9 Ways To Get More 5-Star Reviews
Did you know that 53% of customers won’t consider dealing with a business that is rated less than four stars?
What if you have no google reviews or only a handful of reviews scattered across Facebook, Trip Advisor and Product Reviews? A single negative review could bring your whole star rating down, which would have an immediate impact on your online reputation and your ability to win over a potential customer.
Actively managing your online review profile is a critical marketing skill that business of all sizes need to master. In this article, we’ll explore why 5-star reviews are essential and how to get more 5 star reviews.
Why Are 5 star reviews Important?
With 92% of people who read reviews before they push the buy now button, it’s critical to your online reputation to get more 5 star reviews. That’s because 80% of customers treat customer reviews as if the review was coming from their friends or family.
When you are looking to buy a product or employ a service provider you have never used before, one of the first things you do is ask your friends. “Who do you know that…?”
You are more likely to take the advice of your friends over an advertisement. Most people, when conducting a Google search for a product or a service, one of the first things they also do is look at the reviews. Five-star reviews give them the confidence to make a buying decision.
Your online review profile affects both your position in the search results and the probability that someone will click on your listing. Think about this…research by the CXL institute found that review stars in the search engine results page (or “SERP”) helped traffic uplift by 35%. Your star rating and the number of online review you have earned has also been flagged as a ranking factor in the Google Local Search Results 3 pack.
In short, your business needs more five star customer reviews to give your potential customers the confidence to do business with you rather than your competitors.
Spray and Pray Marketing Doesn’t Work – 5 Star Reviews Do!
Although most marketing managers and business owners know the power of getting reviews, many still rely on spray and pray marketing. You know how it goes, throw an advertisement out there, cross your fingers, and hope it works.
You offer an excellent service at a great price; cross your fingers and pray the customer will write you a 5 star review. How often does this happen? Not very often. Sometimes this works, but with only a few reviews coming in over months, it’s not enough to make an impact on your business.
Then what happens is, among the trickle of reviews, you get an angry ant who wants to blast your business into oblivion. You don’t want someone looking to sully your reputation all because they had a bad day. You need to fight back and get more five-star reviews, so your online reputation doesn’t plunge from a 4.4 rating to 3.7 overnight.
Now that you know the value of getting reviews let’s look at how to get more five-star reviews.
In order to have a meaningful impact on your search ranking both the volume and velocity of your online reviews need to be consistently better than your competitors. For many businesses, one or two reviews every week will put them well ahead of the competitors within just a few months.
9 Ways to Get More 5 Star Reviews
Collecting online reviews is an easy way to grow your reputation online. They improve your SEO and sales conversions. Let’s face it, 5-star reviews are like gold. They are the currency that builds trust and confidence and helps your business grow. Almost every customer will use online reviews to pre-screen your business.
When asking for reviews, be open, honest, and authentic. Let them know how much their opinion matters to you-time to learn how to get more 5 star reviews.
Here are nine helpful tips on how to get more 5-Star reviews for your business.
Just Ask
The most obvious way to get reviews, a testimonial, or feedback is simply to ask. Consider the countless times you knew a customer was happy with your products or services and you forgot to ask for a google review.
Firstly map out the customer journey and pick the point where their satisfaction levels are the highest. At that point, ask them an open question such as, “How was your experience today?” If it’s positive, follow up with the question, “Would you mind leaving us a review? It’s really simple and easy. We just send you a link which you click on to leave your google review.”
You can’t get around the fact that you probably just need to ask for 5-Star reviews. You’d be surprised how many of your satisfied customers are happy to leave you a google review. Make it easy. Direct them to a website or app, pre-populate some of the information, so it’s quick and easy to complete a review. Emphasize the words quick and easy, and they will be happy to oblige.
Incent Your Employees To Ask
Another simple tactic to getting more 5 star reviews is to train your people to ask. Tell them what to say and do and make it easy for them to ask as well. They too love to see 5-star reviews, especially if they are personally mentioned in the review, it boosts their morale.
The minute they complete a sale and ensure the customer is happy, have them ask for a google review. Build this into your business processes.
Make Your Customers an Ambassador For Your Business
Referral business costs nothing; it’s the cheapest form of advertising. All it takes is a focus on customer service and customer care.
