How do you request online reviews?

 How do you request online reviews? The advantages & disadvantages of each approach

There are no “solutions” - only compromises. Your job is to choose the interaction - or the combination thereof - that suits you best. That applies to most areas of local SEO and marketing (and life), and it also applies to your efforts to get more positive customer reviews on Google Maps (and other local review sites).

You probably know there are many ways to encourage people to review your business online, but you're not sure which one works best. In this article we describe the pros and cons of each way to get more reviews:

  1. Ask personally for a review
  2. Personally vouch for a mobile on-site assessment
  3. Review station
  4. Email one customer at a time
  5. Using an email service
  6. Email blast
  7. Provide printed handouts with instructions
  8. Send instructions via email

1. Personally request a review

Benefits:

  • You plant the seed, but you don't expect the customer to reassess your business. Once you've determined that he or she is happy, just ask, “We would love if you could write a review about us. Is it OK if we email you a few quick steps? This allows you to personally ask your customer for a review without putting them in a difficult position.
  • The email does not come out of the blue because the customer expects it.
  • You force yourself to listen to your customers and think about whether you have earned a 5 star review.

Cons

  • None (which we can think of). Especially if you don't want to ask for reviews, it could be more of a “testing the waters” interaction. If the customer doesn't seem happy, or doesn't seem like the type you might be reviewing, don't ask that person for a review.

2. Personally request a mobile on-site assessment

Benefits

  • It is difficult for customers to ignore your request.
  • You can walk them through the process and answer any questions you may have.
  • You can find out how happy the customer is.

 Cons

  • Some people will not be comfortable in the situation.
  • The reviews may be short and seem astonishing, forced, or fake. People have to go and have other things to do. They will not go into detail. With help of online reputation management tools you can easily manage your reviews.

3. Review station (a special iPad or laptop in your office or shop)

Benefits

  • Same benefits as in the 'Ask in person for a mobile on-site assessment' strategy

Cons

  • The same disadvantages as in the strategy 'Assess a mobile yourself on the spot'.
  • Many reviews from the same IP address are probably filtered (= blocked) by Google.
  • Some customers may feel watched.

4. Email one customer at a time

Benefits

  • You can adapt any request to any person based on what you know about them.
  • It's a great opportunity to discover who is happy and who is not.

Cons

  • It takes time. You can't be sloppy. Make sure the customer's name is correct. Maybe cater to the specific service he / she received. Click here to get more reviews on google

5. Using an email service (MailChimp, Aweber, etc.)

Benefits

  • It's fast. You write one email and your email service sends it without your personal involvement.
  • It can be a great way to ask customers slowly and steadily - instead of asking too many people at once, or falling off the cart and not asking anyone.
  • You can study the analysis: how many people opened the email, how many people clicked on the links, and so on.

Cons

  • It requires attention not to send email to leads that ultimately did not become customers.
  • You cannot tailor the email to one specific customer.

6. E-mail blast (via MailChimp, Aweber, etc.)

Benefits:

  • If all goes well, you can get a lot of reviews in the short term.
  • It's faster than emailing one customer at a time.

Cons

  • If you haven't searched the list of customers first, you can expect some bad reviews. What then?
  • Even if it works fine, if people choose Google or Yelp, your reviews are more likely to be filtered.

7. Provide printed handouts with instructions

Benefits:

  • Good instructions make writing process easier.
  • The handout is a visual support. That can make it easier to ask customers and make your request clearer to them.
  • It's a physical memory ("Oh yes, I said I would write a review").

Cons

  • Some customers may feel put on the spot.

8. Send instructions by e-mail

Benefits:


  • Again, good instructions make the process easier for customers.
  • You can give the instructions, but not rely on them; you also have the email itself to make a kind request that is hard to say no to.
  • Customers are more likely to receive your request when they can act on it.
  • Unless customers simply delete your email, it will remain in their inbox and will be used as a reminder for a few days that way.

Cons

  • An email is not as personal as a personal request or a phone call.
  • It's easy to delete an email.
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