Read on for our top 4 ways to get customers reviewing your business and your products. After reading our blog 5 Reasons to Add Customer Reviews to Your Website you now know the importance of customer reviews, but how do you go about getting them?

1) Ask
This may sound obvious, but you’d be amazed at the number of businesses that don’t think to simply ask their customers. Yodle found that only 13% of small businesses are actually approaching their customers about posting reviews, and their main reason for not – “I haven’t thought about it”. Timing is key, you must contact them while your business is still fresh in their mind. A polite follow up email isn’t going to offend, so don’t be apprehensive about asking, if you’ve offered great customer service then you should have nothing to worry about. Give some thought and consideration to how you word your request, think personal not clinical, highlight how valuable their feedback is to you. If a customer compliments your business in an email or in a conversation, politely ask them if they wouldn’t mind putting it in a review.

2) Make It Routine
Make asking customers for reviews part of your routine, build it in as a essential step in your customer service model and not an occasional after thought or laborious 6 monthly chore – you’ll soon see the reviews appear.

3) Make It Simple
You are asking your customers to give up a few minutes of their time, so it’s crucial that you make the process of leaving a review simple and fast. A customer wont value your business enough that to trawl the internet for ways to review you and your products. Include clear links in your request email as well as visible buttons on your website and remember to regularly check that the links work.

4) Offer An Incentive
A small incentive can be a great way of encouraging reviews while also showing your appreciation, this could be free delivery with their next order, or a small percentage discount which also works to encourage repeat custom. Let’s be clear though, offering an incentive is not buying reviews, be careful with your wording you are not offering an incentive in return for a good review!

Remember to say thank you for reviews that you receive, a thank you still goes a long way.