Answer
Apr 12, 2022 - 09:56 PM
When it comes to reviews, Google has become the dominant gatekeeper. But they’re not the only ones because Trustpilot and Yelp are also popular sources of reviews for customers wanting to assess a business.
I did a little digging and found that customer reviews contribute as much as $400 billion to the e-commerce market. And it’s not surprising seeing that people trust reviews from other customers twelve times more than they’ll trust a producer's review.
Now, that’s great news! But there’s just one problem: Many customers with positive experiences don’t always share their reviews. USA Today makes it clear that only 5% to 10% of customers leave reviews.
And it can even get frustrating when the few customers with negative experiences are even more vocal than all those with positive ones.
Judging by how 68% of customers make purchasing decisions after reading six reviews or less, and how 90% will hesitate to purchase if there’s no review, your business needs to maintain a steady stream of positive reviews. And here’s how to go about it.
Steps to Getting More Reviews on Google, Trustpilot, and Yelp
-
Set Up and Account on Google, TrustPilot, and Yelp
I know this is a no-brainer—and you probably have these accounts already—but for anyone else, the first and most crucial step to collecting reviews from customers is setting up an account with Yelp, Trustpilot, and Google My Business (GMB).
-
Don’t Assume: Always Ask and Remind
The simplest way to get solid reviews is to ask your customers for them. If you have an email list or any means of reaching your customers, ensure you use that to check up on your customers and find out how your products are performing.
If they’re pleased with your products, send them a link to your GMB, Yelp, or Trustpilot review page, and ask them to leave an honest review. And if they’re not happy with your products, address their concerns and make sure your products are working fine; give them a few days to use your products before checking back and asking for an honest review.
And yes, if you don’t ask, you will get reviews, but most of them would be negative ones. Angry customers are thrice more likely to leave a bad review than customers who enjoyed your products or services.
-
Make it Worth Their Time
Most customers don’t leave reviews because they aren’t incentivized to do so. I recently bought a product online and would’ve happily left the site without leaving a review, even though I loved the experience.
But the seller did something brilliant. He asked for a simple shoutout on Twitter, and knowing that most customers may not want to do it, he attached a prize that customers who left a shoutout stood a chance of winning.
Customers will happily leave you a review if you reward their efforts with a small prize or a discount code. However, you have to limit this to your reviews on your site since Google doesn’t encourage such practices.
-
Make it Easy For Customers to Leave a Review
Customers hate friction. There’s a good chance you’ll lose reviews if customers have to click more than thrice to leave a review. So, do your best to reduce the obstacle your customers may encounter when trying to leave a review. It’s advisable to link directly to your review pages on Yelp, GMB, and Trustpilot.
You can smoothen the process of receiving reviews by attaching a QR code to your product/service and have the code lead your customers straight to your review page.
-
Give Customers a Rough Draft
Most customers don’t leave reviews because they struggle with coming up with what to say. Take it from us; writing a great review can be tasking. So to simplify their experience, you can always ask them some prompt questions that’d help them come up with a response.
-
How was your experience with us?
-
Were you satisfied with our products?
-
How was our customer service?
-
Engage With Your Customer’s Review
Customers are more likely to leave a review if the brand has a history of actively engaging with reviews. Everyone loves being heard and understood, and engaging with customer reviews is a vital way of building trust and credibility with them.
Responding to reviews will also help your business rank better on Google because Google prioritizes brands that take the time to respond to customer complaints and praises.
But while trying to engage with your customer’s review, don’t make the mistake of responding emotionally to negative ones. Instead, use them as an opportunity to connect with customers and show them how well you value their feedback.
Customers pay close attention to how you respond to reviews, and seeing you fight fire with fire may push them away from your brand.
Offer Superior Services
Great reviews are always born from offering world-class services or products. Customers love to tell their friends about the exceptional products and services they use and even the customer services they experience.
And once your brand or its products goes above and beyond their expectations. So this is how you should approach growing your reviews, not tricks and schemes.
Add New Comment