How to request a customer review or testimonial
There are always going to be memorable elements about your business that your customers are going to experience. Inviting them to share these experiences is key to implementing the power of the customer voice. You don’t want to be too aggressive and you don’t want to make it seem like sharing their opinion is optional.
The Song of Happy Praises
In some cases, you will have a customer that reaches out to you directly to express a positive experience they had with your business. Thank them for reaching out and express that their experience is what you strive for. Be sure to invite them to share this experience via a listing or review site of their choice. Always invite them back to your business and thank them for their continued trust in your services.
Hello, How are you?
There are some instances where you will have to create a conversation with a current customer. In this case, you will need to start the conversation leading into their current experience with your business, the products or services that you provide.
Is this your first time hosting your website with us?
How was your experience with our sales team?
Did our designers meet your standards on your latest project?
These are a couple of examples of questions that could lead to a more in-depth conversation with your customers. Showing genuine interest in their experience could open an opportunity later in the conversation to request a review. However, be sure to keep your conversation light. Don’t force it if they seem short. If they continue to provide positive feedback then there is an opportunity to request a review.
Review It
There are many paths to take when requesting a review. You could call the customer directly over the phone, for example. If you or an employee have been working closely with a customer there is an opportunity to reach out and request a review directly.
The top three ways to request a review via email is through an email blast, personal email or employee email. In an email blast, you can craft a general email that you send out to a mass email list of potential or current customers. This email doesn’t address these customers directly, but there are some email marketing tools that allow you to fill the ‘To’ field to make it more personalized.
The next way to request a review is a personal email. As a business owner, a direct request from you shows a customer a greater level of appreciation. Send a personally written email out to customers that you have done a great deal of business with or to customers you feel would benefit from a long-term relationship with your business. Be sure to thank them for their business and express their level of importance as a customer.
Involving your employees in your review request shows a full-scale level of commitment to customers. If you have employees that work directly with customers on a daily basis, have a pre-written email that they can send after closing out a purchase. Make sure this message is sweet, short and to the point. Their time is just as valuable as yours.
Another great way to request a review is via a thank you page on your website. After a customer has completed a purchase you can send them to a formatted page that directs them to a third party review site. This is also a great way to keep them on your website to explore other products. If they don’t leave a review just direct them to another internal page on your website.
Overall, there are many ways to request a review. The way you make that request and the tone are important when crafting these requests. A customers feedback and opinion of your business are vital to improving every aspect of the customer experience.
Posted: Dec 12, 2018