97% of people read reviews of local businesses
90% of buyers read online reviews to decide on a product’s purchase
60% of customers check Google My Business for reviews
Having a concise and effective Review Strategy is a crucial element for your business to thrive in the online space.
Your Review Strategy should be formed of four main steps:
Platform Suitability
Collection
Management
Publishing
This article will delve into each of these four pillars for you to build a Review Strategy that works for your business and clients.
Step 1: Platform Suitability
Working out where online to collect reviews is the first step to building out your Review Strategy. All industries and businesses are different, with different target audiences who have different needs, habits and interests. Choosing where to collect your reviews is a crucial step in connecting with your clients and encouraging them to review your business.
Keep an eye on what is most common for your industry, for example, if you are a Financial Adviser a review on Adviser Ratings would be more suitable then a review on Trip Advisor.
The common review capture platforms for all industries include:
Google - All Businesses
Facebook - All Businesses
Apple Maps - All Businesses
True Local - Local Businesses
Trip Advisor - Local Businesses
Yelp - Local Service-Based Businesses
Amazon - E-Commerce Businesses
Adviser Ratings - Financial Advisers
Rate My Agent - Real Estate Agents
Step 2: Review Collection
How To Collect Reviews
Once you have decided where you should collect your reviews, it's time to review your collection strategy.
Providing people are aware of your business, it's almost guaranteed that you will receive some organic reviews on your profiles and pages on the sites above. However, the best Review Strategies involve actively asking for reviews. Remember, organic reviews especially for a small business can be slow to trickle in so actively block out time to conduct review outreach.
Our Founder Naomi recommends scheduling time each quarter to conduct review outreach.
Step 1: Generate Your Review Links
Try this tool to generate your Google MyBusiness review link
Try this tool to generate your Facebook review link
We recommend only requesting your clients to post reviews on 1-2 platforms.
Step 2: Ask On Social Media
Being proactive about review collection will yield much greater results. Simply asking your customers to leave you some feedback is often all the encouragement they need. One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of doing this is on social media.
Simply schedule a post each quarter requesting reviews. Make sure you include your review links and make the process as easy as possible for your audience, for example, mention the review submission should only take 2 minutes.
Step 3: Ask Via Invitation
Sometimes the best type of reviews come from selecting specific clients and issuing out review invites to them. Similar to the tip above, this tip involves emailing your selected clients individually with the review links.
To save time, draft up a personalised email template and issue it out to newly selected clients each fortnight. Add in a personalised blurb followed by the direct review links.
Step 4: Run A Review Campaign
Providing an incentive in exchange for a review is worth its weight in gold. Simple entice your audience and/or your database with a small monetary reward such as a gift voucher or a complimentary service, in exchange for their glowing review.
What Type Of Reviews To Collect?
There are a few different types of reviews to collect including:
Company Reviews - Service, Team, Business Efficiency
Product Reviews - E-Commerce Businesses
Photo and Video Reviews - Product and Service-Based Businesses
Step 3: Review Management
Good news ... your reviews should now have started rolling in. Review collection is important to get more eyes on your business, however, learning to manage the newly acquired reviews is equally important.
Responding To Reviews
A review is an opportunity to start a conversation with a new or existing client. To save time create a template for your review responses, modifying the clients' names and certain elements they have mentioned in the review.
We recommend responding to all reviews - the good and bad - within 24 hours.
Templates For Good Reviews
"Thank you for your glowing review Amy, especially your appreciation for our team. It has been a pleasure guiding you through your buying experience. We wish yourself and your family the best as you embark on this new endeavour."
"It's great to hear that our service was able to help you, Michael. It has been a great past few months working with you and your partner Anne to work on a strategy that is personalised to you, your needs and wants. We wish you all the best and look forward to guiding you in the future."
Templates For Bad Reviews
"Thank you for your transparency here Jonathan. It is great to hear what you liked about our service and what you think we can improve on. As a small business, we thrive hearing constructive feedback like this. Our team will reach out to you to assist further."
"Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Our goal is always customer satisfaction, and to provide a positive experience. We would like to learn more about your experience and assist you further. Our customer experience team will be in touch shortly with support."
Step 4: Review Publishing
The last step of your Customer Review Strategy is to ace the review publishing process. This is where and how you choose to publish your reviews.
View an example of how we share our NJ CONSULTING Customer Reviews:
Using Reviews In Your Online Marketing
Showcasing reviews has so many benefits. Not only will they boost your online reputation and build trust, but reviews encourage more reviews - it's a chain reaction. Displaying them at as many customer touch-points as possible will help build confidence in customers and increase conversions.
The best review strategies showcase reviews far and wide online. Try sharing them in the following places to reap as much value as you can from them.
Consumers spend a lot of time scrolling through social media - the average is 2 hours 22 minutes a day! - so it's essential to be connecting with them on these platforms.
Review Sharing Hacks
Add the review features to your:
Email signature - showcase reviews and include review collection links
Website - showcase reviews and include review collection links
Paid Ads - Run paid ads using the written or video reviews you receive from clients
Key Takeaways
Remember, every business is different meaning no Review Strategy should be the same. Your personalised strategy comes down to:
Your industry
Your business
Your clients
Your produce and/or service
As your business and team continue to evolve and grow your Review Strategy will move with you as you entice the eyes of more potential clients.
Naomi Johnston
Founder & Creative Director | NJ CONSULTING
E: naomi@njconsulting.com.au
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