Business owners are beginning to see the importance of getting positive feedback online.
Think about the way you do research on companies you are considering. One of the things you likely do is go on Google or review sites to see what other people are saying about them.
If you see most of the reviews are positive, you're likely to give them a try. Getting feedback isn't always the easiest task, but we are going to show you how to get started.
Continue reading to learn the best ways of getting positive feedback online.
Give People Something to Talk About
The foundation of getting positive reviews for your business is giving people something to talk about. If people have a mediocre experience, they aren't likely to leave a review.
On the other hand, if people have a very positive or a negative experience, they are more than happy to be keyword warriors and let everyone know what took place.
If you don't invest in your restroom cleaning or if you have bugs plaguing your business, you better believe they are going to mention this in their review.
When you pay attention to detail and have clean facilities and helpful staff, people are going to reward you with good reviews because of it.
Make Your Business Easy to Find on Review Sites
If people are trying to find you and it is more difficult than it needs to be, they aren't going to go to the trouble of finding you to leave feedback.
Many times people will find your business through review sites like Yelp. Make sure they don't find a blank profile. Fill out your profile fully, and don't expect people to click on your website link to check out what you're all about.
There are three main sites people are going to go to read online reviews, so if you pay attention to other sites, make sure you do look after these sites.
- Yelp
Don't Leave out the BBB
For American business, showing up on the BBB with a good rating goes a long way. You can claim your business there to build extra trust with the people considering your site.
This is yet another place people will be able to leave reviews for you online, and since this organization is so trusted, these reviews are very influential.
Create Incentives for Leaving Reviews
One thing you should know before you start with this strategy is that you can't say that you'll give incentives for positive reviews. If you're going to give incentives for reviews, you have to give incentives for all reviews, whether they are positive or negative.
Incentives don't have to be large, but you should consider their purchase size when determining what the reward will be.
If they purchased something for $5 then an incentive of $1 off might be good enough. On the other hand, if their purchase was $500 or more, you're likely to get a sneer instead of a smile and review.
Time the Ask Properly
Make sure you don't ask people for a review at the wrong time. If people aren't able to get a full understanding and feel for your product for a couple of weeks, you shouldn't ask them to leave a review for you the day after they purchase.
If your product or service is something they are going to use right away, you should ask people right away. You don't want them to forget their experience with your product or service because you were trying to wait a respectable amount of time.
You can also use customer activity to figure out when it would be a good time to ask them for a review. If they refer a friend to your product or service or leave a positive comment on a Facebook post, that might be a good time for you to ask for a review.
Don't Ask Customers to Leave Where They Are
If you're communicating with your customers on Facebook, you should ask them to leave a review for you on Facebook.
The less resistance people have when you make the ask, the easier it will be for them to give you a positive review.
If you're not communicating with people where they can leave a review for you, give them a direct link to the review page where you want them to write. Sending out an email with links to a couple of different review sites directly linked can be an effective means of getting reviews.
Don't give people too many options, but giving them a couple will increase your chances that they are going to have an account on one of the review platforms.
Generating More Positive Feedback Online
Without understanding the importance of getting positive feedback online, your business could suffer from a lack of reviews and even an overabundance of negative reviews.
Now that you understand the importance of online reputation and how to get more positive reviews, you can start building your reputation on Google and review sites without confusion.
Do you need more help with your business efforts? Our site is full of articles that can help you as you're growing your business and a good reputation. Browse our business articles and come back soon to read more.
