Receiving customer reviews have evolved into a marketing strategy since client comments serve as the best social validation and testimonials for your company. Thanks to technology, customers now have a variety of touchpoints where they may give feedback whenever and however.
However, not everyone is willing to provide feedback, particularly casual consumers who stop their buying cycle as soon as they have their desired things in hand. In such cases, your customer retention strategy or post-purchase support might not be feasible.
But each and every review is equally valuable and worthwhile. So how do you politely and successfully request feedback from consumers without upsetting them?
Reputation management requires that you tackle a problem from a variety of directions. Negative reviews must be located and dealt with or otherwise ignored.
On the other hand, getting positive evaluations can be equally challenging. Even happy customers are often apathetic to post a review. After all, the majority of consumers only consider writing a review after they’re unsatisfied, hoping to prevent others from making the same error they did.
When to Request Reviews?
Customers may be more influenced by a few review lines than by an entire website. One star, or even a half-star, can be enough to convince a customer to choose your competition over you. Furthermore, the most important local SEO ranking criteria is customer reviews.
However, you must request client feedback if you want to receive those words or that extra star. Although it may appear awkward, individuals actually enjoy giving their ideas; they just need a little nudging.
Finding the best time to ask for a customer review is crucial to the effectiveness of a review request strategy. Here are the top five examples:
- Immediately after a purchase
- If they have made mention of your product or brand on any social media platform.
- After getting a recommendation.
- When a consumer makes another order or purchase.
- Once the effectiveness of your product or solution has been proven.
What Channels to Refer Reviewers To?
Are your consumers giving you reviews on the most significant online review platforms for your company? Let’s explore these websites and discover ways to increase the number of customer reviews on them.
While reading 5-star ratings of your company online is fantastic for your pride, these amazing customer reviews matter for far more significant reasons.
According to research, buyers consider internet customer reviews very carefully when making purchases, and the majority of them place an equal amount of faith in them as they do in personal recommendations from friends.
However, the internet is a vast domain. How can you be certain that you are utilising customer reviews templates to their full potential?
Some companies fall for the trap of believing they have no control over online reviews.
The truth is, you have some control over where your consumers leave reviews, so it’s critical to concentrate on the online sites that matter the most to your company.
Some of the most well-known review websites on the internet are highlighted in the following examples:
1. Google
B2B and B2C businesses with a local presence should register on Google My Business (GMB) to control their Google ratings and testimonials. Since search engines account for the vast majority of website traffic, potential customers looking for local businesses will typically find the first recommendations on Google. For the sake of local search engine optimization, a Google My Business profile must be optimised. It assists in making sure that your brand is listed in Google with the proper business name, timings, location, and other information.
2. Personal website
For instance, if you run an online business that only sells products on your own website, you should encourage buyers to submit product reviews right there. A B2B company can also post a case study, customer references, client testimonials, or all of these on its website. Personalised outreach to specific happy clients and requests for positive feedback may be the only option to build social proof for highly specialised B2B sectors, and your business page may be the only location to showcase those favourable reviews.
3. Third-party sites and Amazon
Consider an Amazon review request as the default for your business if you operate a B2C e-commerce business that gets the majority of its revenues from Amazon. The same holds true for other e-commerce platforms like Etsy, eBay, etc. Many enterprises rely heavily on third-party sites as a source of income, and positive internet reviews can streamline the buying process.
4. Social media proof
Customers build judgments and make decisions based on the behaviour of others, according to social media proof. It’s a type of referral marketing where you use social media influencers, subject matter experts, or real consumers to build social proof to attract more clients. Potential customers are more likely to believe internet feedback from other customers who praise your services than they are to believe you.
How to Request Reviews? 7 Email Customer review templates you can use
The easiest approach to convince potential buyers that your product or service is authentic and well worth their hard-earned money is by using positive feedback. Despite having satisfied customers, the majority of SMEs and major businesses struggle to generate additional reviews. One of the most efficient ways to communicate with customers directly is by deploying email marketing software and connecting with customers via email marketing. According to a recent study, 4.3 billion people routinely use email, making it the best way to connect with your audience.
Go for one of the email templates listed below to request a review, rating, comment or recommendation when the time is appropriate:
- To evaluate a product
Email subject: Remember to write a review for us.
Hello, [First name]
While deciding which of our products and services are best for them, our consumers rely on reviews from knowledgeable individuals like you.
Please take a moment to let us know whether you are loving [product name] by clicking on the button below.
Write a review or rate it.
Thank you once again for selecting [your company name].
Thank you,
(Sender name)
2. With regard to a one-time B2B or B2C service
Email subject: What did we do?
Greetings, [First name]
We appreciate you choosing us to offer [service]. We value your support and appreciate your trust in us.
