How can I get more positive reviews?

Reviews are proven to influence prospective customers and their buying habits. 90% of people said that they had their purchase decision influenced by a positive review. Yet only 34% of companies are implementing a customer journey map. This disconnect can be down to a number of factors including that many businesses fear negative online reviews, and don’t know how to deal with them should they occur. By encouraging online reviews in general there’s an increased chance of bad experiences slipping through the net, and being unprepared, or unwilling to face those criticisms is stopping many businesses from fully tapping into the potential of online reviews.

We’ve elaborated on how you can handle negative online reviews, and it’s even possible to turn these into one of your best marketing tools. So if you’re confident that you can tackle the bad with the good how do you go about getting more reviews?

First things first, we need to clarify a common cross-over when talking about reviews. Reviews, in general, refer to public reviews of a business. These are more commonly seen on independent platforms, like Google or G2 Crowd. Testimonials are reviews that a business has collected and is using in its marketing. These are not independent and have often been vetted by the company directly. We’ve written an article exploring the difference between testimonials and reviews in more detail.

How to encourage more positive reviews

Getting more reviews can be a simple task, so long as you have the means to gather and assess them. The first step is to assess when you want to get a customer’s feedback. This could be because you’re trying to maximise the chance of them leaving a public review, or you feel like your business is front of mind and has earned the right to ask for one.

These moments of gratitude include, but are not limited to:

Initial purchase afterglow

Studies have shown that people feel happy immediately after making a retail purchase. Asking people for feedback during this post-purchase bliss could sway the feedback towards the more positive end of the spectrum, which might be ideal if you’re nervous about negative comments.

After assistance

Regardless of your industry, there is likely a moment where you go above and beyond for a customer, or help them solve a problem. The ‘give and get’ nature of that support can leave the customer open to returning the favour, and what better way to do so than to leave a review. Couple that with the fact you’ve just helped that individual and the likelihood of that review being positive could be higher.

Renewal reviews

If a customer is choosing to renew with you or repeat their purchase, chances are they’re very happy with the relationship. At this second transaction, you could ask them to leave an online review and be reasonably confident that they would be leaving a positive review.

Other ways to get more positive reviews

Encouraging positive reviews can be a key business goal. But how do you do that, while also complying with the many laws and guidelines that exist around this practice? In this section, we’ll share some legitimate and ethical ways you can get more positive reviews, without crossing that fine line.

Be better

This may seem like a no-brainer but the simplest and easiest way to get more positive reviews is to simply do a good job. If you’re getting more negative reviews than positive, maybe it’s you? You can implement a feedback process to monitor weaknesses and work on improving them. It takes time, but it’s very worthwhile.

Ask

We’re doubling down on the obvious points here but it’s worth mentioning. Many people ask us ‘how do I get more reviews’ and when we ask what they’re doing currently we find that they have an ad hoc or non-existent process around asking. Asking customers for feedback needs to be systematic and frequent. It needs to become part of the company culture and, by doing so, you’ll naturally get more positive reviews as a result.

Be present

Frequency and availability are two key aspects of getting more positive reviews. Ask for feedback more often and be available in more places so that you’re there when someone is thinking about giving you feedback. From links at the end of a website chat to a QR code on the packaging, there are a number of ways you can be available for feedback and enhance the chance of getting positive reviews as a result.

Correct mistakes

Things go wrong, it’s a fact of life. But these moments can provide one of the best marketing opportunities available to a business. If you handle it well, put things right and ensure the customer is heard then you could turn a detractor into an avid promoter of your business. Dealing with issues in a compassionate way can exceed a customer’s expectations and inspire them to share this experience online.

In summary, getting positive reviews is a lot more simple than people think. Asking more often increases the opportunity while using that feedback to improve business practices swings the ratio from negative to positive. Using a feedback platform like Review Tui can be invaluable to this process. Not only does it provide a single place to analyse and monitor customer feedback but the easy-to-use surveys and links make the surveys accessible across a multitude of platforms. Add a link to your website chat, invoices, or automated emails. You can even create QR codes in Review Tui to place on your packaging and printed assets.

You can register your interest in Review Tui by clicking the link below. The platform is set to go live later this year and people on that list will be the first to find out more information.