Reviews FAQs: How Do I Get More Reviews?

Stephanie Heitman — February 20, 2017 Follow @stephheitman

This is the sixth post in our Reviews FAQs series where we answer frequently asked questions about online reputation management.

Now that we know how important reviews are for your business, you may be wondering how you can get more reviews.

Here are four tips to help you get more reviews.

1. Use Signage or Business Cards to Spread the Word

Remind customers to leave you a review by creating a sign and placing it by your cash register or near the door so they can see it when they’re leaving. If you’re a service business, you can include a review site URL on your business cards or invoices. Simply letting customers know you have review sites can encourage them to leave a review after a positive experience.

2. Post Reminders on Your Social Media Sites

Your fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter are likely real life fans of your business, which makes these social sites the ideal places to remind users to leave you a review. You can post a quick status update to Facebook and Twitter with a link to one of your review sites and ask them to leave a review if they have a chance. They can even leave a review on your Facebook business page, which makes it even easier.

3. Ask In-Person

One of the most effective ways to get more reviews is to simply ask. You and your team can get in the habit of asking customers to leave you a review or reminding them to let you know about their experience. I’ve noticed that the employees at Ulta are especially good at this. Whenever I’m checking out, they ask me how my visit has been, and once I say it’s been good, they ask if I would mind leaving them a review. It’s a short and simple interaction, but it’s effective.

4. Send an Email Blast

If you have access to your customers’ email addresses, you can send out a short email encouraging them to leave a review. This is especially effective if you can email customers right after they’ve done business with you so their experience is top-of-mind.

Note: It’s important to never pay for reviews. Review sites like Yelp and Google My Business are very strict about not offering deals or discounts in exchange for reviews. These sites want to make sure that the reviews you’re getting are candid and unbiased.

What are some ways you encourage customers to leave you reviews? Let us know in the comments! And, come back next week for our next Reviews FAQs series blog post when we’ll be talking about which review sites you should focus on.

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