As a new business owner, you must accrue positive reviews fast to attract your target audience. Recent surveys show 90 percent of consumers report that positive reviews impact their purchasing decision, and 86 percent of consumers report negative reviews influenced their choices as well.
In the modern marketplace, what your past customers are saying to your future customers can directly affect your long-term success.
Why Do Customers Leave Online Reviews?
Before you can accrue positive reviews fast, think about the reasons your customers may leave you a review. Typically, it’s because they either love you or hate you.
If they love what you offered, whether you gave them a great deal or you simply exceeded their expectations, they may want to “give back” by vouching for you online.
If they hate what they received, they want you and everyone else to know they were cheated somehow, whether they feel like they didn’t get a good value or your product was defective.
Still, other groups of people take it upon themselves to share information they discovered that may help them with a detail in the buying process or enhance their experience in some way.
Tip #1: Make it as Easy as Possible
You want the people who love what your business has to offer to leave feedback online. But no matter how much a customer loves a brand, if it’s too time-consuming and difficult to leave feedback, they won’t.
This is where a tested, proven system can be a true asset. If you have a streamlined way to request and publish reviews from customers, you’ll get reviews much faster because your customers won’t have to search for a way to give their feedback. You can provide a step-by-step process that’s easy to follow and doesn’t take much time.
Tip #2: Tell Them Exactly What You’re Looking for
Those same customers — the ones who love your brand — are happy with your business, but most of all, they’re happy with what your business did for them. While you likely won’t turn away any 5-star reviews, a review that is overly personal or off-topic isn’t ideal. You want the online review to clearly state what the customer was looking for, how your business helped them and why they would go back or recommend another to visit.
It’s helpful to guide your fans when they’re leaving their online review by asking them specific questions about their experience.
Tip #3: Tell Them WHY You Need Them
The people who want to support others in making the right buying decision — these are the people you can get to help you with the right message. Tell them why you need their input and why others need their advice. For example, “If you have any advice about your experience with us, share your expert tips!” Position them as a savvy guide who can support others.
Tip #4: Focus on Feedback, Not Just Positive Reviews
All your business needs is a couple hundred online reviews — then you’re good, right? Wrong.
What if those reviews aren’t positive? What if your customers are highlighting issues about your business that you could correct?
Business owners who want to make big strides toward an impeccable digital reputation should put a heavy focus on getting feedback versus reviews. Reviews are someone’s opinion posted online for the world to see. Feedback can make you better as a business, and this will be reflected in your reviews!
Accrue Reviews helps your business get the feedback you need from all customers — happy, neutral and disappointed. When happy customers want to leave a review, they’re directed to your online site. When they’re less than happy, you have a chance to address their concerns and use their experience to create a better product or service. This is ideal for a new business, and Accrue Reviews has affordable monthly packages to make it possible to accrue positive reviews fast.