The digital world has hooked all of us. Every business is using Facebook, Websites, Local citations and more digital channels to create a brand authority. Competition is getting really fierce. Big data, AI, strategies and whatnot is being utilized to scale the sales. But one aspect of marketing that nothing can beat is WORD OF MOUTH. And guess what, to get the good word has become even easier with the help of internet.
Are you losing me?
Let me put it straight, what your customers feel about your products and services when put across in an online review it becomes the word of mouth that customers can trust. Today 90% of the buyers use online reviews from customers as their sidekick for making a purchase decision. Does it sound like an online review is not something that can be taken lightly?
No excuse is strong enough for not focusing on garnering online reviews.
What are you losing if the website does not have Online Review or Online review requests?
Not having reviews on your page is downright irresponsible. Do you know why? Because the potential, current, and repeat customers are watching out what others have to say about your page. Make the online reviews your most strengthened asset because:
1. It is easily visible to customers
The Facebook, Google page and all have adapted to the layouts where online reviews are the first things your visitors lay eyes upon. It is potentially easy for the customer to look through what customers like them feel about your products and services with reviews from customers.
2. It can influence Buyer’s Decision
There are various ways a customer can leave a review. They may leave you the star ratings or write a few kind words about you. Or fingers crossed, it may be a negative review also. A buyer who checks these reviews weighs every word and even the total number of reviews your business has received.
Whether your audience stumbles across the online review or purposely goes out there to find what other people have to say about your business, they trust 84% of the reviews just as they would trust word of mouth.
56% of the online audience claims that while reading reviews, they found at least one review that solidified their purchase decision.
3. It influences your revenues
Let us talk about the money now. Did you know if the start rating goes just one star up, it brings you 5-9% more revenue. We live in a world where the online market is what we are more exposed to.
While review requests make your business vulnerable to competitors, at the same time, it brings you an advantage to leverage the funnels like online reviews to have an extra edge over your competitions. A typical protocol is to get as many online reviews as possible at the same time, monitor the positive and negative reviews with equal importance. A single negative review can drop your revenues by 22%, stay utterly careful about them and handle them like a pro.
We have emphasized enough that online reviews hold an incredible hidden power that is bound to shape consumer behavior. But how many customers are actually eager to leave online reviews?
While the review frequency has increased around 1.5 times, business still is struggling to get more reviews. There will be no friction if a customer is approached in the right way to leave a review. Yes, you read it right, as a business owner you need to reach out to your customers and rope him to your website to get those reviews.
How to ask for customer reviews will be answered by reading the article ahead will. No guesswork or a long list of do’s and don’ts of emails asking for online reviews. At the end of our template list, you would head straight to your inbox and write a compelling mail to your customers asking for online reviews beaming with confidence.
Perfect customer review Email samples to get online reviews
Requesting feedback from customers is just a way to stay honest towards them. It makes them feel that you care about their opinion. A sincere and more attentive approach that touches a cord can work the magic. Be committed to approach them in the way that does not seem you are barging in and constantly improve by starting simple. A customer must feel his purchase was important to you, and so are his views on it. Make them feel how special they are with these customer review templates.
Here are a few types of reviews, for which, you may ask for the feedback from your clients. Alongside, we have added sample email templates to give you an idea of how to write emails to get more reviews:
Template #1: Feedback on product
A product post-purchase review email must start with a personalized greeting. A powerful message must reach out to the customer that puts them in an expert position when you ask them for a review. Appreciating their choice of products emphasize on how important is it for them to review and rate you.
Template #2: Feedback on Service
An email must start always start with a personalized greeting. As we do not want to sound repetitive, please add this to your checklist now. A genuine compliment or two makes sure you start the conversation with a positive and encouraging mood.
Ask them for their time do not just force it on them like the below review request email example.
Template #3: Asking for reviews on a different platform
Express how exciting it is to be connected over a non-business social channel. Go for a review request once and then keep celebrating the relationship. For different platforms, you may come up with different, or maybe same, mailer templates, such as we’ve shown below.
Template #4: Ratings
Everything has a scale of measurement. It’s how people can explain their satisfaction or dissatisfaction which your services. And therefore, you should let them rate you. In fact, ask them to rate you.
Rating is beneficial for your business too. Having a higher average rating says people like your products (and therefore, others may trust you also).
On the other side, some customers are less wordy and may not want to write down reviews. Make it simple for them to like your services. Just offer them to give you star ratings.
Template #5: Business Location Visits
If a customer has recently visited you, he or she must be having good enough insights about you to share with the rest of the world. So, ask them how they feel about visiting your store.
In getting reviews, the problematic part is how to ask for customer reviews?
But when you have met in-person already, it becomes easy for you to do so. Maybe you can do it at the end of your meeting. It’ll be easy, right?
Template #6: For Not Continuing Customers
This is a risky zone to tread. You may land on a customer who is hell-bent to harm your reputation. But at the same time, you may engage your old clients if they are again interested in collaborating with you.
So, ask customers who do not buy from you anymore, but be careful too.
Do not poke them if they have approached you with negative feedback in email, review or in-person. You need to reach out to customers who are not negative but just are not buying with you anymore. Follow the email template, appended below, for requesting feedback from customers.
Conclusion
Remember reviews are a sensitive issue. You cannot sound to be begging them and neither can you sound to be coming across like a headmaster. The glowing reviews on your website or about your business indicate that you are a sophisticated business owner who knows how to value the customer.