Reviews 101

Why should I manage my reviews?

Review Management is powerful should be an integral part of any businesses Digital Marketing Strategy. However, if you have a strategy or not, creating a space for existing or previous customers to share their thoughts on your business will vastly increase your credibility and encourage people to trust you.

Reviews not only give people the opportunity to have a voice, but give potential customers a honest, first-hand insight into what their experience of your services/products will be like. So, you’re wanting to set up a review system, what should you think about first?

What should I do first?

Prepare Questions

Which parts of their experience would you like to feature in the review? You can direct your customer to talk about different aspects of their experience by asking questions about the outcome, quality, efficiency, and process of using your services or products. You can ask different customers different questions. So, when someone is reading your reviews, it covers all aspects of the experience with you.

Ask the right people

It’s important to ask the right customers, this can help you avoid someone submitting a bad review and decrease the chances of an overall low star rating. Alternatively, you may want to ask a customer who may not have had the best experience with you to submit a review, you may not want to publish it though as it could damage your reputation.

At the end of the day, it’s a first-hand account of how someone sees your business and sometimes, people who have had a bad experience with you are the people who help you grow the most. Always listen to constructive criticism and complaints.

Always follow up

It’s a fact, people love being listened to. All reviews should be replied to, you’re showing the customer that you value what they’re saying and that their opinion matters to you. A follow up message could look like ‘Thank you for the feedback (their name) …’. Try to comment on what they’ve already said and make every reply different.

How to I ask a customer to write a review?

First, think about how you’re going to request, collect, store, and analyse your reviews. Once you have created a strategy to do this, you’re ready to request reviews. Will you do this over an automated email, over the phone, over a messaging system or in person?

There’s lots to think about but, the most important thing is that it should be made easy for someone to submit one, it should require minimal time and effort as this will increase the likelihood that they will submit one.

What's the most appropriate time to ask a customer to write a review?

So, you’re ready to distribute your review requests and now you need to pick the right time to contact. It’s best to pick a time when you customer isn’t working and will have some free time to complete the review. If you’re sending them an invitation to complete the review through email, make sure that you don’t send it too late in the evening. It’s unlikely they’ll respond as it’s their downtime or they’ll see it in the morning and have no time to respond.