How to Get a Better Response Rate for Reviews from Your Customers

Forget the concept of less is more. When it comes to online reviews for your business, the more you have, the better.

Consider these statistics: 92% of customers read online reviews, and people are more likely to want to do business with you if you have a lot of positive reviews. Over 80% put as much weight on the accuracy and quality of an online reviewer’s opinion as they would a trusted friend or family member.

While the quality of your reviews is important, so is the quantity. People are more likely to act when a business has dozens of reviews instead of just a few. Further, old testimonials aren’t given much weight. 44% of people in a recent survey said that a review must be written within one month to be relevant.

For this reason, you should never think of reviews as a once-and-done process, where you scramble to get a bunch of reviews and then take your foot off the gas. Instead, you should be actively trying to grow your review volume on a continual basis.

Getting reviews can be a challenge. You can’t pay for or incentivize reviews. A paid testimonial is illegal according to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) unless the reviewer clearly states that he or she received compensation for the review.

You could always ask for reviews when you interact with your customers, but getting the customer to follow up when they leave your office is another story.

7 tips to get customers to leave more reviews

1. Email

Email is a fantastic way to ask customers to leave a review without making them feel pressured or rushed. Here are some ways to practically apply this strategy in your email newsletters:

• Include a call to action in your newsletter that invites a customer to review you. You can include a link to the review site, which allows you to focus on getting reviews on the platform where you are currently concentrating your efforts.
• Share several testimonials in an email about results that clients or patients have received as a result of working with you. Then, invite your subscribers to do the same. Not only does this strategy result in more reviews, but you might also get more referrals as the people who have worked with you are reminded of how awesome you are.

2. Text Messages

It’s polite to thank people for doing business with you, but how often do you say thank you to your customers? One way to express gratitude is to send a text message after your appointment, thanking them for their patronage. Then, ask them to write a review.

There are several ways to make this message a natural part of the conversation without sounding pushy or desperate. Here’s one example:

“Hi, Bob! It was great seeing you today. Thank you again for choosing our office for your family’s oral health needs. You and your family always brighten our office with your radiant smiles.

We are excited to serve more families, and we would love it if you could share your experience to inspire others. Could you please share a brief review at {insert review site here}? We would really appreciate it!”

3. Surveys

Asking your clients to complete a survey gives you helpful and actionable feedback about where you excel and what you can improve. A survey is also an opportunity to turn this feedback into reviews.

There are numerous ways to administer a survey, whether you choose to ask someone to fill out a form when they leave your office or send them an email with an invitation for them to answer a few questions.

However, you choose to administer the survey, we recommend adding a note at the end saying that you would be appreciative if they can share their thoughts on a review site. Again, you can direct them to a review site of your choice.

Note: You can’t ask your customers to write a review for you on Yelp. This includes surveys, promotions, and incentives. Yelp does provide complimentary signage you can display at your location to gently nudge people to write reviews. We’ll discuss how you can encourage Yelp reviews without violating their terms of service in our next tip.

4. Include a Review Section on Your Website

Prominently display testimonials on your website and include calls to action that allow people to leave their own reviews. This is an effective way to get Yelp reviews since you can’t outright ask for them. Instead, place a Yelp button on your site with a link that takes people to your Yelp profile.

Providing an avenue for clients to leave reviews when visiting your website also gives you the chance to intercept a negative review before it gets published somewhere like Google.

Here’s how it works:

• You have a button on your website that says something like, “Review Us” designed to solicit Google reviews.
• When the client clicks the button, they’ll go to a page asking them if they had a positive experience, or not.
• If the answer is yes, they did have a positive experience; then they’ll be taken directly to Google to review your business.
• If the answer is no, they’ll be taken to a form where they can share why they’re unhappy. That form responses will go to your email where you can resolve the situation directly with your customer. You get a chance to turn the situation around while simultaneously avoiding a negative online review.

5. Share Your Reviews on Social Media

Often, your happiest customers will sing your praises to their friends and family, but it doesn’t occur to them to go online to share their experience. To prompt them to share online, it helps to share your reviews on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. When your followers see these positive testimonials, it may inspire them also to share their story online.

This tactic should help boost the number of reviews you get, but more importantly, sharing positive stories from your happiest customers is also an effective way to get more customers and followers.

6. Post Testimonials at Your Location

Dedicate a blank wall or a prominent area of your office to a gallery of reviews. Print your favorite testimonials and frame them in your office. Include pictures of the people who wrote the reviews (with their permission, of course). When people are at your location, they can read all the reviews and may then go online and write their own.

7. Ethically Incentivize

We’ve already established that you’re not allowed to reward patients for leaving a review, but you can incentivize them in other ways that are ethical and won’t get you in trouble with the FTC.

One of our favorite ways is with a monthly raffle. Clients and patients can earn tickets by showing up to appointments on time, checking in on Facebook, leaving a review, or following you on social media. Then, each month, you can draw a ticket (or several) and award prizes. Gift cards are a favorite item, as are things related to your niche. For example, a personal trainer might award supplements or workout gear.

Conclusion

Reviews are a powerful tool to help grow your business. Having dozens or hundreds of happy customers sharing their experience online is bound to grow your business.

In addition to feeling great as your phone begins to ring off the hook and your appointment calendar reaches capacity, you’ll also get tons of feedback about what you’re doing well and where you might need to focus improvement efforts. Watch a free demo to improve your customer review response rate.