6 ways to increase reviews for your local business
The importance of customer reviews
Reputation building is becoming increasingly important in today’s digital landscape – and the reviews are what customers rely on when deciding whether or not to buy from a business. In fact 70% of consumers read product reviews before making a purchase, and more than 63% feel more confident about buying from a business that features testimonials.
Positive reviews help build trust and confidence in your business and its products/services. As consumers and prospects have turned more to self-guided research, they rely more and more on the opinions and experiences of other customers in reviews when evaluating options and making purchasing decisions.
Is your local business struggling to get more customer reviews? If so, you’re not alone.
In this blog post, we explore proven ways that you can use to boost your local business' online presence by increasing the number of positive reviews for your product or service.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at some proven techniques to generate reviews for your local business - and one technique to definitely NOT use!
6 proven ways to grow your customer reviews
Start by Just Asking
Make It Easy for Customers to Leave Reviews
Add a review section to your website
Personalise Your Requests
Ask local influencers to review your company online
Host a promotional event
Let’s explore each of these in more detail…
1. Start by Just Asking FOR REVIEWS
The best way to encourage customers to write reviews is to “just ask”. More often than you think, your fans and customers will be happy to write about their experience with your business, product, or service.
There are plenty of ways to ask customers for reviews:
Ask in every email you send, you don’t have to make it a big thing, but something as simple as adding a link to a review site in your email signature can work well.
Reach out to customers on social media and—in a friendly way—ask them to write a review.
Include a call to action on the base of a menu, invoice, or receipt—or even a sign on the back of a toilet door: “While you’re sitting here, why not give us a review? If it suits your brand, why not!
After a customer makes a positive comment about your business, ask the customer to post it online while he/she is still on-site. Have the customer come behind the desk to your computer or produce a tablet, and direct the person to type in that comment.
You can also use business cards with QR codes or digital cards with links direct to your Google Business Profile page.
2. Make It Easy for Customers to Leave Reviews
Make the actual review process as easy as possible and give your customers clear instructions on how to leave a review. Whether it's on your business website, on Yelp, Google Reviews, or any other popular review site, make sure your customers know exactly what to do.
This can be done by including links to your business listings on popular review sites, and making it easy for customers to leave a review on your website or social media pages. Always include clickable links in emails or website footers that take your customers directly to your business page on popular review sites. This will make the process hassle-free and quicker, increasing the likelihood of them taking the time to leave a review.
Only use user-friendly platforms for customers to leave their reviews. This will encourage customers to leave feedback without feeling burdened by a lengthy and complicated process.
You can also encourage customers to leave a review by providing a simple 1-5 star scale. This simple rating system is easy for customers to use and provide their feedback. It also makes it clear for businesses to understand customer sentiment. Add a section for clients to write comments, this will give the businesses valuable insights into what they're doing right, and what they can improve on.
Avoid any barriers such as requiring customers to create an account or make a purchase to leave a review. This can discourage potential reviewers and hurt the overall rating of the business.
3. Add a review section to your website
Adding a review section to your website can be a valuable tool for building trust with potential customers. Here are a few tips for creating a successful review section:
Feature a variety of reviews: Include both positive and negative reviews, as well as reviews that touch on different aspects of your product or service.
Make it easy to leave a review: Provide a clear call to action and user-friendly interface for customers to leave a review.
Respond to reviews: Engage with your customers by responding to both positive and negative reviews. This shows that you value their feedback and are committed to improving your product or service.
If you don't have a review section on your website yet, consider linking to existing online reviews from other sites such as Yelp, Google Reviews, or Facebook reviews. This allows potential customers to see what others are saying about your business and can help build trust in your brand.
At LocalMark we provide you with the tools and services needed to manage your online reputation. We can help set up a review section on your website, moderate reviews, and respond to feedback quickly. Our team of experts are here to support you in creating an effective strategy for managing your business’s online reputation. Get in touch.
4. Personalise Your Requests
When it comes to requesting reviews, personalisation can go a long way in increasing the chances of your customers responding to your requests. By addressing your customers by name and asking for their specific feedback on their experience with your business, you are making them feel valued and appreciated. Here is an example of how you could approach your clients.
Hi [Name], we noticed you've been a loyal customer of ours for a while now, and we wanted to say thank you! We'd love to hear more about your experiences with our business and how we can better serve you. If you have a moment, could you leave us a review on [Review Platform]?
5. Ask local influencers to review your company online
By fostering relationships with influencers in your community and offering them something in exchange for reviews
If you believe the content the influencer creatse fits well with your products/services, then it should also resonate with their followers. You could offer a free product or service in exchange for an honest review on your social media platforms. By thinking of this as a collaboration you can get valuable supporters helping to promote your business.
6. Host a promotional event
Consider hosting events that create a positive customer experience and encourage organic reviews. For example, you can host a customer appreciation day with discounts, giveaways, and freebies. By providing excellent customer service and a positive experience, customers are more likely to want to leave a positive review on their own accord.
Another idea is to host a contest or giveaway that requires customers to leave a review to enter. However, it is important to be transparent about the rules and ensure that customers are not only leaving positive reviews to enter the contest.
Overall, the key is to focus on creating a positive customer experience and providing high-quality products or services. This will naturally lead to positive reviews without the need for solicitation.
BONUS: DON’T Incentivise Customers FOR REVIEWS!
You may have seen other local businesses offering incentives to customers who leave reviews, but offering discounts, free products and services, and even creating review-gathering competitions are all against Google’s conditions regarding prohibited and restricted content.
Key Takeaways
Drawing customer reviews of your business is key to local SEO success, and there are numerous ways to go about acquisition.
By starting by simply asking customers for a review, you can optimise the process by making it easy for them to do so.
Consider adding a review section to your website or blog.
Leveraging online influencers in your area could be an opportunity to both fill social media channels with content and generate reviews for your company.
Host a promotional event can give you valuable data about customer opinions on the spot that can easily lead to great reviews from enthusiastic patrons.
Whatever you do, don’t even think about gathering reviews in exchange for anything that could be perceived as purchasing those reviews!
Who are we and what is this?
This post is one of many aimed at helping to support owners, managers and franchisees with growing their local business. It's been lovingly researched and written by the expert team behind LocalMark, a London UK-based local SEO service that helps connect UK trade, service & retail businesses with nearby customers. If you found this helpful and could benefit from more of the same, be sure to share, follow us on social (links below) and sign up for our newsletter.
Meet the author
From a long line of small business owners, local marketing expert James understands more than most the unique challenges they face every day. He’s been advising local business owners and their agencies on digital marketing since 2000, and established our local SEO service in 2021.