How To Get Reviews For Your Business

Learning how to ask for reviews is an essential skill that’s critical for long-term business success. Businesses looking to attract new customers through influential platforms such as Google, Facebook and Yelp need to practice the art of asking for reviews. Sometimes, you might find yourself thinking: Is it okay to ask for customer testimonials or let them come to me organically? Would it be unprofessional for a business to jump in and ask first? Absolutely not. There are non-intrusive ways to ask for testimonials without spamming or bothering your customers. And you should not wait for your customers to send you compliments out of the blue because that won’t happen, no matter how much they love your product.

Here are a few easy steps you can take right now to start receiving testimonials for your business.

 
Reach out to your customers via email. Email is still one of the best communication channels and a great way to get customer testimonials. In your email, you can give them bullet points to help them retell their experience (people are much more likely to send a response when you do most of the work for them). You can also send them the following questions:

• What was your situation before working with us?
• How has our business helped you?
• What tangible results/improvements have you experienced as a result?
• What’s your situation like now?
• Is there anything you would like to add?

This can be automated through your sales cycle. Most email marketing tools make it easy to set up basic automation, so you can send timely emails and use a personalized testimonial email template.

Social media. Being engaged with your customers through your social media page, pre & post sales builds value and trust. People share a lot on their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and so on. For instance, an Instagram picture. The photo might include your product or service. You can still use that as a testimonial. Ask them for permission to share their existing social media posts on your website. If it's already structured as a testimonial, this is great because it adds another layer of authenticity, especially when you embed the post straight from social media.

Reward customers who write a testimonial. If possible, offer a clear incentive for posting a review. A few examples include offering coupons, special deals, or even a discount on the next purchase with proof of a review. Don’t ever forget to thank clients for using your business and for helping you with the testimonial.

Customer testimonials are great marketing tools that can really boost your conversion rate and grow your business. They create social proof, meaning they can influence other people in their buying decision. Testimonials convey credibility to your business, they show potential customers you exist and you can solve their problems. So start using them today and increase your sales!