The five rules of collecting reviews

The trick to gathering reviews is knowing how to ask for them. Your consumers want to share their experiences, but in order for their desire to result in a written review, the experience has to be easy and convenient. 

People are far more likely to write a review when it’s on their terms, in a way that feels seamless and comfortable to them. Keep the below approaches in mind, and watch the reviews roll in.

1. Make it easy

A smooth and easy review writing process is paramount. A consumer should never have to jump through hoops in order to write a review. It might sound obvious, but many businesses make the process unnecessarily complicated. 

Someone could want to write a review, but if you don’t make this easy for them by explicitly telling them that a) you’d love to hear what they have to say, and b) how to leave a review, they’ll keep their feedback to themselves.

Be upfront – use clear calls to actions that tell consumers exactly what to do. Then, display these at key touchpoints.

2. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it

Think about the emails you open versus the ones you ignore. Chances are, the emails you open all have a subject line that instantly grabs your attention. It either piques your interest, instils a sense of urgency, or evokes some sort of emotion that drives you to click on it. Putting some thought into your subject line is crucial, and makes the difference between whether you receive a review or not. 

As well as a punchy subject line, personalising your email request for reviews goes a long way. Address the recipient by first name where you can. 

Keep your email short and simple, and aim for a conversational tone – your recipients should feel like they’re hearing from a real person – not a robot! You can read more about effective email subject lines here, and get some tips about writing copy over here.

3. Ask (at the right time), via the right channel

Second to asking for a review in person, is using email. Asking someone while they’re in your store or have just finished interacting with you is first prize. But, if you don’t have face-to-face contact with all of your consumers, email can be just as effective. 

Remember, timing is everything when it comes to asking for reviews. Ask someone shortly after they’ve bought a product or used your service, while their experience is fresh in their mind. If someone compliments you on your service/product, thank them, and then ask them to put it in writing. Waiting for more than two weeks – maximum– greatly decreases your chances of getting a review.

Use these Hellopeter for Business tools:

• Our downloadable Widget: Display this at your checkout point, alongside our QR code. When a happy consumer has paid, they’re able to instantly write a review
• Our Review Invite Bulk Sender: Send out review invites in bulk to save time and resources

4. Keep mobile top of mind

Your consumers do everything on their phones, which is why you need to give them an easy way to write a review using the device in the palm of their hand. 

Making them fill out a long, data-gobbling form, or sending them to a website that takes ages to load will only result in a frustrated consumer, who isn’t going to leave you a review.

5. Reward your reviewers

Everyone likes a proverbial pat on the back. Adding an incentive to write a review results in, unsurprisingly, more reviews. There are various ways to thank and reward your review writers, from a discount on their next purchase, to a time-sensitive special. 

Regardless of whether you’re able to offer your consumers a tangible reward, always acknowledge your reviews. Every single one of them (yes, that includes less than ecstatic feedback). 

By thanking your review writers, you demonstrate that you really value your customers – which, as we’ve said before, goes a long way to establish trust and credibility – two of the most sought after qualities in the eyes of your consumers.

Reviews on Hellopeter have helped over one million consumers make better choices. Had an experience you’d like to tell us about? Leave us a review here.