How to nudge your customers to leave you a review

Love them or hate them, there’s no denying that online reviews matter to your local business.

Some studies have shown that nearly 90% of all consumers read online reviews before making a purchase, and well over 60% of commercial customers do too. So, no matter who your target customer is, reviews are going to matter.

The real trick to managing online reviews is encouraging customers who had a great experience to share it online. Here’s a few ways you can do just that.

Why Reviews Matter

Before we get into how you can get more reviews, it’s worth discussing why reviews matter.

The first and most important reason is that this really is the modern-day equivalent of word of mouth. We might not ask our network for recommendations as much as we used to, but we certainly do go online to find out about companies we’re considering working with!

There’s also the fact that reviews are free (and good reviews and a high star rating are great for business!)

Finally, they’re a good barometer of how your business is doing on customer service. We might not like negative reviews, but they do show us when we’re not doing things the way our customers expect them done.

1. Let Your Customers Know Reviews Matter to You

The best way to get online reviews from your customers is to let them know that they really matter to you and that you’ll do the best job possible for them. Then ask them if they’ll be willing to leave a review for you if they love your service.

Sometimes, the most straightforward methods really do work, and this is one of the best ways to get online reviews from happy customers.

2. Follow Up After the Job

If you’ve got a slightly larger local business, chances are you’re not present on-site every day. So, you might miss the opportunity to communicate with your customers.

Use the after-sales follow-up process to ask for a review. You can do this over the phone if you have the time, or you can use a service like automated SMS messaging. Since SMSs have a 98% open rate (way more than email!), they’re a lot more likely to see your message!

Make it easy for them to do this by including a link to your Google business page, so they don’t have to search for it first.

3. Connect with Customers Who Don’t Review

Sometimes, even when you ask for reviews, your customers are just too busy. But sometimes, they’re not happy about something that was or wasn’t done.

If you’ve asked your customer for a review and they haven’t left one, it’s a good idea to contact them and follow up. Find out if there were any problems you didn’t know about and ask them if there’s anything you can do to leave them delighted with your service. Sometimes, even asking this question is enough to change the whole perception they have of your business.

How Much Can You Increase Your Reviews?

On average, our customers who tried these three simple strategies saw a 5.7 times increase in their reviews. 74% of the people who received a message from our system requesting a review responded favourably by leaving one.

As a result of their improved reviews, these customers also saw 1.7 times more traffic from Google searches for similar businesses in their area. This goes to show the incredible power good reviews have to boost your business.

Bonus Tip: Responding to Reviews

Getting reviews is great for business but responding to online reviews is also very important.

When a customer has left a negative review that’s not fair to your business, this is your opportunity to set the record straight. Don’t get emotional, though and keep it professional. Offer them the opportunity to contact your team to address their concerns.

When customers leave glowing online reviews, you should always respond too. Even if it’s a quick thank you for taking the time to share their experience, it goes a long way for that customer and anyone reading your reviews!

We hope you have a few more tools to get more good reviews now and that if you do decide to start following up and asking for reviews, you’ll consider doing it by SMS.

If you're looking for ways to streamline the way you request online reviews from your customers and make it extra easy for them to leave you one, Fuzey might help! Get in touch at hello@getfuzey.com or book a demo filling the form below to learn more!