6 Tips for Ensuring Good Customer Reviews

It goes without saying that online reviews are important for every business. Shoppers today are more likely to trust the opinion of other customers than any marketing or advertising run by the business itself.

Satisfied customer reviews for your business means more proof that your business can deliver on what you promise and, consequently, more trust in your brand.

The absence of reviews or too many negative reviews makes your company seem inauthentic and bad to do business with.

Furthermore, older reviews are less trustworthy than newer ones.

The problem is that it can be quick tricky to get consumers to post positive reviews about a product, service or business. It’s well known that happy customers hardly ever let you know that they’re satisfied, but unhappy customers will definitely let you know. 

Here are some sure-fire ways to increase the number of positive recommendations you get online.

Ensuring Positive Customer Service Reviews 

Here are our top tips of how to ensure you gain satisfied customer reviews to make sure that you have a good online brand image. 

1. Make a Request and Then Follow Up 

Sometimes the best way to get customers to leave to review is to simply ask. More often than not, your loyal customers have no problem with leaving a review, but they haven't thought of it or are unaware of how beneficial it can be for you. 

When it comes to requesting a review, you can ask either:

• In person: Train your employees to ask consumers, especially returning ones, to write a review after a purchase or any positive interaction. It can also be a good idea to ask for general feedback first to gauge a consumer’s general impression about your business. This has the added advantage of giving you valuable feedback, identifying which people are most likely to post positively about you to encourage them further, and dealing with any problems before they are posted online.
• In marketing material: mention options to review in your email signature, receipts, or on any card or material in mail deliveries.

It is also important to follow up on your requests. Both direct contact and follow up are essential to making sure that you get as many reviews as possible.

Many individuals do agree to write review but end up putting it off. A gentle reminder can help convert these into actual reviews. Be wary of constantly bombarding your clients with the same request though as that can be extremely off-putting.

2. Send Email Review Requests at an Appropriate Time 

So, when is the ideal moment to request consumer feedback?

For best outcomes, make sure you're asking for customer feedback at the appropriate time in their interaction with your organisation.

Consider this: When you ask for reviews at the wrong time, a customer can write a bad review that hundreds of other people will read before deciding whether or not to do business with you.

Timing is crucial when it comes to encouraging customers to leave reviews. Throughout the customer experience, strategically place requests for user reviews, such as:

• When they make another purchase or place another order; 
• When they mention your brand in a social media post; 
• If they spend time on your website looking at other items or services; 
• After they use or exhibit success with your product or service; 
• If they recommend a new client to you.

These are only a few instances of indications that a consumer is happy enough to recommend your company on Google. 

It's crucial to ask clients for feedback at the proper time, although this varies widely from business to business.

When ought one to request product reviews? Graham Charlton of SaleCycle advises "timing emails so the purchase is fresh in the customer's mind and they have had time to use the product" if you're looking for product reviews.

The kind of thing you buy should, however, affect when you inquire. Wait until enough time has passed since delivery for the buyer to perceive the effects of your goods, advises Kim Kohatsu of Charles Ave Marketing.

According to Marc Howard of BizPayO, “Try to ask for a review as close as possible to the completion of the service, If you’re a digital agency, ask for the review right after the project is complete or the payment has been made. Even if the service was a free consultation, it’s still an opportunity to ask for a review.”

Kurt Uhlir of ShowCase IDX advises requesting reviews at significant milestones for service organisations that engage clients on an ongoing basis.

3. Make Posting a Review as Easy as Possible 

According to Hans van Gent of User Growth, “When sending the email, keep the email short, make the customer feel special, and include a link to take them straight to the review process… You want the process to be as easy as possible for them so that it will take the least amount of time.”

Your consumer will be less inclined to leave a review if it seems too difficult. 

That means you should make it as simple as possible, especially if you're requesting a testimonial by email. 

Here are some suggestions to make things as easy as possible:

• Provide multiple options so the customer can choose the platform they're most comfortable with
• Provide a direct link to the page where they leave a review to reduce the number of steps needed
• Provide a prompt to make deciding what to write easier (e.g. "Will you leave a review about your most recent store visit?")

Time is one of the main issues of contention that needs to be highlighted. The customer won't leave a review if they believe they don't have enough time.

However, if you address this concern up front during your question, you can influence their perspective while you're ahead. As a footnote or post-script to the request, you might say or write, "It will only take 2 minutes."

4. Participate with Your Existing Reviews 

Some of the most effective ways to encourage more reviews for your business and products is to engage with existing reviews that previous customers have posted.  

If they see responses and input from businesses, people who wouldn't typically submit reviews—regardless of whether they are satisfied or not—will feel inspired to do so. A brief thank-you note can go a long way.

However, when you receive a negative review, be sure to take the time to deliberately and non-defensively answer in order to reach a compromise. If you work in customer service, it's the right thing to do and could ultimately benefit your company.

Harvard Business Review discovered that companies' overall ratings improved when they responded to unfavourable online evaluations. Since your customers are also people, empathic and compassionate customer service resonates with them and actually increases the number of overall evaluations, especially good ones.

In fact, demonstrating that you are considerate, and care about your customer’s reviews shows people that you truly care about the products and customer experience you have to offer. 

Research has shown that compassionate and appropriate responses by the business to negative feedback actually mitigate the effect of the bad review.

5. Provide an Incentive for Reviews 

Offering incentives to customers can give them a little extra encouragement to leave a review. It’s most effective to mention the incentive somewhere clearly—such as in the email subject line—to attract as many respondents as possible. 

There are a couple of different ways you can reward those who eventually do give your business a review. 

You can offer discount or coupon codes, gift cards or entry to a contest or raffle draw. Alternatively, you can pledge a small donation for each review to a cause that ties in with the values of your company.

You can also promote reviews on social media and give free publicity to your consumers. One way is to backlink or tag reviewers on your social media pages. People usually love the shout outs and appreciate the attention for their own business or causes. This further highlights to everyone else that you value your customers and are actively engaged with them.

6. Finally, and Most importantly Offer a Wonderful Experience 

It’s important to keep in mind that none of these strategies will succeed unless you concentrate on one thing: making sure you're providing a quality product or service.

In most circumstances, having an exceptional product and then following up with excellent customer service is sufficient to get your clients to leave a positive review.

At the very least, they will undoubtedly spread the message about their experience doing business with you.

Use Your Positive Network Connections to Build a Business 

At Markaz, we are working very hard to boost Pakistan's eCommerce industry.

You can purchase some of the best products that your clients need from Markaz, an online retailer. Start your own online business from home, and sell these things there or to friends.

Thanks to Markaz, any Pakistani who desires to start a business can do so.

We provide specially chosen, high-quality goods at a discount. Being able to work from home, spend more time with their families, and join Pakistan's thriving small business community are all advantages for our members.

You can use your network and connections and sell to your contacts through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. 

Learn more and Join the Community today at https://www.markaz.app.