88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts. (BrightLocal)
Please do not ignore the task of gathering testimonials for your business! It’s cannot be an afterthought.
To reach your highest potential, you will have to leverage testimonials.
How to make the ask.
Every single client/customer should be given the opportunity to leave a review after they have completed a transaction or spent a certain amount of time as a subscriber to your service.
The way you go about this can be different based on the situation and interactions, but a fairly versatile ask is the Good or Bad email.
Here’s how it works:
- Like I’ve mentioned before in this testimonial hack video, an email is sent to your customer with an option to choose whether or not they had a good experience or a bad experience.
- If they click on the “Good” button, they are re-directed to your Google business page where they can leave a review.
- If they click on the “Bad” button, they are directed to a landing page on your website to tell you about their experience so you can have an opportunity to fix it. Not only is this good business, but good insight into any trends or parts of your business that needs addressed.
The reason we used Google as the example for where customers should leave a review is because it directly affects your search engine ranking as well as your organic clout.
For example, if someone is searching for restaurants nearby on Google maps and sees your location alongside your competitors – they are going to see how you compare.
But in the moment, the only thing they really have to go on are your ratings. This is relevant for ANY business interested in local search.
Of course, you can give your potential reviewers options like directing them to a landing page where they can choose between Google or other places to leave their review like Facebook or Yelp. However, if you don’t know how most of your customers find you online, it’s a good idea to start with the direct link for Google reviews.
A more personal approach.
Sometimes the best testimonials come from a simple reach out after a job well done. If you KNOW that a customer is happy about their experience, send them an email to thank them for the opportunity to help them with a link to share their experience.
Nothing out-converts personal.
Utilizing your best reviews.
Reviews are reassurance and the best place to reassure your audience is in the conversion process. To put this simply, reviews should be strategically placed next to forms or any area of your website where potential customers are considering your product/service. This could be right next to your contact form, a promotional offer, or alongside a product on an e-commerce website.
Reviews that you choose to showcase on your website are the most effective when they are accompanied by:
- At least a first name.
- Any relevant descriptors such as location or title.
- A photo of the actual reviewer.
It’s your time to shine! Make the ask and be strategic so that you can help even more people.
