How to Ask for Reviews or Testimonials
Why are reviews important?
Reviews are crucial because what customers have to say about your company often has more influence on potential customers than what you have to say. Online reviews are considered reliable and have the same power to sway decision-makers as personal recommendations.
Reviews are a very helpful tool for consumers and businesses alike. Insights from previous purchasers help consumers form opinions about a product. Positive reviews enhance a company’s reputation, while negative reviews highlight areas for improvement.
Reviews foster trust, and prospective customers frequently base their decisions on them when deciding whether or not to use a service or make a purchase. Poor review profiles for businesses may be costing them new leads unknowingly.
What is a review?
Reviews are a type of customer feedback in which customers assess a company, a product, or a service based on their usage and purchase experiences.
The majority of customer testimonials are published online on business websites, social media, or specific review platforms.
When to ask for a review?
Asking your customers for reviews at the right time is crucial to getting positive ones, especially if they are satisfied with your work. When you request a review as soon as you can after a transaction or conversation, you make sure that your company is still fresh in their minds.
Below are some ideal moments to ask for reviews:
The benefits of asking for a review
Reviews matter, and it’s easy to increase the number of reviews for your company. You just have to ask. When asked to do so, satisfied customers frequently forget to leave a review.
Asking customers for a review provides several benefits, including:
How to ask for a review from customers
To begin asking for reviews from customers, follow these steps:
1. Know your goals
Knowing your goals before asking for a review is the first step. Choosing who to ask for reviews, how to ask them, and what method or platform to use will be influenced by your goals, such as whether you want to get feedback on customer service, establish your reputation, or improve your search rankings. You must also choose whether you want customers to review your business or the product they bought.
2. Decide who you are going to ask for a review
Sending a review request to all of your customers at once is almost never a good idea. Choose your clients wisely, and stagger your request for reviews to get a better response.
Requesting reviews from contented customers will lessen the likelihood of receiving negative feedback. Asking your employees, looking at your clients’ sales history, and keeping an eye on who is gushing about your company on social media are all effective ways to find these customers. Before asking for a review, it is preferable to first get feedback from dissatisfied customers.
3. Choose which method to use
There are several ways to solicit reviews, and the best strategy and platform will vary depending on the type of business. Try out a few different strategies to see which ones work best for your company.
Depending on who you are asking for a review, you will use a different technique. In person contact with your happiest customers is a possibility, while other customers may respond well to emails, SMS, social media posts, or point of sale interactions.
4. Decide on your approach
The strategy you select and the manner in which you submit the request for a review have a significant impact on the response rate. There are many ways to request reviews, and doing so effectively takes skill. It is effective to use questions when requesting reviews, and there are many different ways to do so.
There are numerous templates for various scenarios available online if you are unsure of how to phrase your request for a review.
5. Request reviews
Now that you understand why, who, and how to solicit reviews, it is time to start your campaign. A steady flow of recent reviews will be ensured by running several review request strategies concurrently.
6. Respond to reviews promptly
Responding to reviews, both favorable and unfavorable, fosters relationships with your clients. Utilize your response to thank and show appreciation while also generating activity and engagement that Google will take into account when determining rankings.
Responses to unfavorable comments must be made quickly so that the customer knows you are trying to address their concerns. If you respond slowly, your client might become dissatisfied and stop doing business with you.
7. Experiment, measure and adjust accordingly
You cannot take a break after launching your campaign and soliciting feedback. Improve response rates and feedback quality by experimenting with various strategies and techniques, observing the results, and making necessary adjustments. The way that your customers interact with your company will change over time, so you may need to adjust how you ask for reviews to ensure that they are consistent and current.
Ways to ask for a review from customers
There are many ways to request reviews, and contemporary technology has made it simpler than ever. Here are some commonly used methods to consider:
In person
It’s believed that asking for a review in person is the most effective strategy. It is best for business owners who regularly interact and have strong relationships with their clients. Although this would be a good opportunity, you don’t have to wait for a customer to approach you with praise to ask for a review. You can start a conversation by inquiring about their interactions with your company. Determine later whether it is appropriate to request a review based on their response.
Example:
You: Hi, [Customers name], its great to see you again. Did you find everything you were looking for today?.
Customer: For sure, thank you for providing such great service!
You: Thanks for the feedback. I was hoping you could do me a favor while you’re here if you have a minute. We’re attempting to increase the number of reviews on our page, so it would be fantastic if you could quickly review what you just said. Put this URL in your smartphone’s browser or look for our page there. Wed really appreciate it!.
Via email
Email campaigns are popular among businesses because they are efficient and simple to scale. Many email templates are available online that can be modified and customized to meet your needs. The most successful emails are those sent soon after a transaction, but you can also gauge customer satisfaction by sending automated emails to all of your most valuable clients.
Example:
Dear [customers first name],
We appreciate your recent business with [business name] and hope your order was satisfactory.
We’d love to know how you liked working with [company name] and invite you to give us a review on [review site]. It won’t take long and will be very helpful to us. [Button with link here].
Thank you so much,
[Your name, title and business]
Over the phone
If your company provides telephone customer service, you should frequently have the chance to get customer feedback. Customers with lengthy, difficult-to-solve issues might not be the best people to ask On the other hand, if you have successfully assisted a customer and they thank you It is the perfect opportunity. You could make them feel valued and appreciated by asking for a review.
Example:
Im glad we were able to help you today. We value your patronage and would be sincerely grateful if you reviewed our services on [review site]. Reviews from past clients reassure prospective clients that they will receive the assistance they require should a problem arise.
Via SMS
Customers are likely to click the link if you send them a review request via SMS. It’s well known that text messages have a high opening rate and provide quick, simple access to your customers. To increase response rates, keep SMS review requests short and straightforward.
Example: Hello [First Name of Customer], thank you for using our services. If you have a moment, please click here: [review website profile link] to share your thoughts on your experience working with us on [review site]. Thanks for your help!.
Using social media
Social media is strong, has a huge audience, and is a good way to request reviews. If you regularly interact with customers on social media and have active profiles, they are very likely to leave reviews for you if you ask them to. However, exercise caution when requesting reviews on social media as negative reviews will spread just as quickly as positive reviews, if not faster.
Through your website
The majority of businesses gain from having a testimonials or reviews page on their website. One of the first pages potential customers look at when they are thinking about doing business with you Include a call to action on your website that directs visitors to a special page where you are collecting reviews.
FAQ
How do you politely ask for a review?
- In person.
- Over the phone (or via text)
- Through your website (ideally, a reviews page)
- Via email (email blast, personal email, company email, email signatures)
- Via social media (direct message or post)
- Via thank you pages.
- On receipts/invoices.
- More.
How do I ask for a review without sounding desperate?
- Provide an Exit Interview or Survey. There are several options available if you want to create a survey to distribute, including:
- Make it Reciprocal.
- Run a Promotion.
- Look For Already Published Reviews.
- Make It Convenient To Leave Reviews.
Is it rude to ask for a review?
– it is strongly discouraged and, in many instances, even illegal. Most review platforms strictly forbid paying for reviews, and if they discover any irregularities, they will delete them or even your entire profile.
How do you politely ask for feedback in an email?
We appreciate your business with Acme and would love to know what you think of our [product/service]. Your suggestions will enable us to improve the product for you and decide what features to add.
