How to get customer reviews? 10 methods to get positive recommendations

Do you know what rule governs reviews? The rule of disparity. If your clients are satisfied, they rarely give feedback. Perhaps they will tell 2-3 friends about you. And what happens if you disappoint them? Their review will be known by about 15 people. In addition, the chance of a negative written review increases enormously. 

An angry person is more motivated. This phenomenon does not work in your favor.

Is it worth collecting positive reviews? Who reads them at all?

As many as 82% of consumers openly admit that they regularly read reviews and recommendations before making a purchase. What does this phenomenon stem from? Buyers tend to be in opposition to your company at the start. You play the bad guy who is trying to take money out of their pockets. They may only have people on their side who have used your offer and taken the time to recommend you.

How do you deal with this dilemma? How do you encourage buyers to return the good word for the solid service or products you carefully select for them? 

Learn how to obtain customer reviews in multiple ways. Any of the methods listed here will be helpful. However, it is only through extensive marketing efforts in this area that you will be able to dispel doubts about the quality you offer once and for all.

What helps you get customer feedback?

• Satisfaction surveys
• Widgets with reviews on the website
• Blog comments
• Reviews under products
• Google Maps reviews
• Social media
• Auction portals
• Review sites
• Product and service tests
• A well-thought-out reward system

Below you will find a description of each of these methods. If their number scares you off, don’t worry. This entire process can be automated to a large extent.

Satisfaction survey

It is natural that you care about positive reviews. They’re what build trust in your brand and provide the social proof that convinces more clients. However, striving for an ideal situation does not make any sense. 

Your efforts should be focused on giving every buyer the opportunity to leave a review. What then? You should encourage satisfied buyers to use this option and quickly solve the problems of those who raise their reservations.

A great tool for you will be satisfaction survey. Send it via e-mail when the client has already had enough time to try out your product. If the survey is positive, thank them for their time and ask for a review. Please indicate where they can leave feedback. What if the customer is disappointed? Help them as soon as possible. This also builds your reputation.

Widget with reviews on the company website

On many company websites you can find reviews in the form of a carousel. Of course, you can keep full control over its content. 

Another option is a simple widget in the form of an icon. After clicking on it, a dedicated site with recommendations appears in front of the user’s eyes. You can also leave it to the browsers to add their own references here.

Comments under blog posts

Do you write a blog? This is an awesome way to deepen your relationship with clients. Modern consumers want to know what you have to say to them. They want to know that they are dealing with an expert, read useful advice and learn about the values you uphold. 

Enable the commenting option. This will enable you to establish an open dialogue with your clients.

Space for a review under the product

Do you have good product descriptions? Do you include all necessary data? Do you present the benefits of their use? Do you add photos and videos? Now think of how the large online retailers get their customers’ reviews. 

They allow to add questions. What’s more – not only the customer service department can provide answers, but also other shoppers. This way, you bring your marketing to life and really encourage people to provide feedback on your site.

Google reviews – a business profile on Google Maps

You know which site the consumers most often associate with reviews? Google Maps. Therefore, creating a profile in Google My Business is often the basis of marketing for Polish entrepreneurs. 

Companies that offer services benefit from it the most. Not only it helps to build their image, but also attracts clients who are looking for service providers as close as possible to their home.

Collecting customer reviews in social media

Is it easy? Yes, if you already have a company profile. Maintaining it on a regular basis is obviously a challenge. But if you’re sharing useful information and news here and you’re doing it in a way that’s interesting for your clients, then the question is rather: how to get customer feedback even more effectively? 

You have the influence on it. Conduct a dialogue with your clients. Offer them help. Make them feel welcome. In this way you will increase your reach and build a brand that makes people want to buy.

Encourage customers to provide ratings on auction portals

Many sales portals have a built-in automated feedback process. It is worth taking advantage of this service – for at least two reasons. Above all, the higher your ratings are, the more orders you’ll get. Secondly, the auction portal can be the arbiter if a transaction dispute arises between you and the buyer.

Customer feedback on review sites

We are so used to social media that we forget about Opineo or Ceneo. Meanwhile, some consumers refer there to get a review about the company. For this reason, include these sites in your plan to get online reviews.

How to obtain customer reviews in a new company?

You already know eight methods of getting recommendations. Are you a new entrepreneur? If so, you may be having a lot of doubts right now. Certainly, the methods listed here are useful. But you need feedback here and now so that someone notices you at all.

Product tests and free services can be your solution. All you need to do is gather a small group of people and offer them to test your offer at no cost. The only condition will be to send feedback in return. 

You can treat such action as an investment. Satisfied customers usually return the favor not only with a written review, but also with word-of-mouth referrals. This makes your promotional machine start working and you become a professional from the very beginning.

Rewards for recommendations? Keep an eye on your ethics!

The last method may raise some doubts. It happens that companies give a discount for writing a review on the next order. They organize a contest for the best review. Or they introduce a loyalty system with prizes for commenting. 

Is it effective? Yes. Is it ethical? It depends. If you’re not implying that the feedback is meant to be positive, everything is perfectly fine. Otherwise, you’ll lower brand trust instead of boosting it.

Negative reviews and GDPR. Is there anything to be afraid of?

Absolutely not. When a customer posts a review on their own, nothing happens. If you want to quote on the website or in the media a review obtained by email, you need to get the author’s permission. This is especially important if you want to include personal information under the review.

And what about negative reviews? Thank them from the bottom of your heart. They allow you to notice that something is wrong in your company. When you know what’s not working, you can fix it. As a result, you will reduce the number of negative reviews in the future.

How’s that? That’s a lot, right? Wondering how you’re going to control so many places where customers will give you feedback? Fortunately, there are tools available. Check them out if you want to make the process of getting reviews faster and easier for yourself.