Online reviews are one of the most important things you can do to grow your small business. Customer ratings help build trust in your brand, and they make it more likely that future customers will make a purchase. Recent statistics indicate that customers consider reviews to be one of the most important elements of the purchase decision. Here are eight suggestions for helping you get more of those all-important customer raves.

1. Ask For It

The most important thing you can do to increase customer reviews is to ask for them. It is important to let your customers know that their feedback is greatly appreciated. You can post signs, but a personal acknowledgment is always best. Incentives are an excellent way to entice people to give their opinion and start building the foundation of a positive customer experience.

2. Make It Easy

You are more likely to get reviews if you make it easy. You need to have your review form posted prominently on your website’s first page. They are not as likely to leave a review if they have to go looking for the review form to find it.

3. Hire a Pro

Professional websites like Word of Mouth specialise in helping you get more customer reviews. They can help you manage your approach to reviews, so they will continue to increase over time. They can also help make sure your reviews are continually refreshed with commentary from more happy customers. Services such as this have a measurable impact on your bottom line.

4. Use Email Automation

Sending out an automated request for a review by email is a time-tested way to get more reviews. Customers will welcome the opportunity to give feedback on their experience when all they have to do is to click on a link. This serves as a direct request and makes it easy to give feedback. It is also convenient for you because it is done automatically at the right time in the sales funnel. This is another opportunity to offer incentives and discounts for your customer’s opinion.

5. Focus on Customer Experience

People tend to listen to negative reviews more than positive ones. It takes a considerable number of positive reviews to overcome the effects of a single negative review. That is a good reason to work to make every customer experience a positive one. If you do your best to make sure every customer is satisfied, then you have done 90% of the work when it comes to building a portfolio of positive reviews.

6. Always Respond to Reviews

It is tempting to only focus on the positive raves and ignore the one or two who were not happy with your products and services, but this can be a fatal mistake. Leaving a negative comment unaddressed shows that you do not care about customer service. The best thing you can do is to respond to the comment and try to turn a negative into a positive. Responding to every comment, either positive or negative, shows that you go the extra mile to provide excellent customer service.

7. Reach Out to Repeat Customers

Repeat customers are one of your best assets. They are already satisfied with your products and services. Many of them will be happy to leave positive comments to help you out. One idea for taking advantage of repeat customer reviews is to offer a special incentive for their opinion. Customers who come back are also more likely to tell others about your business.

8. Post Your Reviews

Reviews give your company valuable insight into how to improve the customer experience, but you also need to make sure they are posted where others can find them. A social proof section on your website lets others know what other customers have said about you. Acknowledging positive comments on social media is another good way to let people know what others think about the great products and services you have to offer.

As a bonus tip, you should make sure to ask the right questions to set the tone for the rating. Now, you know a few things that can help you get more customer reviews. As the number of positive reviews on your website and social media increases, the number of new customers will also increase. Getting customer reviews takes continual work, but the payoff is worth the effort in conversions and business success.