Online reviews are literally bread and butter for today’s businesses and solo service providers.
They evolved into the first reliability factor a regular consumer pays attention to while scrolling through the job hunting websites and choosing a company or an individual professional who provides certain services and goods he needs.
Online reputation is the marketing sphere modern businesses can’t help but pay close attention to. It directly influences the number of orders they get.
Firstly, lower number of reviews or their absence won’t particularly impress a potential customer.
Secondly, positive and honest reviews (even if the total number of reviews isn’t too high, but positive ones significantly prevail) work like magic when it comes to attracting new clients.
Thus, positive reviews may boost your orders even if your business is quite new to the market. Besides, they justify your price list, even when your services cost a little bit more if compared to other local providers.
However, getting positive online business reviews isn’t as easy as it might seem.
The matter is that even a satisfied client rarely goes back to the website to leave a review. Unfortunately, disappointed people tend to do that way often.
That’s why you need to learn a couple of tricks on how to encourage people to leave positive online reviews about your business. Here’re a few of them.
What may help you receive more positive online reviews about your business
- Quick respond to online orders, high-quality services or goods, along with polite and attentive serviceman who finish their job on time, effective client support all go even without saying.
They just create a positive impression about your business.
Thus, they establish the base for positive reviews, both online and offline ones. - Fair prices, little free-of-charge ‘plus’ services and attractive discount policy make even the most satisfied clients even more pleased with your services.
That adds to how positive and detailed their online reviews will be. - Don’t be afraid to ask and re-ask to leave a review.
If your customer gives you compliments about the quality of your job or if you notice that he’s generally satisfied with how well you did, don’t be ashamed to remind him how nice it would be if he could please take a minute to leave a comment on your website or under your business profile at the website you were hired through. - Be prompt with your review request and ask your client about at as soon as you finish your job while his impressions about you are ‘fresh and great’.
If your clients agree to leave a comment about your operation, you may even pull out your phone, open the ‘reviewing page’ and ask them to type in a couple of words. - Use thank-you emails to let your client know how important his order was and how you appreciate his choice.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to include information about other services you provide, as well as a reminder to leave a review.
Mention how your company values honest opinions about its services and connection with its clients. - When compiling the ‘asking-for-an-online-review’ email text, make sure to leave a direct link to the page where your client can actually leave a review.
People will more likely do that when they don’t have to search for that page themselves. Frankly speaking, they won’t bother doing that at all unless you give them the direct link. - Include the review reminder into your business cards, leaflets, online business profiles, order and service sheets, etc.
- Use discounts’ mechanism to encourage your clients to leave online reviews.
For instance, offer a 5% off the order or 5% cash back for people who bothered to write their reviews. - Monitor which clients’ profiles left their reviews. Send them discount codes via e-mail or through direct messages on the job hunting website you were hired through.
- Make sure that people who leave their reviews online have a chance to share them with their friends on social media.
That might help you gain new clients, who, eventually, will leave online reviews about your business.
And, once established, this chain will never end. - Make sure to monitor existing online reviews about your business on various job hunting and consumer reviews websites.
For instance, if you create a business profile on HireRush.com and accept a task from a local customer, he’ll be offered to leave a review about your services.
Those will appear on your profile page.
Make sure to thank your clients for their feedback. Don’t be afraid to respond to negative reviews by offering to fix the problem.
This way you’ll show that you care about the client and want him to get the best services for the money they pay you.
Create your business profile now - If your client gives you a thank-you note along with the payment, just take a picture of it and post it on your website. This will be a review as well.
My last tip is about what you should not even consider doing.
Don’t ever fake your reviews.
Desperate beginning businessmen disappointed at the lack of online reviews often get tired of waiting for their appearance, create fake accounts. And, leave too amazing to be true reviews on their own business profile pages, websites, and social media pages. Or, they buy positive online reviews.
First of all, the dishonest operation will eventually ruin your online reputation. As online platforms have a lot of ways to detect these ‘fake’ comments.
And, you don’t want to start off by deceiving your prospective clients and faking your reputation. You should better earn it.