Please take a few minutes to leave a rating on [platform of your choice] if you were pleased with our products.
We would be extremely grateful.
Till then, wishing you the best.
(Sender name)
3. Template to request a testimonial
Email subject: A case study or recommendation from [client name]
Hi, [First name]
I hope you are doing well.
I wanted to see if you would be interested to do a [case study or feedback] after looking at some of the work we’ve done in collaboration with you (sincerely thank you again for picking us!). Incorporating some of your comments and/or achievements, I wanted to [write up a piece/make a video] about the work we’ve been doing together.
Please reply to us and let us know if the following applies.
We are able to recognise [you or your business] by name.
Regarding your interactions with us, we may directly quote you.
You might wish to offer more information to the conversation regarding your relationship with [your company].
I greatly appreciate it.
Thank you,
Sender name
4. For an inquiry about a B2B referral
Email subject: Inquire regarding a prospective referral
Hello, [First name]
I’d like to start by saying thank you once again for selecting us to meet your [service or product] requirements. We’re so happy that we were able to go above and beyond for you.
In fact, the reason I’m contacting you is to ask if you’d be prepared to recommend us to a possible client that we have been in touch with. You only have to fill out the [form, questionnaire, attached document, etc.] and send it back to us.
If you have a moment, we would be very grateful for your assistance; otherwise, we completely understand. In either case, we are eager to continue providing you with quality service.
Thanks a lot,
(Sender name)
5. To request responses on a survey
Email subject: Take a quick survey to let us know how we are doing.
Greetings, [First name]
We at [business name] are constantly looking for ways to improve our [insert your category of product or service]. And we are unable to succeed without your open criticism.
Please spare some time to respond to our short survey. It will just take a minute, I assure you. Make no excuses. We want both the excellent and the undesirable.
Please take the survey.
Thank you,
(Sender name)
6. Regarding a resort, club, or salon
Message subject: Have you enjoyed it as much as we have?
Hi, [First name]
You chose our company out of all the [business categories] in [your location]. That gives us a great sense of exclusivity.
Although we’re curious: Did we repay the favour?
Please share your [service] satisfaction with [brand name] in a review on [preferred platform].
We read every piece of feedback we receive and consider it carefully so that we can keep enhancing our [service].
Stay healthy and good luck
(Sender name)
7. Template for a business review in the services sector
Email subject: We would much appreciate hearing from you.
Hello [First Name of the user],
[Your Name] here, representing [Brand Names]. Meeting you and [Description of Work] the other day was a delight. I sincerely hope the outcomes satisfy you.
As you may expect, companies like mine rely on customer reviews to continue providing top-notch services, so could I just ask you to take a moment to share your thoughts on my work?
Simply click the link below to submit your comments.
(Campaign Link)
Thank you,
[Sender Name]
What makes email review requests important?
The following are some advantages of requesting customer reviews by email:
- In contrast to text messages and SMS, long-form content can ask for both positive and negative comments.
- Due to their widespread use, emails make it quite easy to get in touch with all of your clients at once.
- Sharing a URL where clients may submit a product review is simple, which makes the procedure more user-friendly.
- You can provide a mixture of textual and audio-visual content to your audience to keep them interested.
- The review request template can be used by email automation platforms to send personalised emails to customers with their names and order information.
How to respond to bad reviews?
Bad reviews are unwanted, yet they do occur. Whether you like it or not, consumer feedback of any kind is beneficial to your company. One of the best online review management techniques available is to address client complaints. If a business has zero negative web reviews, people will immediately suspect it is too good to be true.
Simply said, it doesn’t appear credible. Customers are aware that nothing is ever really flawless. What they do demand is that businesses accept accountability when mistakes are made. To address bad reviews, take some of the following actions:
- Maintain your calmness. It’s typical to feel bad after reading a negative customer reviews template; but try to avoid taking it personally. It’s merely a frustrated customer who didn’t get the results they were expecting.
- Appreciate the comments. No matter the nature of the criticism, you should always express gratitude. You must feel grateful to the person who took the time to share their story with you.
- Make the response specific. Firstly, it’s crucial to say their name. Show your consumer that you are actually committed to solving the issue by not just copying and pasting the response. Everyone desires to be heard and appreciated.
- Request another opportunity. Understand that an apology is worthless if the behavior has not improved. Make a proposal to fix things. Find out how you can improve things by asking your customer. You can take the talk offline, get their contact details or other personal details, and attempt to make things better.
- Focus on the problem. Don’t avoid the issue your consumer is having. Remain focused on the major issue they are experiencing and the feedback. Avoid trying to change the topic as doing so will just annoy the consumer further.