When you service your customers well, they will naturally become brand ambassadors. Take a photo with the happy customer and get their permission to share the photo on your website or on social media. Not everyone will give you permission; however, imagine the impact on your reputation of those who do. Remember to add the hashtag #happycusotmer or #satisfiedcustomer and share it on social media or use it in an advertisement.
Send an Email With a Link to Your Google Review Page
Once you are sure the customer is happy, send them an email to show them how to conduct a review online. By making it easy for them to leave a review, the more likely they will leave a review.
Provide them with instructions on how to leave a review. For instance, if you wanted them to leave a review on Google, guide them through what they need to do.
Firstly they need to sign in to Google and navigate to your business listing before they can leave a review. Give them easy to follow instructions such as the following:
- Sign in to your Google (Gmail) Account.
- Search for your business name on Google (provide them with the exact name)
- Click to leave a review.
- Select a star rating, write the review and submit.
Be careful about asking family and friends to leave a review if you sold them any of your products or services. When tapping friends and family on the shoulder to leave a review, be careful the reviews don’t look fake or spammy.
If you have the customer’s email address, send them an email with instructions on how to leave a review along with a review link.
Don’t wait too long before sending them a link to leave a review. According to a Gartner study, feedback collected immediately after a purchase results in a 40% more accurate review.
Send an SMS
Many people prefer SMS to email. Therefore if you have the customer’s phone number, send them an SMS instead.
To reach out to customers for reviews via SMS means you need a system to collect phone numbers. You also need their permission to send an SMS with an option to opt-out.
For many businesses that use SMS to communicate with customers, you’ll already have access to these numbers.
Remember to send a text as soon as possible after the purchase is completed while the experience is fresh in their mind.
Send Reminders
If the customer didn’t leave a review, send them a reminder via text or email.
Take a moment to share your experience and leave us a review.
Hello Mary,
Thank you for your recent (purchase) from us. We sincerely hope you were happy with your (purchase – service).
Your feedback means everything to us; it helps us listen to our customers to develop a better service and experience. Here’s a link where you can leave your feedback. It’s quick and easy.
Thank you for putting your trust in us; we appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
XYZ Company
Then insert a link or a button where they can write their review.
Online Testimonials
Written testimonials are great; video testimonials are even better. If you have a website, ask your delighted customers if you can record video testimonials to post on your website. It’s amazing how this immediately boosts your reputation online. If they agree, be sure to send them a gift card or something else thanking them for their testimonial. Showing your appreciation in this way also means they will become one of your best brand ambassadors.
Invest in Reputation Management Software
Gathering more 5-star reviews definitely turbocharges your reputation online. For every 5-star review you get, this enhances the trust value potential customers see in you and your business.
As your business grows, consider investing in reputation management software. Your reputation is everything. It only takes a string of bad reviews to damage your reputation. Reputation management software works in your favour, whereby you can use 5-star reviews to transform feedback into a competitive advantage.
Build a Review Building Process
5-star reviews don’t happen unless you focus on them. Therefore you must build the review process as you would any business process.
Instore Presence
- Ask for feedback in person.
- Ask for customers’ emails and phone numbers via tablets.
- Add a link on your receipt asking for feedback.
Integrate Reviews Into Packaging
If you are sending products directly to customers, include feedback stickers on the packaging. Let your customers know you care about their experience, so you want to know if you met their expectations or exceeded their expectations.
Online Presence
Send an email or text as soon as possible you are sure they have received the service, download, or products. Follow up with a phone call, email, or text to get their feedback. Encourage them to leave a review about their experience.
Platforms You Can Use to Get More 5 Star Reviews
Here is a list of five platforms you can use to promote reviews for your products and services.
- Google My Business
- Facebook Recommendations
- Trust Pilot
- Tripadvisor
- Yelp
Consider the best review platform that suits your business model. Then set up a profile on the review platform that best aligns with your industry and business.
Yes, you will get a bad review from time to time. The important thing is not to hide negative feedback; it’s more helpful to learn how to deal with negative reviews. Choose what you are willing to do to fix the issue and draw a line in the sand about what you won’t do.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many ways you can get customers to leave a review. Take every opportunity you can to ask for a review or testimonial and build this into your business processes.
Sometimes managing this process can be difficult for a business owner, but it is still critical. At Rethink Marketing, we can take this process on for you, liaising directly with your clients to get feedback and drive reviews.
Learn how to get more reviews with a systematic approach to soliciting positive feedback from your customers.
ReThink Marketing – ReThink Reviews!