How to get customers to write positive reviews

How to Get Customers to Write Positive Reviews 

Review sites are increasingly used by consumers to validate their purchase decisions, and the latest data affirms their growing influence. 

Recent research from Cone Inc. found that 87 percent of consumers say favorable reviews sway their purchase decisions. With numbers like that, you may be wondering how to get customers to write positive reviews.

Before you go down that road, though, think carefully about your approach. There’s a fine line between aggressively soliciting reviews from your customers and gently encouraging them to write about your product or service. The last thing you want to do is to jeopardize the credibility of those gushing reviews that have been posted by your customers. The key is to take a measured and careful tack.

Boosting Positive Reviews

Many businesses and individuals rely heavily on their online reputation and/or reviews and after consulting with many experts from around the world, here at Reputation.com we've developed services and tools to assist in monitoring, improving and repairing online reviews and reputations.  As you'll see below we've laid out so tips for encouraging customers to leave positive reviews, however we also realize that in many situations that time and resources are highly valuable and may be better spent elsewhere.  To this end Reputation.com has developed ReputationDefender and Reputation for Business, two services that can a help you build, improve or repair your online presence.

Reputation for Business

Reputation for Business offers a number of different levels of service, from simple monitoring through to a fully managed PR service, with the top packages designed to not only save many hours/month that typically need to be spent on ones online presence but also to increase business by nipping bad reviews in the bud and improving the online presence of the business through positive reviews from your actual clients.  Reputation for Business is a service that Reputation.com recommends every SMB have in place - the increase in business from a positive online presence is priceless.  Whether it's getting real customers to leave reviews or simply monitor any review posted about your business, Reputation for Business is a service and not just an online tool that puts you back in charge of your businesses reputation.

ReputationDefender

ReputationDefender is a very specific service, and unlike Reputation for Business is not something that is recommended (or needed) by most individuals and businesses.  ReputationDefender has been specifically designed for any individual or business that's reputation has been tarnished online through blogs, articles, and review sites by disgruntled clients, enraged friends, or former employees etc.  Unfortunately under the law it is virtually impossible to have a court order the removal of online content, however it can be suppressed through techniques that we've perfected though $40+ million in research and development here at Reputation.com.  Essentially anyone that Google's you or your business won't look past the first couple pages of search engine results, and if all they find are positive articles, reviews, bio's and other sites then the negative material is substantially mitigated and your reputation will reflect positively on you.

If you have question or would just like to know more - call us on 877-258-6338.

Here are some tips on how to get customers to write positive reviews:

• Offer incentives, but proceed with caution. In no way do you want to suggest that you’re compensating your customers for their endorsement. Instead of giving discounts or freebies, consider offering them a chance to enter a drawing to win a prize. This way, there’s no semblance of an exchange; you’re simply tipping off potential reviewers to a contest that’s open to everyone.

• Monitor the sites where customers rate and review your business. Make your business profile visible on these sites and regularly reach out to the reviewers, thanking them for their feedback. Simply engaging the community and raising awareness about your business can serve as a reminder to other customers that they haven’t given your product or service its due recommendation.

• Make it easy for customers to write a review, and promote the sites where you want them to go and extol your virtues. On your website and in your emails and newsletters, provide a link to these venues. Yelp offers downloadable “Find us on Yelp” banners that you can add to your website. From the same Yelp page, you can also print these banners and post them on your store window or service counter to remind your patrons to visit Yelp and give you the thumbs-up you deserve.

• Approach your regulars and Facebook fans for reviews; tell them you would love it if they’d share their experiences with others. Satisfied customers are usually happy to oblige; others will do it to be helpful. In fact, a study commissioned by Bazaarvoice found that a desire to help others was the reason 90 percent of consumers write reviews.

• In the end, how to get customers to write positive reviews, is always aided by asking nicely and using a little discretion.