Generating more Google reviews for your business can be a HASSLE.
But the cold hard data has proven time and time again that this necessary beast can make or break your business.
The genuine experiences shared by your customers have the potential to benefit you and your brand tremendously. Great Google reviews can actually help you outrank competitors in local SEO listings, aid your audience in their decision-making processes, and make you appear more reputable in the digital space and beyond.
But how do you get your following to take the time to endorse your business’s services through a Google review?
We are here to tell you that gaining a steady influx of new reviews on your Google Business Profile is possible, so as long as you and your team are willing to implement strategies that resonate well with the people you serve.
Uncover the building blocks needed for a solid foundation for gaining more reviews, how to effectively incentivize, follow up with customers, and implement digital-based strategies as you navigate through this guide.
The Foundation
Google Business Profile
Before you start putting in the effort towards picking up new reviews for your business, it will be in your best interest to first establish a solid foundation that you can successfully build on.
First things first, you will want to claim your business on Google and then ensure that your Google Business Profile is an excellent representation of your brand.
Does your listing include:
- Freshly uploaded and keyword-tagged images?
- A full list of your services paired with informative descriptions?
- Your key service areas?
- A company description for your business that highlights your competitive edge over rivals in your area?
If you feel your Google Business Profile may be falling short, now is the time to optimize. Fully optimized listings work to improve your searchability rankings and make you appear more credible.
Customers may even be more apt to share a glowing review on profiles that set a good first impression.
Define Your Approach and Goals
Given your motivation to collect more reviews, wanting to dive right into your strategy and get the ball rolling right away is a natural response.
However, taking a step back to establish clear and measurable goals with your team, as well as the sequence of actions that will need to be taken to reach them, can make all the difference in your success.
Some questions you may want to answer as you plan your strategy:
- How many 4+ star reviews do we want to receive within the next 3 months?
- How will we initially approach our review generation methods? Reward-based incentivization? Personalized thank you cards? Website strategies?
- If necessary, how will we allocate our budgeting for this project in reference to the value it provides our business?
Click here to visit this helpful resource for more information on the how and why of determining a marketing budget for your business.
The Strategies
Follow-up
Following up with your customer connections in any compacity is an excellent method in retaining a happy, loyal following.
Going the extra mile to extend your gratitude in a personalized manner can go a long way in convincing your audience that you are worthy of their time in writing you a review.
Some creative ways to follow up with patients after serving them are:
- Email/SMS Review Request
- Staying connected with your customers via email or even SMS is a necessity in this day and age. If you are already communicating with your customers in this manner, why not send out review requests shortly after they receive service from you?
- This follow-up method can be made into a very streamlined process when you make good use of messaging templates.
- Personalizing your templates with the customer’s details can even hold the power to improve your conversion rates by up to 202%!
- Thank You Cards
- Showing your appreciation in the form of a thank you card is a sweet and simple method that can go a long way.
- There are many avenues to travel when distributing thank you cards in terms of personalization and distribution.
- Including handwritten notes.
- Addressing the customer by name within your message.
- Incorporating your business’s branding within the card design.
- Developing a mailing system that works well for you or handing your thank you cards to your customers in person.
- Review Cards with QR
- A review card is your own tangible marketing material that would ideally be designed custom to your branding and includes an easy-to-access QR code. The QR code should direct your patients toward your Business’s Google review form link.
- This option is a bit outside of the box but can be very effective for swiftly and conveniently driving your audience exactly where you want them.
Personalization and automation have been and will continue to be a huge trend for B2C business, and for good reason! Formulating an efficient strategy that makes your customers feel seen and heard, while not requiring too much of your and your staff’s time to enforce, will be key.
Website
There are many ways to generate new Google reviews through your website, so long as you leverage this digital real estate accordingly.
Convince your website visitors to submit a dazzling review with the following tactics:
- Google Review Popup
- Immediately grasp the attention of website visitors by installing a popup window to appear as soon as someone lands on your site. This popup should include some sort of call-to-action or incentive that will prompt users to click through to your google reform form.
- Homepage Link
- Your homepage is likely to be one of, if not the most, visited pages on your website. Use this high-traffic area to your advantage by including a link to leave a Google Review somewhere on your business’s homepage.
- Get website visitors to take notice of your Google review link by including a message bar at the very top of your homepage.
- Feature Your Glowing Testimonials
- Displaying excellent reviews for your business not only boosts your credibility and has the potential to establish trust between you and your audience, but can actually motivate website visitors to leave one of their own.
Speak to your web developer about adding these strategic additions to your business’s site. If you are a current Blue Canopy Marketing website partner, fill out our Support Request Form and one of our experienced Software Engineers will gladly assist you with your needs.
Ask In Person
As simple as this may sound, taking the time to connect with your customers and personally ask them for a Google review is often worth your while.
Train your staff to routinely ask your customer base to leave Google reviews after sharing an experience with your business.
Key Tips
Avoid Monetary Incentive
As easy as it may be to draw in more reviews through incentives like discounts, doing so not only sets you up for potentially disingenuous reviews but is actually illegal.
Always, Always, ALWAYS Respond
Regardless of whether the review is positive or negative, make it your goal to provide a professional response to every one.
Dealing with negative reviews can be tricky, but the manner in which you respond to these comments can speak volumes about the character and morals your business upholds.
Responding to reviews can also do wonders in boosting your local search results and showing your audience that you take the feedback you receive seriously.
Ask for Reviews at Just the Right Time
Add more depth to your Google review strategy by considering your timing.
Visit this excellent resource on Pinpointing The Right Time to Ask for Referrals for more information and helpful tips.
Start now!
There is no sense in waiting any longer, start building your Google review arsenal by using these tips and ideas to develop a successful strategy of your own!
Thanks for reading!
Interested in learning more about how to better market your business? Check out HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY GROW YOUR BUSINESS ON LINKEDIN or QUICK AND PAINLESS BRAND ALIGNMENT CHECKLIST
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