Online Customer Reviews Part 2 – How to Get Them

In the last post, we went through what online customer reviews did to create a positive search presence for your business. In this post, we will show you ways to get the good customer reviews that will build that positive presence on the web.

• To get good reviews, provide a good customer experience. There is no substitute for a great experience, whatever your business offers. Think about what creates a good customer experience so that each customer remembers your business and wants to return for whatever your business offers. If you sell decorative objects, make sure that the customer leaves your business with the experience of having been treated as important and their taste respected. If you serve food, make sure that the food is well prepared and the service is prompt and appropriate to the situation. Customers that are ready to return to your business are ready to recommend your business to others and praise it in public.
• Once you provide the customer experience that earns good reviews, invite your customers to post reviews to your Google+ page found with their Google search.
• When you invite your customers to post Google reviews, let them know that a review is easy to post. All they have to do is: find your Google+ page by entering the search that brings up your business listing, – then press the “Write a Review” button next to the “Reviews” title at the end of the listing on the right-hand side of the search results.
• Also invite your customers to post reviews on any sites they are familiar and comfortable with, such as Facebook, Yelp, or Yahoo. A customer who regularly posts to a site knows how to post. Google finds these reviews and they are good for your ranking and reputation.
• Make asking for reviews a part of your interaction with each customer. Every review helps make your business more relevant on Google, which improves your positive presence on the web.
• Embrace social media and ask for reviews there by providing a link for reviews.
• Develop an email list so you can publish sales, events, and news to customers. In each news item, include a link to the “Write a Review” button.
• Monitor your reviews. If you get a negative review, be sure to respond to it, offering the customer a remedy to the problem described in the negative review. Responding to a negative review demonstrates that your business is concerned with that customer's satisfaction and that you stand behind your product or service. This will help turn around the impact of a negative review on your positive presence.
• Remember, you cannot offer anything of value for a positive review, you can only ask for reviews. Entering reviews in a contest is OK, rewarding reviews with a discount is not.

In sum, always engage your customer, always provide an experience that earns good reviews, ask for online reviews, and make reviewing a positive experience for your customers. Over time, your positive presence on the web will climb and will be maintained.