Online reviews are powerful tools that can significantly impact your business’s success as they function like modern-day word-of-mouth. Positive feedback helps build trust with potential customers and significantly impacts your business’s reputation and revenue. On the other hand, negative reviews or a lack of reviews can deter new customers and damage your reputation.
Many brands need to be more confident in asking for reviews, fearing it might seem pushy or uncomfortable. However, asking for reviews is a common and necessary part of running a business. Over 53% of online shoppers in the USA consider customer reviews essential while making a buying decision, according to Statista.
When done thoughtfully, asking for reviews can develop a more robust connection with your customers and encourage them to share their experiences. Overcoming the fear of asking for reviews can be challenging but essential for business growth.
In this blog, we’ll explore practical tips for asking for reviews effectively and making the process seamless for you and your customers. Let’s get started!
Things To Consider While Asking For Reviews
Brands must learn how to ask for reviews in a way that encourages their customers to respond. Knowing how to ask for reviews correctly can yield valuable feedback and boost your brand’s credibility. Before asking for reviews from customers, consider the following things:
1. Timing is Key: When to Ask
For optimal results, striking at the proper time is vital when asking for reviews. Schedule review requests when the purchase is fresh in the customer’s memory to maximize the chances of getting a review. The timing of requesting a review will depend on the business requesting it.
For instance, The best timing can be when the customer is receiving the product or when they fully experience it. You can also ask for reviews after the service has been completed, which the brand offers for free. Selecting this strategic timing increases the chances of receiving genuine and thoughtful feedback.
Taking advantage of moments of customer satisfaction is another thing to note regarding timing. Capitalizing on moments of customer satisfaction will make customers more likely to leave positive reviews during these favorable moments.
2. The Right Channel: Email, SMS, in-person, or Social Media
The correct format for asking for reviews is crucial, and the best channel can vary depending on the business. You can effectively collect customer reviews and reap the benefits by employing several methods tailored to your audiences’ preferences. If you’re puzzled about how to ask for reviews, take a look at some popular channels to start with:
- Email: Express gratitude by crafting personalized emails and requesting feedback. To streamline the process, insert links to review platforms like Yelp, Trustpilot, and Google My Business.
- SMS: After the purchase or service experience, send brief texts. Provide a direct link to leave an eCommerce product review for easy navigation, keeping the message concise.
- In-Person: Capitalize on positive customer interactions by directly asking for feedback. Train your staff to request reviews confidently at the end of a service or during a successful transaction.
- Social Media: Ask customers to share their experiences and use social media’s reach. You can easily prompt followers to leave feedback by posting engaging content highlighting positive reviews or testimonials.
3. Personalization: Addressing Customers by Name
Personalization is a crucial factor in solidifying the relationship between you and your customers. You can address the customers by name or reference their purchase, making it a personalized email. Adding this personal touch shows that you value their individual experience and encourages a more engaged response.
Another effective tactic is to identify customers who have shown loyalty or engagement with the brand. You can use personalized review requests to reach out to them individually.
4. A Clear and Concise Request
There are better ways to reach consumers than writing an excessively long review request, as they lead busy lives and are bombarded with digital information streams. In the same sense, keep the review process simple for customers to complete, keeping your requests clear and concise. This will make it less likely that the consumer receiving your request is overwhelmed by excess information.
5. Expressing gratitude: A Sincere Thank You
Express gratitude towards your customers for their purchases and potential contribution to the review community, and craft your review requests in a friendly tone. For their positive review examples, show genuine appreciation and convey its impact on your brand. You further motivate customers to share their experiences and provide valuable feedback at the end of the day by establishing a positive and appreciative relationship with customers.
How to Ask For Reviews: Best Practice and Examples
There are a variety of ways how to ask for reviews from your customers, but selecting the right channel is also crucial. Here are some of them:
1. Ask For Reviews Via Email Request
For businesses, asking for reviews via email is a solid approach, but keep your message clear and polite. According to research by Backlinko, over 91% of consumers open their emails daily. Before doing anything else online, more than 58% of consumers check their email, making it an excellent channel for communicating with your customers.
You can include the link to the review platform in the emails so customers can add Google reviews to Shopify and test different formats. In the form of an email blast or personal email, you can ask for reviews via email. Check out this email template asking for a review:
Subject: We’d love your feedback!
Hello [Customer Name],
We hope you’re enjoying our product/service.
Please take a moment to share your feedback by submitting a review. Your feedback is crucial for our brand and helps us improve! [Link]
Thank you for the feedback!
[Your Name]
[Business Name]
2. Ask Reviews Via SMS (Text)
Requesting reviews through SMS can be effective for quick feedback because texting communication is increasingly popular for businesses. Keep your message to the point, insert a link directly to the business page, thank them for their time, and ensure your request is clear. Take a look at the example:
“Hello [Name]! We’d love your feedback on [Product]. Please leave a review [link]. Thanks!”
“Thanks for visiting [business name]! Share your feedback at [link]. [We read it].”
