Before even entering a business, 9 in 10 consumers will check out their online reviews.¹ Think about it—90%, that’s almost everyone in a business’ base of potential customers. If your business doesn’t have online reviews, or has a low overall rating, you’re losing potential revenue each day. Businesses with a 4-star rating attract twenty percent more consumers than those with a 3-star rating.² And if you have few reviews, even one bad review can bring your overall rating down significantly.

The solution is to get more reviews, and for most of them to be positive. Unfortunately, it’s frowned upon to prevent your customers from leaving until they’ve been forced to leave you a nice review (we don’t recommend it!), so here are a few ways you can encourage organic reviews.

Put Up a Sticker

Maintaining top-of-mind presence is key for generating online reviews. Google offers stickers or window clings to announce that your business is on their platform, ready for reviews. When a customer notices one of these stickers, especially if it’s their first time using the business, it can spark a reminder to them to give you a review after their visit.

Send an Email

Offer a place, either in person or online, for customers to sign up to your email list. Among the announcements and coupons you send out, you can also send out an email asking how their experience was with your business. Make sure to include links to your review profiles to make it easy for them to leave a review. Emails are a great way to remind your clientele to support your business with a rating.

Hand Out A Card

A popular option among our clients is review cards—a postcard-sized piece that asks for reviews, then lists the platforms on which you can review the business. Having a physical reminder of their experience can give people that extra boost to go online and leave a review.

Say it With a Smile

Finally, a simple smile and a verbal reminder can go a long way. Train your employees to remind each customer to leave a review if they were happy with their experience.

Keep in mind that both Google and Yelp want organic reviews, and therefore will penalize those posting fake or insincere reviews. Another big no-no is incentivizing reviews. Offering a coupon, discount, prize, or even cash in exchange for a review is not only wrong, but in some cases, it’s illegal.

For help managing your online reputation, doing an email campaign, or designing review cards or other marketing collateral, contact Impact Marketing today at 319-232-4332 or ImpactMT.com.

Sources:
¹ Forbes, 2017.

² Bright Local, 2014.