Your business can’t have an effective online presence if it doesn’t have any customer reviews. Why? Because when people are hiring a new business, they want to be sure they’re making the right choice. Reading about other people’s experiences helps them decide which business will best align with their needs. They’ll be able to see which companies are pleasant to work with, which ones are punctual, which ones deliver good results, and so on. In fact, a 2016 Local Consumer Review Survey by BrightLocal reports 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends! And 74% say positive reviews make them trust a business more. It’s one thing for your business to appear prominently all over Google Maps and local search results. It’s another thing for your business to actually grab customers’ attention and get them to hire you. Customer reviews help close this gap. In short, if you want your business to stand out and appeal to local consumers—essentially making all of your online marketing efforts worthwhile—then you need to get more customer reviews for them to read. The best way to get more customer reviews? Just ask for them! Keep reading to discover how.

Ask and You Shall Receive

Did you know? According to BrightLocal’s 2016 survey, 7 out of 10 people will leave a review for a business if they’re asked to. This is a super promising sign that you’ll be able to get the customer reviews you need, as long as you’re proactive. When trying to get more customer reviews, keep these three tips in mind:

• Ask customers directly.
• Make leaving a review foolproof.
• Act quickly before customers forget.

There are a lot of specific tactics you can use to ensure better responses from your past customers. Read “Make Your Presence Known: Get More Customer Reviews Online” for further suggestions!

How to Get More Customer Reviews in Five Easy Steps

1. First, identify your best customers—the ones who loyally come back to you, and the ones who you’re confident will give you a good review. These people are more likely to help you out.
2. Next, contact these select customers by phone or e-mail and ask them directly if they would please take a few minutes to leave you a review online. Tell them your preferred platforms. Google Maps, Facebook, and Yelp are best. This should give you an initial boost in your number of customer reviews.
3. Then, develop a plan for future customers so you can start getting a continuous flow of reviews. Add an on-page feedback tool to your website (available through Prospect Genius). This way, customers can write a review in one place and the tool can disseminate the review to other platforms.
4. In the future, ask customers at the very beginning of your service, before you’ve even started the job. Say, “If you’re happy with our work once we’re finished, please consider leaving us a review on Google.” This will plant the seed in their minds early on.
5. Finally, remind customers again as soon as the job is complete. Attach links to follow-up e-mails, mention it in follow-up phone calls, and even add it to the bottom of your invoices. Customers are more likely to leave you a review while the experience is still fresh in their minds.

If this sounds like too much work on your end, you may want to look into a service like Customer Lobby. An automated service that follows up with previous customers on your behalf, Customer Lobby can do all the legwork for you. Prospect Genius refrains from officially endorsing specific products and services; however, we can say we’ve had good experiences using Customer Lobby ourselves.

Get More Customer Reviews Now!

As we’ve explained previously, having a large number of customer reviews can potentially save your business. Not only is it good for your online reputation, but it’s also helpful for improving your local search performance. So if you’ve already invested in any type of online advertising, it only makes sense to strengthen it and give it the best chance possible to succeed. By following our advice, you’ll be able to get more customer reviews online and increase your business’s appeal. If you have any questions or need a little guidance, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!