Did you know that positive online reviews have an impact on your sale? Studies have shown that more than 90% of consumers search for reviews before making a purchase. It was found that a positive review can double the average sale of a company from zero. Positive reviews on the company’s profile page influence the buying decision of consumers immensely.
What does it mean? The collection of online reviews should be a priority for your business to drive sales and revenue growth in 2021. Apart from bringing more sales, it also gives an insight into your business and improvement areas. That is because your business will get both positive and negative feedback from customers. Online reviews are important for every business to thrive in today’s competitive marketing landscape.
How to collect genuine online reviews for your business?
Let’s face it, collection of online reviews is difficult. Persuading customers to give meaningful feedback by taking out time from the busy schedule is not easy for which they don’t get anything in return. Despite this fact, many business owners think that they can manage review collection on their own. This effort is bound to fail without applying key necessary strategies. Here are some crucial ideas and concepts that would be helpful to collect online business reviews in 2021:
Ask for a review
The first step to get a review is asking a customer. It is estimated that about 70% of customers are ready to give feedback to a business when asked. But, you shouldn’t sound desperate at the time of asking. Moreover, the timing of asking for a review is critical. Satisfied and loyal customers are the best bets to achieve success in your effort.
Craft a well-defined review pitch
Reviews do not just happen. Persuade customers to give feedback by giving valid reasons. Define a well-crafted review pitch by informing customers how their reviews would help in improving business reputation and operation. Craft the lines in the following way:
“Your feedback is important to us! Could you share your experience with our company by giving a review? Your review will help us to grow and improve our internal services.”
The sole reason for writing a refined review pitch is to inform customers about its benefit for your business. This gives an extra incentive to complete the process.
Best time to ask for a review
As stated above, time is a critical factor in acquiring feedback from customers. Here is what we think the best time for asking feedback from your consumers:
Product sale – If your business sells physical products, the best time to ask for a review is 7-10 days after the shipment of products to customers. In this period, customers will get the product at hand and use it for a few days to share their experience.
Services -The timeline for asking for reviews should be a lot quicker for businesses selling services. The best time to request feedback is within 2-3 days of completing the deal. Send a text message or email to customers fast to complete the review process. As the timeline is less, automate the process by integrating software to avoid delays. This way customers are more likely to leave feedback with a fresh experience on their mind. We offer an fully managed integrated solution, just contact us to find out more.
Modes of asking for reviews
Which modes of review system should you use?
This is a frequent question that business owners ask us. Well, it depends. The best way to reach customers for a review is in the medium they are currently using. If they are communicating with you through email, send the review request in the mail.
Similarly, you can request a review through SMS, print mode, and others. In this way, you can have a better outreach and conversion from actual customers. At 5 Stars Reputation, we use five customized review systems for better outreach and outcome. These modes are kiosk, email, SMS, print, and tablet mode. Our aim is to bring real reviews for your business from genuine customers on autopilot 24/7.
Monitor the review request
Despite following the best strategies and modes, don’t expect to get an immediate response from customers. They are busy and forget to catch up with your requests. It is better to monitor the status of the feedback and send a reminder.
Moreover, you can handle the review collection manually using a Google Spreadsheet, with status update daily, to keep an eye on the customers who haven’t filled a review. But, these tasks are often overwhelming. Instead of running a manual review drive, use automated software from 5 Stars Reputation to get a hassle-free experience. The customized software is easy to integrate and send review invitation to customers. Thus, this automated system helps businesses to get more reviews fast.
Respond to customers’ review
After getting a review from a customer, respond as fast as possible. This is important to show your active engagement with customers and appreciate their time in giving feedback. It also helps in building the trust and loyalty of future customers. With more reviews and engagement with customers, it improves ranking in Google map results. Showing your profile in higher search results means more traffic and sales for your business.
Take action now
We hope this guide would help take your business in the right direction in acquiring quality ratings and reviews in 2021. Instead of running a manual review collection drive, you can automate the process at a minimum cost that may require hiring a team. Look at our 5 Stars Reputation strategies that may be useful for your business. . Contact us to get services now.