Glowing reviews is jet fuel in the engine of small business success! Words of appreciation for a job well done are not only uplifting material and great content, but are also useful resources to pass along to friends and neighbors in your community to help them find quality companies. Here's a quick post illustrating just how easy it is to not only give feedback, but also politely request it from your delighted customers.
1) Search for a business on Google Maps, Yelp, or Facebook.
2) Write something useful; i.e., description of products you were pleased with, outstanding service, or distinctive features of the company. It doesn't have to be a full page or even a paragraph - the very simple review shown here was maybe three sentences, but enthusiastically conveyed feedback from a happy customer.
3) Add a photo if you have a good one, and don't forget to click on the stars!! (Why the exclamation points?? Because many folks omit this step on Yelp, which really should have a feature which doesn't allow posting until the stars are actually clicked on. Lots of reviews are on there offering glowing praise, but which have ZERO stars and are thus, worthless).
4) Share your completed review on Facebook or Twitter to tell others you found an awesome local business!
Here's a short, sweet, sample post showing an enthusiastic Google review, yes, left by me. Not everyone has a a good experience with a tow truck company, do they? Well this one knocked it out of the park for me when my set of wheels decided to break down out of town. From the first phone call to the communication while I waited, to the friendly folks who hauled me and my ride away, they were exceptional in every aspect of their service. So of course, I didn't wait long to hop online and make sure others knew they were good people as well.
Leaving reviews is easy, but often we as business owners hesitate to ASK for them. Some of us feel awkward or unsure of how to request such actions, but when done politely and in good taste, bringing up the subject is a piece of cake.
1), Keep your ask short and to the point. Sample suggestions of wording might be:
2), Respond promptly to the review with a comment thanking the customer for their business and for taking the time to give feedback.
3) Share reviews as a way of building confidence in your brand and illustrating the hard work you company delivers. (I really need to do a separate post about how to share testimonials and create beautiful graphics featuring wonderful words from clients, so look for that coming up.)
See more suggestions on gathering and using online feedback on our Facebook page album. Thank you for stopping by today to check out our blog, and I hope you found this post helpful. Have a great week!
2) Write something useful; i.e., description of products you were pleased with, outstanding service, or distinctive features of the company. It doesn't have to be a full page or even a paragraph - the very simple review shown here was maybe three sentences, but enthusiastically conveyed feedback from a happy customer.
3) Add a photo if you have a good one, and don't forget to click on the stars!! (Why the exclamation points?? Because many folks omit this step on Yelp, which really should have a feature which doesn't allow posting until the stars are actually clicked on. Lots of reviews are on there offering glowing praise, but which have ZERO stars and are thus, worthless).
4) Share your completed review on Facebook or Twitter to tell others you found an awesome local business!
Here's a short, sweet, sample post showing an enthusiastic Google review, yes, left by me. Not everyone has a a good experience with a tow truck company, do they? Well this one knocked it out of the park for me when my set of wheels decided to break down out of town. From the first phone call to the communication while I waited, to the friendly folks who hauled me and my ride away, they were exceptional in every aspect of their service. So of course, I didn't wait long to hop online and make sure others knew they were good people as well.
Leaving reviews is easy, but often we as business owners hesitate to ASK for them. Some of us feel awkward or unsure of how to request such actions, but when done politely and in good taste, bringing up the subject is a piece of cake.
1), Keep your ask short and to the point. Sample suggestions of wording might be:
- "Hi friends, have you had a good experience at our restaurant? We'd like to hear from you online."
- "How was your pizza? We'd love it if you'd take a minute to leave us a Google review."
- "We try to serve clients with the utmost care and professionalism. If you'd be so kind as to share your experience about our company on Yelp, Google or Facebook we would really appreciate it."
2), Respond promptly to the review with a comment thanking the customer for their business and for taking the time to give feedback.
3) Share reviews as a way of building confidence in your brand and illustrating the hard work you company delivers. (I really need to do a separate post about how to share testimonials and create beautiful graphics featuring wonderful words from clients, so look for that coming up.)
See more suggestions on gathering and using online feedback on our Facebook page album. Thank you for stopping by today to check out our blog, and I hope you found this post helpful. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Andrea Baumann
Growth strategies for small business & nonprofits; community-centered
resource serving the Delmarva Peninsula (DE/MD/VA). Connect with us!