3. How To Ask For A Review In-Person
When you ask for reviews in person, it can be intimidating, but it is the most effective approach. Please don’t wait for customers; they will come at you, and you ask them to leave a review. You’ll need to strike up a conversation with them that will provide the opportunity. Ask questions about their experience with your store, and you will do so upon checkout, too. Here is an example:
“Well, thanks for your valuable feedback. We love sharing that information with potential customers so they can feel more confident about selecting us. If you’re comfortable with it, it’d be awesome if you could share what you said to me in a [platform name] review.”
4. Asking For Reviews On Social Media
If you’re wondering how to ask for reviews on social media, start by engaging with followers and asking them to share their experiences. You can also use direct messages to ask satisfied customers for feedback. Facebook reviews are crucial to a business’s success since it’s a top review site, so Facebook should be your top priority. You can offer a small reward to leave a review to customers.
“Post a review on our Facebook business page and receive 10% off your next purchase! We value your feedback!”
5. How To Ask For Reviews Via Business Cards
Give your customers Thank You business cards to remind them about giving feedback for your business so you get more positive reviews. Your business team must be involved in generating reviews for your business to achieve an excellent online reputation.
You can also use Tagshop’s Snap Up tool to collect UGC directly from customers, boosting engagement and growing sales on your website. Print the Snap-Up QR code on your thank-you card and ask customers to provide reviews using that QR code, making the process hassle-free.
6. Asking For Reviews On Receipts
Add a section on invoice receipts to ask for polite customer reviews. Insert a QR code that can be scanned quickly with a smartphone or a shortened URL that is easy to type in. Several free receipt templates can be customized and sent with a few clicks. Check out these templates to ask for reviews on receipts:
“Hello [Customer Name],
Thank you for selecting [Your business name]. We hope our product or service meets your requirements and expectations. We’d love to hear about your experience if you have a moment.
Please consider leaving a review at [Review Link]. Your feedback is crucial for us!
Best Regards
[Company Name]”
7. How To Ask For Reviews Using Website Pop-ups
To ask for reviews using website pop-ups, trigger the pop-up after a positive user interaction, like completing a purchase or browsing for a while. Keep the message polite and straightforward, offering a clear call to action. Check out the below example:
“Enjoying your experience? Please leave us a review! It only takes a minute.”
How to Get More Positive Reviews
Getting customers to leave positive reviews may seem difficult if you just started your business. Here are several tips for encouraging positive reviews:
1. Deliver exceptional customer service
If you want to stand out from the competition, providing exceptional customer service should be at the core of your business strategy. You must sometimes exceed expectations to meet your customer’s needs and requirements as a business. The best way to ensure a positive experience worth discussing is by exceeding their expectations. When your customers feel valued and well-cared for, they are more inclined to share their positive feedback through online reviews.
2. Make it easy to leave a review
Provide clear instructions on your website or social media pages for customers to leave positive feedback by simplifying the process. Add prominent widgets or review buttons directly linking to your preferred review platforms. If the process is simple, customers will be more likely to leave positive reviews, and online review monitoring will be easier for you, too. No one likes to do overly complicated things.
3. Offer incentives (responsibly)
Brands can benefit from incentivizing reviews, but in a different way than you might think. For example, you can create an employee review program that rewards employees for receiving positive customer reviews. This formula can help your employees get positive customer reviews by incentivizing them to leave reviews and helping their favorite employees get awards. Regardless of its positivity and negativity, make it clear that the incentive is for leaving an honest review.
4. Respond to all reviews, both positive and negative
You must respond to all positive and negative reviews once you have active review platform accounts. Although it may be elementary to ignore negative reviews, this can diminish trust with current and potential customers. Unaddressed negative reviews might signal to customers that you don’t value their opinions or experience. You can implement review management software to respond to customer reviews on time. Sometimes, you have the opportunity to win customers over again.
Common Mistakes To Avoid On How To Ask For Reviews
It’s essential to approach it correctly to ensure you receive authentic feedback when requesting online customer reviews. In review requests, common mistakes can lower response rates and cause a negative impact. By avoiding these mistakes, you can collect more valuable and positive online reviews for your local business.
1. Asking too often
Don’t just ask too often from your customers for fake reviews. Asking too often right up after their purchase by sending emails, texts, or in-person can backfire and result in customer dissatisfaction.
2. Being pushy or demanding
It’s always great to ask for feedback, but be careful not to bombard customers with multiple requests. It can turn prospective customers away and come off as aggressive. A timely and polite reminder is sufficient.
3. Neglecting negative reviews
Negative reviews must be addressed professionally and promptly. Deleting or neglecting poor reviews can hurt your reputation. Let potential customers know you are dedicated to improving and appreciate all feedback.
Conclusion!
Knowing how to ask for customer reviews can enhance your business’s reputation and provide growth. You can help customers share their experiences easily using the proper methods and review platforms. Businesses can harness the power of authentic customer feedback by implementing the above strategies and tips for asking and managing customer reviews. Keep it genuine and convenient; you’ll likely receive more positive feedback.
