7 ways to get great online reviews for your small business
These days, customers are savvier than ever, which means they no longer respond to generic sales pitches or salesy content. What they are looking for is a genuine and personalized experience. This is part of the reason why online reviews are such a big deal. About 90% of users will look up a small business online and read the reviews, and as much as 67.7% of them will make their purchase based on those reviews.
Getting your customers to leave a glowing review of your small business is not just about the quality of your product, but also about how your build your brand’s reputation and relationships. In order to get those positive reviews coming in on a regular basis, check out the following seven tips.
- Respond to all reviews, especially negative ones
If you were to look up a book review online, you would probably pay attention to negative reviews first. If there are too many of those, you would probably change your mind about buying that book. But, even if negative reviews of your product are fairly scarce, you should still take your time and respond to them. You can easily turn it into an opportunity to create a positive experience for the disgruntled buyers, and to establish your small business as an entity which truly cares about its customers.
- Reach out to influencers
Customers place a very high value on the opinions of influencers they follow. In order to get on the influencers’ good side, reach out to them and offer them your product or service for free, in exchange for their feedback. You can then leverage the feedback to boost your brand’s image.
- Send them a follow up email
Asking your customers to leave a review right away might be pointless in a lot of cases, because they might need some time to form an opinion about your product. In order to remind them about their experience, send them a follow up email a few weeks later. You can ask for their email address at some point during the purchase process.
- Allow customers to leave reviews on your website
By enabling users to post their reviews directly on your website, you are receiving all this bonus user-generated content which won’t go unnoticed by Google. In fact, your website will climb up in terms of ranking. Plus, you want them hanging around your website and browsing additional items for as long as possible.
- Provide links to third-party platforms
The thing is, while having website reviews is great, a lot of your customers will check out your small business after coming across reviews on Facebook, Yelp, Amazon, or even Etsy. This is why you should provide a link to each one and make it easier for your customers to leave a review.
- Offer free trial
If possible, you can offer a free trial for your customers. If they are allowed to get know your product or service, they will be more likely to spend their money once they know all the features. By bringing your products closer to your customers, you will get them to talk about it, which can only be a good thing.
- Create incentives
In addition to free trials, you can ask your customers to leave reviews in exchange for a discount, limited offer, coupon, or a gift card. Just make sure there is something in it for them.
Conclusion
Reviews are crucial for the success of any small business, and yours in no exception. Follow these tips and start building a brilliant reputation for your company today. Good luck!
Chris Richardson has been working as an editor at a publishing agency in London, UK for 5 years. He is also a professional content writing expert in such topics as career growth, self-improvement, blogging, and technology innovations. Feel free to connect with him on Google+.
