How to Get Customer Reviews For Your Small Business

When you want to know how your business stacks up against the competition, customer reviews are an excellent way to find out. The average review for any business is 4.8 stars out of 5, according to a survey published by Voices of America Businesses.

Getting 5 star customer reviews is an important part of making sure you and your business are successful.

The best strategy for getting positive reviews is to offer excellent customer service and quality products. Satisfied customers will be more likely to leave a review for your business, and as a result, your reputation will improve.

Below I will discuss how to get customers reviews for your small business and some things that you should know before asking for them.

Start with Greatness

Your first and most important step is to focus on providing the best service, product, and experience possible. When you provide a great service, customers will want to leave reviews for your business.

Do you have a genuine interest in hearing what your customers have to say? If so, your customer will see that your request is honestly coming from the heart.

Prep your Customer

To get reviews for your small business it is important to be proactive and ask your customers for a review at the ideal moment. This is usually when the customer has paid for the service and is showing their appreciation for a job well done. Don't wait a day or two to pass, it's best to ask right away while the great experience is still fresh in the customer's mind. The sooner you ask, the higher the chance of a published review on Google or Facebook.

It is vital that you take care when asking for reviews, so that it doesn't come off as pushy or desperate.

Make it Really Really Easy

Don’t make your customer jump through hoops to write you a review! Believe it or not, customers don’t always have an easy time navigating their way to your Google and Facebook listings, let alone finding out WHERE or HOW to post a review.

Use a Review Management Service like ReviewTec. A review service specializes in getting reviews for businesses listed on Google, Tripadvisor, Facebook and other sites. They provide a simple tool for you to send a review request to your customer. The request can be sent by Email or SMS Text message. All you need to do is enter the customer name and either their Email address or Mobile Number and hit send. The review system takes care of the rest by guiding the customer directly to the star selection screen on each review platform.

What’s more, if your customer doesn’t write you a review within 48 hours, the review system will follow up with them automatically. It can also send a thank you message once your customer successfully posts that important 5 star review!

Respond

One of the most important things about customer reviews is that you have a responsibility and obligation to respond to each review. It's not enough just to listen (although I highly recommend doing so) and it's not enough just to read them. When you respond, you're showing that you care about your customers and their feedback, which will likely lead to more reviews and better ratings.

Remember, customers who leave reviews are trying to help you better your business, so it is important that you take what they say into consideration.

What if I get a Negative Review?

Negative reviews can be a huge detriment to your business. No matter how good your product or service is, people are more likely to steer toward a competitor if they have negative feelings about you and your business.

There is only 1 way to respond to negative reviews. With politeness. Any other response will almost certainly make your business look worse in the eyes of future customers. It’s understandable that you love your business and negative attacks can be frustrating, but you have to be polite even to the worst review.

Remember, everyone is watching. Every new potential customer can see how you respond to the good as well as the bad.

Turn the negative into a positive by taking a small hit to show just how great you really are. Acknowledge the customer’s concerns even if you don’t agree with them. Don’t be afraid to apologize. Let them know that you’re known for excellent service but it seems you may have missed the mark and are willing to make things right.

Always read over your response as though you were a new potential customer who is looking for a service like yours. How does your response make them feel?

“This company is just ignoring the customer's issue. I’ll cant work with a business like that.”

OR

“If this company makes a mistake, I can count on them to fix any issues and keep me happy.”

Your response to a negative review can make a huge impact on how new leads view your business.

And finally, fixing the issue can (in many cases) lead the customer to updating their review to a positive.

The Takeaway

The key to ensuring that your small business gets excellent reviews is offering exceptional customer service, even if they are making a complaint about a product or service. Use a review service like ReviewTec to capture reviews from your happy customers right away, then follow up by responding to them in a timely manner. Put these tips together and you’ll improve your reputation online in no time.