How to Request Online Customer Reviews
Reputation Management Matters
More than ever before, today’s consumers want to be assured that a business is reputable before making a purchase. It is known that 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business, and 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
This proves just how important managing your online reputation truly is. Consumers need to find your website and see that you are a trusted source for the products and services you provide.
You don’t have a choice anymore. You must ask for and monitor online reviews if you want to stay ahead of your competition.
Requesting Online Reviews
You want your business to stand out. We do too! That’s why we encourage all of our clients to manage their online reputation closely.
Wondering how to do this?
You have to ask for reviews. Without encouragement, customers will generally only leave reviews if they’re either very happy or, more likely, very unhappy. Even though most of your customers are probably satisfied with your services, extreme responses dominate yours reviews. That’s why you need to prompt your customers to give their feedback.
There are three main ways to ask for reviews, and we say try them all!
- Ask in person.
- Ask via text message.
- Ask via email.
Let’s face it—people are forgetful. Well-intentioned as they may be as they walk out your door, they may not remember to leave the review they promised once Facebook is open and their notifications are waiting. Sending a gentle reminder via text and email is just that: a friendly reminder asking them to do something nice for you.
How do you send requests through text and email messaging?
Using your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, you have the ability to send mass email and SMS or text messages.
What if you don’t have a list of customer information, like a CRM? How are you going to send these requests?
We suggest that you begin making that customer information list ASAP! But, if this truly isn’t an option or you want to get started right away, you can print slips of paper with review site information listed and hand them to customers as they leave.
A more effective way that will allow you to send requests via email is to begin collecting customer information by leaving a contact form out where customers can add their information easily, or at the time of check out ask for their contact information. Customers are very accustomed to this process! Store this information safely in some kind of database. Even a Word document or Excel sheet can get you started!
Then, begin sending emails to your customers thanking them for their business and asking them to leave you a review if they were happy with the service the received. You should add links in the email to make this process simple for them. The fewer steps a customer has to take, the more likely they are to follow through.
Becasue surveys compiled through sites like Gartner.com show that open rate of SMS messages can be as high as 98%, it is essential that you send text reminders as well. There are a number of options out there that allow you to send messages to customers via text message without giving away your personal cell phone number, such as TextMagic, SimpleTexting, ClickSend, and more.
Even if you start small by asking in person and handing out slips of paper, receiving online reviews will increase your website’s ranking in search engine results, which will lead more users to your site and ultimately bring more customers to your business.
Once you get started, you are going to find that managing all this is quite time-consuming. There are a number of online reputation management tools, systems, and agencies out there, but we have the platform for you!
Here’s why!
Using our Reputation Management System
The layout of our new platform is extremely user-friendly and easy to navigate. Take a look at our platform to learn just how convenient managing your reputation online can be!
1. Sending review requests is EASY!
There are two hassle-free methods we suggest for requesting reviews from your customers.
Option 1
- Log into your dashboard.
- Click the Send review invite
- A pop up will appear on your screen.
- Enter the customer’s name, email, and phone number.
- Click Send invite.
The pop up disappears and the customer instantly receives a notification asking them to leave a review.
Option 2 (our preferred method)
-
- Log into your dashboard.
- Click Listings in the menu on the left.
- Open the grid on the top right.
- Select Check In. Your designated review request link will open in a new browser window.
- Enter the customer’s name, email, and phone number.
- Click Submit.
The customer instantly receives your request to leave you a review.
Why would we suggest a method that seems to have one more step than the first? Great question!
When using your designated link, you do not have to be logged in to your portal for each use. You only need to log in and open the link from the portal one time. Then, you can bookmark the link and keep that page open. After each submission, the link automatically resets and is ready to use for the next customer.
So, once you have bookmarked your link, you really only one have 2 steps to follow:
- Enter the customer’s information.
- Click Submit.
Yes! It’s that easy.
2. Customers can submit reviews EASILY!
Not only have we made the system effortless for you to use when sending requests, but we have ensured that your customers are able to submit their reviews quickly and effortlessly.
Trust us: if it takes too many steps, they aren’t going to leave you a review.
The steps the customer will take:
- The customer receives an email and/or text notification.
- They open the message.
- They select a site to leave a review.
- They are directed to the site and leave you a review.
The customer has an appealing message, simple directions, and only a few clicks to guide them to your preferred review sites.
As a note: we have added a “Contact Us Directly” feature along with the list of review sites as a way to lead customers away from leaving negative reviews.
If something during their visit was not up to their standard, we want them to contact you rather than leave a negative review. This gives you the opportunity to “make it right.”
When a customer chooses to contact you, you will receive an email directly to your inbox. If you receive an email with a customer concern, we recommend you reach out promptly to try to resolve it. This shows the customer that you are there to listen and help—which re-instills their confidence in you and your business.
Requesting and receiving online reviews can be strenuous and time-consuming. But, with the help of our user-friendly platform, it doesn’t have to be! We’re here to help!
Find out even more features this platform has to offer! This is designed for so much more than simply requesting reviews!
Ready to Get Started?
Choose VMD Services and have our talented and experienced marketing pros handle everything for you.