, you can change your approach. 1. Make it Simple. If it takes more than 30 seconds you’ve lost most consumer’s attention because consumers have survey fatigue at this point. They would prefer to click 5 stars and be done with it. Perfect! If you get the survey link from google, it will lead them right to the review section. Here is how:
Open up your Google My Business App and click on the profile button at the bottom. Then click on the shareable link on the top right corner and send it to them right away!
2. Choose your communication-medium well. Emails are more of a record-keeping form of communication and very poor at getting consumers to move. Think about how many unread emails are in your inbox… how about unread text messages on your phone? Exactly! Using instant messaging services like texting the link or Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger will work significantly better.
3. Set realistic goals & make it a community effort. We understand how easy it is to get swept up with working in your business rather than on your business. Every month set a target for how many reviews you want to gain and get going. Get everyone in on it and make it fun! Something like a pizza party for your staff and customers if you reach X amount of reviews. Make sure it is worth your while and you aren’t throwing a pizza party for every review because that can add up quickly! 🍕 Get creative and maybe even ask for ideas regarding the “prize” from your staff and customers! Make a chart that is visible to all so you can keep track of your goal.
4. Be Responsive. Not only does it improve your Local SEO ranking, if you respond to the existing reviews, it also encourages others to write a review for your business. It reassures reviewers that your business is not only active online but that you are listening. The Viziers Inc. SEO Dashboard makes it easier than ever to respond to reviews on multiple platforms.
5. Be Proactive. Word-of mouth is permanent, be it negative or positive. If you don’t know which customers are happy with your service and which customers are still getting there consider the following. Try to solicit only good reviews for online platforms and provide your customer with an option to submit bad feedback internally so that you are still aware. With The Viziers Inc. Review Survey Kit, you can get that done! What’s more, it will automatically lead your happy customers to your Google Listing to give you those 5-star reviews
