How to ask for an online review

The best way to get more online reviews is to ask for them.

It sounds simple because it is. The hard part is to get good at asking. Here are some ideas about how you and your team can get more online reviews, just by asking. You'll have to identify which might apply to your business, but there is one universal tip being successful in asking for reviews: do it continually. Make asking for a review a part of your normal process. Get your team bought into the fact that reviews are important, equip them with the right tools (Owany!), and train/coach them. If you ask customers to review you, more of them will.

When to ask for an online review

The right time to ask for a review toward the end of the shopper's current experience with your business. At this point they have almost certainly formed an opinion of your bussiness and their experience. You have established a level of rapport with the shopper and hopefull have an idea of their perception of these things too.

Ask for a review or feedback when:

  • Giving the customer the final invoice
  • Completing the payment transaction
  • As the shopper is getting ready to leave
  • Upon delivery or pickup of the products
  • Following up with the shopper after the sale

How to ask a customer to review you online

There are a lot of approaches to asking a customer to give you an online review. Every business and team member needs to find an approach that works for them. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Have a script

If you can provide a script for asking for reviews to your team it can give them a head start on finding an approach they are comfortable with. They can practice and learn the script so that when they are with a customer they're ready.

Your script doesn't need to be long or complicated, it could be something as simple as providing good wording to the question "Will you review us online please?".

Incentivize

This one has two parts. First, you can incentivize your customers to write a review of your business. Offering a monthly drawing where you give away a gift card to someone who has written a review for you in that period can work for some businesses. A word of warning: Do not pay customers to write a review for you. This will violate the terms of service for many sites and will negatively impact your profile and ranking.

You could also consider incentivizing your team members. With Owany you can easily see how many times each team member has asked a shopper for a review. You can also see how many of those people actually clicked in, submitted feedback, and clicked to leave a review. You could have a contest with your team with incentives for the highest performers.

Let them know how important reviews are to your business

Most shoppers will be open to writing a review if you ask them to. You need to communicate to them just how important those online reviews are to your business. Again, you'll need to tailor your message to fit your business and clientele. Let them know that you personally would really appreciate it.

Read more about how online reviews can drive more shoppers to your business

Don't ask for good reviews - ask for honest feedback

The fastest way to lose credibility with a shopper is to ask for a 'good' review online. You should ask them for their honest feedback. Often they will give you honest feedback on the spot, this is your chance to address anything that wasn't great and then ask for an online review.

Owany takes this one step further. With Owany, you ask for feedback from every customer. Customer's who report had good experiences are then encouraged to write a review of your business. Other customers are given a chance to leave more specific feedback for you.

Make it easy for the shopper

It is one thing to communicate how important reviews are and ask for one. It is another to make the processes painless for the customer. Don't make them put effort into finding your business profile on Google, Yelp, etc. Give them a way to get to the right place to leave a review quickly.

Owany is built aroud this idea. Make it incredibly easy and painless for the shopper to write a positive review online about your business. Learn more about how Owany can help your business get more positive online reviews

Owany helps businesses get more and better online reviews.

Owany equips your team with the tools and process to make it easy to ask for online reviews.

See how Owany generates reviews

Start getting more online reviews today.

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