The best way to gain traction in an over-crowded social media space is by encouraging your clients to leave you a review, and the most popular platforms on which to do this are Google and Facebook. Many business owners are understandably hesitant to open their businesses up to negative reviews online which are difficult to remove but the benefits of positive reviews cannot be overstated. We’ve already covered off on how to handle negative reviews here so let’s focus on how to flood your feed with positive feedback.
Unfortunately, we know everyone is busy and even clients who promise faithfully to leave a review will often get caught up and never take that next step of going to the platform and leaving their review. So, you need a foolproof and consistent system that will help your customers do this.
It’s a sad reality that people are quicker and more motivated to complain about bad service than they are to post about a positive interaction. But if you sit back and cross your fingers in the hope that the good reviews will come flooding in, you might be sadly disappointed.
Firstly, ensure you have a clear action as part of your closing process that includes a specific email to every client asking for a review.
Don’t hide the review request at the end of a long and detailed email where it will get lost within other information. Keep the email simple and straightforward and don’t make your client guess about where to go – make sure you include links to any relevant review platforms that you use. Make sure you thank them for being a loyal customer, let them know how much you enjoyed working on their project or providing your service, and ask for an honest review of your business.
Next, have a plan in place to respond or reply to every review – positive or negative. How you reply will encourage other customers to leave you future reviews. A personal reply to a positive review, reiterating what you loved about working with that customer, with a reference to the product or service they purchased, and an invitation to collaborate again in the future not only makes the customer who left the review feel seen and heard, but also encourages them to refer business to you. And it shows future customers that you will see, acknowledge and appreciate any efforts to leave you a testimonial.
If it’s negative that’s more challenging – follow the link above for a more detailed insight in how to manage your response in this case.
You should be talking to your customers from the very start of the project about leaving you a review – this is a gentle approach that allows you to introduce the idea in a very natural way that doesn’t pressure them into taking the action immediately. Every interaction that customer has with your business is another opportunity to reinforce your business culture and ethics – this is what they will remember when leaving the review. Please don’t harass your customer or make them feel uncomfortable – the goal here is to gently drop the idea of leaving a review at consistent points throughout the project timeline rather than only introducing it at the end of the process. The more you can talk about it during the process, the more comfortable your customer will feel at the end when you send them the links. And a comfortable customer is more likely to take the required action to leave you a review.
Writing a compelling email that spurs your customer into action is a skill that many business owners don’t have so feel free to utilise the writing prowess of an expert copywriter. At House of Social, we have a team of copywriters waiting to craft the perfect message for your closing emails. Ask us how!
