How To Ask For a Review

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Online feedback has the power to uplift or harm a business. Yet, many won’t naturally take a moment to give feedback—you have to prompt them.

Mastering the technique of requesting reviews from customers can mitigate the impact of unfavorable comments, enhance your brand’s image, and increase your business’s earnings.

In no time, you’ll witness your business accumulating hundreds, or even thousands, of online feedback across various review sites and channels.

5 Steps to Ask For a Review

Asking for customers to leave you a review is much easier if you have a playbook to follow. The entire process can be summarized in just five simple steps:

Establish Your Presence on Review Sites

Set Up Automated Review Requests

Give Your Customers a Reason to Leave a Review

Monitor and Respond to Customer Reviews

Showcase and Promote Your Best Reviews

The Easy Parts of Asking For a Review

Numerous business proprietors are uncertain about the right time to request a review. They assume such moments are rare. However, this belief is far from the truth.

In reality, there’s a plethora of moments every day where one can request reviews from customers. The most opportune moment is right after a sale has been made.

Once a customer has made a purchase, you can configure automatic review requests via emails, SMS, appreciation web pages, and other landing sites. This is where the expertise of an online reputation management firm becomes invaluable, as they possess the tools to streamline this activity.

WebiMax stands out in this regard. Beyond merely facilitating online review triggers, WebiMax also extends its services to assisting you in obtaining face-to-face customer reviews.

Webimax visual of main page They can produce a QR code which you can incorporate into printed materials or at point-of-sale locations, simplifying the review process for your clientele.

Being a comprehensive reputation management firm, WebiMax is adept at handling negative feedback, eradicating unsavory reviews, elevating positive feedback, and ensuring you garner more reviews than your rivals.

The Difficult Parts of Asking for a Review

There will always be some customers who didn’t enjoy their experience with your establishment. When you invite such individuals to pen down their thoughts, brace yourself for honest, sometimes critical responses.

Business proprietors often grapple with unfavorable feedback, interpreting them as personal affronts. The quicker you view these critiques as a golden opportunity to enhance and uplift your enterprise, the more smoothly you’ll navigate the future.

Certainly, there’ll be a minority of clients who remain discontent regardless of your efforts. However, these instances are usually outliers and shouldn’t cause undue stress.

Exercising patience can sometimes test certain business proprietors, especially if they are weighed down by a spate of negative ratings across multiple platforms. Understandably, ratings won’t soar from mediocre to excellent immediately. Notable change requires time.

But as you proactively seek feedback and the online commentary volume escalates, you’ll notice that commendations will soon outnumber criticisms.

Deciphering When to Cease Requesting Feedback Another conundrum in the feedback process is discerning when to halt your requests. If a patron disregards your initial feedback solicitation, you might contemplate sending a gentle automated reminder. But what’s the ideal number of prompts?

Occasionally, one or two gentle reminders are effective, since some patrons might postpone writing feedback after a transaction. They might appreciate a subtle jog of memory.

But bombard them with too many prompts, and you risk irritating them, potentially culminating in a backlash through a resentful review.

Engaging an online reputation management entity can assist you in determining the optimal frequency to engage a hesitant reviewer.

5 Steps to Ask For a Review

Step 1 – Establish Your Presence on Review Sites

Step 1 – Mark Your Territory on Feedback Platforms Before beckoning clients for feedback, show them where to go. A vague “Kindly review us?” sans specific guidance won’t suffice.

For online solicitations, offer a direct hyperlink to a particular review platform. When requesting verbally, guide the patron to a designated platform.

Secure Any Unsecured Profiles Ensure you’ve created a business presence on prominent feedback platforms pertinent to your venture and sector. Focus especially on those already brimming with comments.

Here’s a list of notable platforms where patrons typically post reviews:

Yelp
Google
Facebook
Yellowpages
Trustpilot
Foursquare
ConsumerReports

Depending on your sector, you might consider other platforms. For instance, Amazon vendors would naturally steer patrons to Amazon. Enterprises offering B2B software might favor platforms like G2.

If you’re uncertain about which profiles to prioritize, WebiMax offers guidance. They provide a complimentary reputation evaluation service.

WebiMax visual regarding their no-cost reputation assessment If you’re deliberating between managing your reputation personally or via a firm, starting with a gratis assessment is advisable. The subsequent step becomes clearer thereafter.

By claiming your profiles, you wield more influence over online conversations about your brand. For instance, only after claiming can you manage Yelp comments related to your business.

Ensure Every Detail is Spot-On After staking your claim on business profiles, ensure every snippet of information is accurate. The presentation might differ across platforms, but every profile should encompass:

Business name
Geographical address
Postal address
Contact number
Email ID
Web address
Social media links
Operating hours
Menu (where relevant)
Services (if relevant)

Additionally, augment your profile with high-quality images, showcasing your offerings, clientele, staff, services, and other aspects you’d want potential patrons to see when they explore your business.

Step 2 – Set Up Automated Review Requests

Step 3 – Provide an Incentive for Reviews Why should a client review your services or products? This isn’t just rhetorical.

Offering an incentive or clear rationale can be influential. Always incorporate your reasons within the prompt, be it face-to-face or digital.

Emphasize the objective isn’t only positive feedback; you’re after genuine opinions. Clarify the importance of reviews for your enterprise. Openly state your goal of expanding your customer base. Reinforce their perspective’s value. Convey your commitment to improvement and quality.

Highlight a couple of key reasons, then proceed. Experiment with varied rationales to identify which resonate most.

Always maintain a polite tone, express gratitude, and facilitate the review process. Consider giving a small future purchase discount as an added motivation.

Discount Offers A discount voucher as a token of appreciation for reviews is a swift method to boost online feedback. If clients perceive they’re gaining tangible benefits for their efforts, they’re more inclined to participate, potentially improving their review tone.

An additional benefit is it encourages repeat purchases. A discount could motivate a subsequent purchase.

Loyalty Benefits This tactic is effective if a customer loyalty scheme is already in operation. If not, mull over introducing a loyalty initiative. This could serve dual purposes: increased feedback and customer retention.

Points for reviews depend on your program’s framework. Typically, a reward like 500 points equating to a $5 store credit works well.

Lucky Draws Here, you could introduce a periodic lucky draw with a significant prize. Every reviewer enters the draw.

Given that it’s a singular prize, its value could be upwards of $100. This could range from a $100 gift card to exclusive product giveaways.

Simplifying the Process Prospective reviewers often shun lengthy, complex procedures. Simplification boosts the chances of eliciting a response.

The automated prompt strategy from the previous section is a step in the right direction. Yet, additional motivators are sometimes necessary.

Consider a star-rating system. This means customers only need to select a rating. However, upon selection, a prompt for a detailed written review can appear.

Such a system’s advantage is its simplicity, increasing the likelihood of participation.

Step 3 – Give Your Customers a Reason to Leave a Review