Have you ever had an unpleasant experience at a restaurant or with a business? Of course you have. At times, you just caught the wrong waitress, technician, or sales rep on a wrong day, but some folks continue to give bad service or faulty products and manage to stay in business.
Thankfully, people don’t want their fellow humans to suffer as they have, so we leave reviews for two reasons: to affirm an exceptional experience or vent from a miserable incident.
In either case, we want to steer our peers to the best decision, and hope that others do the same for us as we make these decisions every day. As a result, businesses with a lot of positive reviews give people comfort that they are most likely to have a good experience.
The trick, however, is that most people are either happy, indifferent, or only modestly sad, so they’re not compelled to leave reviews. If you make it easy, your customers are much more likely to give you the nod of approval.
How Not To Get Reviews
Recently, Google decided that businesses who give out incentives for good reviews will be penalized in their rankings. While some may see this as a setback, this update will add to the credibility of reviews and make them more meaningful and effective.
Just remember to ask for reviews the right way, which we will cover later. In the long term, this will lead to more trust in reviews and higher rankings for those who play by the rules.
How Our Clients Get Good Reviews
At Slamdot, we offer a software called Reviewability. At a predetermined time after the transaction, the software sends an email to your customer, asks a question, and gives the opportunity to rate the experience between 1 and 10.
For example, you could ask “How would you rate your overall experience with Gus’ Detroit-style Pizza?” If they answer favorably, you can either send them to Google, Facebook, or another directory.
If they score lower than what you would like, let’s say 7 or below, you may ask how the experience could be better or how you can fix it.
No matter how they answer, you’re likely to gain a stellar review or have the opportunity to address their issue.
3 Other Paths To Good Reviews
Of course, there are ways to gain positive reviews without using a tool. With a few tips and the right approach, you’ll be on your way to positive reviews and higher rankings.
- Ask When The Customer Is Happiest. First, find the peak of positive emotion during your customer’s experience. For the sake of a simple example, imagine a great local deli.
Though it is expected, standing in line, ordering, or waiting for your food isn’t the patron’s favorite part. Rather, it’s the moments following the meal before the customer leaves.
If a manager walks over to ask about the meal and if he could clear the table or refill drinks, this may compel the customer to be appreciative and want to give a little something back for their experience. Thus, now is a good time to politely ask for positive feedback.
Asking for feedback, instead of a review, is important. Consumer trends seem to concur that asking for reviews outright may get a frosty reception among younger consumers. Asking for feedback, rather, establishes the understanding that you want honest reviews that could potentially help you improve your business.
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Offer A Cause Incentive. For larger businesses, you can offer an incentive that benefits a third party out of benevolence. For example, you could ask an online purchaser to leave a review in exchange for a tree planted by the company.
Though the reviewer does not benefit directly, they’re willing to spend a couple minutes to help out a worthy cause. This sort of thing isn’t for everyone, so discernment is advised.
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Make it Easy. For service-based businesses, such as plumbers, pest control, etc., well-dressed technicians armed with an iPad can quickly gain a positive review if the customer is happy and not obviously stressed for time.
Simply have your employees ask if the client would be willing to give feedback, have a program open where comments can be entered (preferably anonymously), and thank the customer for their time and business.
Have Another Idea?
We’re all about businesses helping each other grow. If you have a suggestion or even a question, drop a comment below!
