The power of positive reviews
The holidays are a magical time of year to be in business. With the holidays quickly approaching, everyone is shopping—which means they’re leaving online reviews. Take advantage of the shopping season by collecting more positive reviews for your business.
Finding customers after the holiday rush doesn’t have to be a headache. Boost your SEO rank and find more customers all year-round with the power of positive reviews.
How to collect more positive reviews
Online reviews can boost your local SEO. That puts you top of mind (and above your competitors) for local shoppers who want a good deal. Positive online reviews can even help you get more traffic to your site.
There are so many benefits to positive reviews. The problem is that many businesses aren’t sure how to get genuine, honest reviews from their customers. Use this guide to build your online reputation using momentum from the busy holiday shopping season.
1. Ask for reviews
Remember the saying, “Ask and you shall receive”? That applies to reviews. Simply ask your customers to share their experience or opinion online.
How you ask will depend on your business and audience. If you’re a retail location, consider adding a QR code at the register that lets customers write their review in-store. You can even add a small card to their bags that invites them to leave a review.
If your customers shop online, send them a follow up email. Emphasize your commitment to quality and ask the customer to share their experience with your brand.
Remember, most review platforms will penalize you for encouraging customers to write positive reviews. Don’t offer discounts or freebies in exchange for reviews. All you can do is ask for an honest review—no incentives allowed!
2. Reply to negative reviews
Nobody’s perfect. You can cater to your customers’ every need and still get negative reviews. It happens.
The key to negative reviews is how you respond to them. The wrong response can be a serious misstep that will make your company look unprofessional or spiteful. You definitely don’t want that.
Reply to all negative reviews, even when they seem unfair. Focus on helping the customer and making things right (even when you aren’t in the wrong). This helps customers see that you genuinely care about their experience, and encourage them to leave feedback.
3. Make it easy
Customers want quick, fast, and simple solutions. Customers aren’t going to write a review if it isn’t easy. That’s why you need to make the review process as streamlined as possible.
Consider scannable QR codes, linking directly to Yelp in an email, or offering live chat on your site to process customer reviews in real-time. You can even make review-writing a part of your online checkout system.
When it’s easy to write a review, you’ll get more feedback from your customers. While there will be a mix of positive and negative feedback, it’s how you respond that matters.
The bottom line
It’s unlikely that you’ll get 500 reviews overnight. But if you follow these steps, you’ll be well on your way to growing your positive reviews. Take advantage of holiday shopping sprees to build an influx of positive reviews for the New Year. You’ll see a boost in your SEO while making customers happier. What’s not to love?