Marketing your business without online reviews is hard. You can’t ignore online reviews for your business. From printing to retail, people look for online reviews on Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor to give them information.

People pay attention to online reviews more than you think. Over 93% of people admit making purchasing decisions based on online reviews.

With so many options out there, what is the best way to get more online reviews? What are the best methods you can use to get satisfied customers to share their experience with your business?

An easy way to get more reviews is to make it part of your process to ask more customers to share their experience. Keep in mind that both your website and your overall business will thrive from positive reviews from satisfied customers. Learn how to get more online reviews for your business.

How to Get More Online Reviews for Your Business

When talking about how to get more online reviews for your business, we’re looking for ways to make it easier. It’s not all about the reviews, but the customer experiences. These ideas will help you learn how to get more reviews more often.

Some of these ideas on how to get more reviews are there to put in action fast. Some can help you learn what websites people pay attention to when it comes to online reviews. Here are easy ways to start learning how to get more online reviews for your business.

Diversify Your Review Sources

When asking for reviews, the last thing you want to do is put all your reviews on one website. Not every online review website is for every business or industry. Not everyone goes to the same websites. There are some review sources you want to pay attention to.

With over 178 million unique visitors monthly, Yelp is one of the top online review sites. You can list your business online for free with Yelp. By listing on Yelp, it will help you increase your online reputation, visibility, and connect with potential customers.

There are people on Yelp consider “Yelp Elites” that may help you get more online reviews for your business too. You can reach out to them directly via Yelp. Yelp isn’t the only review site you want to list on. It’s important to diversify so people can find you on review sources like Google if that’s what they use.

Google my Business allows you to list for free and increases your local SEO. Google my Business is friendly to use for those searching for your business type in your city. It will help drive traffic and customers to you. There are other online review sources as well.

When asking your existing customers for reviews, you can start with these two reviews sources. There is a good chance they are already familiar with them so it will be easy for them to leave you a review.

Ask Your Customers for Reviews

Are you looking for more customers? Sometimes, we miss what is right in front of us, and you don’t want that. You should ask your existing customers for reviews.

Thank goodness it isn’t too late. An easy way you could ask for a review is to offer a coupon incentive for a service of yours. Many companies are getting online reviews by using digital retention programs.

For example, you can tie asking for an online review to points on a program that results in rewards in your business. You could combine your retention program with a customer appreciation event as well.

This way your customers feel appreciated and you have an easy way to get several reviews at one event. Customer appreciation events are great to host regularly in general.

Make Reviews a Part of Your Process

Make it a practice to ask your customers regularly for reviews. When you make it part of your process, it becomes second nature for you and your team. Make it as easy as possible for your team to share and for your customers.

Make sure you train your team on how to get more reviews from customers. Let them know what review sites you are listed on. Coach them on asking customers for reviews regularly as part of their day to day activities.

Simplify the Review Process

You may think you need a lot to set up online reviews. It’s easier than you think to set it up. You can simplify the review process by asking when customers check-out to leave a review. You can add incentives tied to your services in different ways.

Sometimes, even the most satisfied customers need a reminder or incentive. Offering an incentive goes a long way to show appreciation in general. Make sure that your offer is for writing a review no matter what the rating is.

An easy way to tie leaving a review is to a digital retention program. You can add points for different actions the customers take. This could be everything from reviews to coming in a set number of times a month.

Another great idea is a monthly giveaway. You can give everyone that leaves a review a chance to win the giveaway for the month. Your team selects a winner at random. This way it is clear that out of all the people that left a review that month, one person benefitted with an appreciation gift.

By doing a giveaway, it also shows that you appreciate your customers in general. Some more ideas to get more reviews include listing links to your review sites on your e-mail, website and monthly newsletter.

When you list the link on your e-mail, this reminds your customers to leave one even if you are following up on something else. A review link on your website will help with new customers, and remind existing customers to leave a review.

With an in-store or event, you can have a tablet at checkout or at the end of your events. At events, it’s a great idea to tie it to a giveaway ticket to a future event. Ask your customers for reviews regularly and let them know how to do it.

Don’t Let Negative Reviews Simmer

The risk of asking for reviews is a negative review. Keep in mind you can’t please everyone so expect to receive some. Consider them an opportunity to improve.

When you receive one, there are some general guidelines to follow. The most important is to listen to what is being said whether in person or online. When you look at the review, ask is there something in the online review that is helpful and truthful? Are there some things you may want to change?

When you respond, acknowledge what is being said. Make it a point to relate to the customer. This will help create a connection. Apologize for the mistake and/or how they feel. Resolve the situation fast by making the customer whole somehow.

Finally, fix the process. Don’t play the blame game. Ask what can we do to prevent this from happening again? It is important to follow the same framework online and in person. If you fail to do so, it is likely the same type of review may happen again.

Whether a review is positive or negative, acknowledge it as soon as possible. In today’s online world, people expect responses fast. Monitor your online reviews daily to make sure you address them as quickly as possible. This shows people that your business takes service seriously.

Online review sites aren’t the only places that people may leave a review. For example, people may mention you on social media or their blogs and tag you. Monitoring your social media sites is a great idea in general regardless of negative reviews.

You may consider using social media to get more positive reviews by working with bloggers and influencers. This helps create social proof as well.

Online Reviews for Your Business

Getting more online reviews for your business is essential to success. They are seen by almost anyone interested in doing business with you online and live.

Sometimes it’s hard to prioritize in business what’s important. That’s why it’s important to make getting more reviews part of your process. Make sure you make it easy for customers to leave reviews.

It’s great business sense to earn great reviews from customers and to make it easy for them to leave them online. Create a culture focused on continuous improvement and learning from any negative feedback. Use your social media to increase your reviews online.

Getting more online reviews for your business will not happen overnight. With service, time, and focus, you will soon start receiving them regularly. Like anything else, this takes dedication.

What actions will you take next to get more online reviews for your business?