If you haven’t already noticed, I tend to keep things simple with my strategies.
The more complex we make something, the more “fat” there is – which is just a bunch of unnecessary steps to make ourselves feel smarter or more important than we really are.
These are the two most effective ways to boost your review velocity.
Follow Ups
A popular sales phrase goes something like this:
The money is in the follow up.
This couldn’t be more true for getting reviews from your customers.
They’ve got lives just like you:
- Maybe they’ve got children screaming at them.
- Maybe they’ve got a boss that just came by their desk.
- Or maybe they’re checking their phone while binge-watching a Netflix series.
Either way, they’ve got other things going on, so your email asking for a review is not on the top of their to do list.
Follow this process:
3 Days After Initial Request: Follow up with them, asking for the review and offering your help with any questions.
Here is an example:
—–
Hi there,
Hope your day is going well 🙂
I just wanted to follow up on my last email regarding a review.
As a valued customer, your feedback goes a long way, so we’d really appreciate it.
Here’s the link again: [Add link]
Do you have any questions?
If you hit reply to this email, I’ll be here to help.
Thank you,
[Your name and position]
—–
5 Days After Second Request: Send one last follow up. This should state that this will be the last time you ask for a review, and offer your support if they need anything.
Here is an example:
—–
Hi there,
Sorry to bother you again (this is the last time I’ll email you about this).
We noticed that you haven’t had a chance to leave a review on our Google listing yet.
If you have about 90 seconds to spare, you can do it here: [Add link]
Thanks again for your business 🙂
[Your name and position]
If you aren’t using any sort of automation, remembering to send follow ups every 3 and 5 days can be challenging.
If this is the case, then do this:
- Block out 30 to 45 minutes in your calendar on Monday and Friday afternoon.
- Send your review requests (and any follow ups) during this time.
Some other conditions:
- Don’t send these emails over weekends or on holidays.
- If you have the option of sending a follow up email sooner (before 3 or 5 days) or later – then go with later. Reviews are important, but keeping your customers happy is the priority.
Offer an Incentive
Google does not explicitly say you can’t offer your customers a small gift for leaving a real review of their experience.
If you want to push your customers over the edge – and build even more goodwill with them in the process – then offering something in return for a review can really ramp up your velocity.
One thing that has worked exceptionally well is Amazon gift cards.
This is because:
- Almost everyone uses Amazon in some capacity
- Your customers can use the gift card towards almost any purchase, from a book to a lawn mower (literally).
- The gift cards can be sent digitally – which means you don’t need to worry about mailing a physical version – or asking your customers to come pick them up.
How much should you offer for each review?
This depends on the value of the review to your business.
If you have many customers where reviews have not been a problem, but just want to boost velocity, then offering a $10 to $20 gift card is enough.
If you run a lower volume business (maybe you’re a law firm with a small number of high revenue clients) then offering a higher amount is more effective ($50 to $75).
In some cases, we’ve offered customers as much as a $100 gift card for their review – because we knew the reviews were hard to come by – and that they did wonders for convincing other people to become customers.
- Do not offer a discount to your own company for leaving a review.
This comes off as a ploy to get people who have already done business with you to come back – even though you’re asking them to do a favor for you.