Reviews are like referrals. You can either sit around waiting (and praying) for them to happen or you can get busy making them happen. A pro-active approach will see you stacking up positive reviews and leveraging the power of all that good word-of-mouth. Here are a few tips to put a full tank of gas in your review engine and get much farther down the road.
1. Ask for reviews – Let every client know that reviews matter and how much you would appreciate them taking the time to post one.
2. Send your review links – Email or text the link for your reviews to clients along with an ask. Make it easy for them and many will gladly do it.
3. Follow up on all those asks. Circle back and politely remind people to post.
4. Offer incentives – Use sample size products or the sampling of add on services as incentives for taking the moment to post reviews. Reminder; I do not believe in discounts. There is never a need to cut the price of the basic service to build business.
5. Address negative reviews both online and off. Post a reply comment acknowledging the issue and mention that you will follow-up off line. After following up off line post a resolution comment so the world knows you have fixed the issue. This turns a negative review into a marketing opportunity.
6. Leverage negative reviews – Sometimes a negative review is a great way to focus your marketing. A dissatisfied customer might just be exactly the clientele that you do not want. Example, a mom with a small kid who felt that you did not serve her child well is a great opportunity for a shop that does not wish to cater to small kids. Many of your target clients will see this as a plus. “We might not be right for you” is powerful target marketing.
7. Social post review quotes – Pull great quotes from your reviews and use them for content for social posting. A glowing “review of the week” posted to your social spaces builds a strong reputation.
