How to Ask Customers for Reviews for Your Service Business

Have you ever read a review so glowingly positive that it’s made you consider purchasing an item or booking a service?

Then you understand how important asking customers for reviews is. 

Ratings and reviews are some of the most important metrics customers use to rank your service business against your competitors. 

In this post, we’ll go over how to ask customers for reviews for your service business. ‍

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Why Asking For Reviews Is So Important For Your Service Business

Customer reviews build credibility for your service business

Online customer reviews play an important role in building the credibility and reputation of your service business.

Whether you’re asking for reviews to add to your website, Facebook Business page, Google My Business listing, or another platform, they can provide real benefits.  

According to Bright Local, the average consumer reads 10 reviews before feeling able to trust a business. 

Positive reviews can encourage loyalty and advocacy among existing customers, and  customers genuinely expressing their satisfaction with your services will help to attract new business.

Customer reviews creates social proof 

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon that makes other people want to mimic what the majority are doing. 

If your business is the popular choice with many people appearing to like and use your services this will motivate others to hire you.

Getting reviews provides the right trust signals to convince people to choose your service business over the competition.

Customer reviews can boost SEO

Another benefit of getting reviews is that they give your website an advantage on search engines like Google.

They help overall SEO (search engine optimization) and drive more organic search traffic to your website. 

Overall, reviews can generate more customers and grow your bottom line.

When is it Appropriate to Ask for a Customer Review?

You’re probably wondering how to ask customers for reviews, but it’s also worth it to consider when you ask.

It requires a little strategy and good timing.

In most cases, it’s appropriate to ask for a customer review after the job is completed to the client’s satisfaction.

Don’t jump the gun by asking too soon!

Ensure that you ask happy customers, since an unhappy customer likely won’t leave a positive review.

The benefits of asking for reviews outweigh the cons. Ask as much as possible!

How To Encourage Customers To Write Reviews

To get more reviews, try incentivizing your customers to leave a review.

Here are some examples of how to get customers to leave reviews:

• Offer a discount code on a future service
• Create a draw for a large prize
• Offer gift cards

However, beware that some platforms such as Yelp and Google frown upon businesses incentivizing customers to leave reviews.

Ensure that you read the policies of the platform and abide by its rules.

Keep in mind that your own website is fair game for collecting and housing reviews. You can incentivize your customers all you want!

Make Asking For Reviews Part of Your Service Business Culture

To prepare your service business to get more reviews, make asking for reviews part of your company culture. 

Start by creating a training program for employees on how to ask for reviews. Teach them best practices to increase their rates of success. 

The easier it is to ask for reviews, the more likely your team members will do so. Simplify the process and provide your team with the right tools and support. 

You could even develop a system or scorecard to keep track of reviews.

To encourage your team, entice them with incentives like gift cards or vouchers to their favourite restaurants. 

How to Ask Customers for Reviews In-Person

One way to get more reviews is to ask your customers in-person at the point of sale.

Since building rapport is easier in-person, it may be less awkward to make the request face-to-face.

Asking in-person can be more effective than by email because you can get a response immediately (it won’t get lost in their inbox and forgotten about). 

Especially if your customer compliments your service, it can be an opportune time to follow up by asking for a review.

Here are some tips to follow when asking customers for reviews:

• Provide your customers with clear instructions for how they can leave a review (on your website, on Google My Business, etc.)
• Follow up with specific details through an email, phone call, or leaving them a card or flyer with directions
• Tell customers exactly how long it will take to leave a review

What better way to ask for reviews than when the service is fresh in customers’ minds?

How to Ask Customers For Reviews By Email

Another way to get more reviews from customers is to ask over email. 

Here are some tips on how to ask for reviews by email:

• Personalize each email to avoid turning off your customers
• Be polite and appreciative in your copy  
• Keep it short and sweet; no one likes long emails
• Similar to asking for reviews in-person, be sure to provide clear instructions for where and how to leave a review
• Assure customers that it won’t take long to leave a review 

Keep in mind that the more complicated the process, the less likely they’ll be to do you a favour and leave the review.

You can even streamline the process with email campaign tools. 

Tools like MailChimp and Sendinblue can automatically send emails asking customers for reviews after a job is complete. 

Try these email strategies when getting reviews for your service business:

• Try A/B testing the language and photos in your emails to customers
• Experiment with plain text emails or HTML emails and see which type of customers respond to
• Leverage email tools to send auto-reminders so customers don’t forget about leaving a review
• Write compelling email copy and always use clear calls to action to convert more customers

Emails are a quick and easy way to get more reviews for your service business!

How to Get Reviews For Your Service Business Using Software

How to Ask Customers for Reviews: Review Software

Specialized software like Customer Lobby or GetMoreReviews can help you get more reviews. 

These tools are designed to do outreach and management for you by using data to find untapped opportunities and, as a result, act as a revenue generator. 

How to Ask Customers for Reviews: Service Business Software

Service business software can house customer reviews and allow your customers to see which providers have the best reviews.

You can then use this data to reach out to customers who have left positive reviews, and get them to leave a review on business listing platforms like Google, Yelp or Facebook.

For instance, MarketBox can ask customers to rate their service provider after each appointment with a star rating. This information can be used to then target your happy customers and rectify problems with unhappy ones quickly, before they leave you a negative review.

How to Ask Customers for Reviews: Important Things to Note 

You should not incentivize reviews on platforms

As we mentioned before, when it comes to review platforms like Google and Yelp, you should NOT offer any kind of incentives in exchange for reviews. 

This is often against the terms and conditions of review platforms and your service business could be flagged, suspended, or even deleted. 

If you engage in incentivizing reviews on platforms, you also run the risk of the FTC penalizing you financially. 

Remember to engage back

If a customer has taken the time to leave a review, make sure you reply back. 

This applies to customer complaints too. 

This is important because:

• It shows that you appreciate and acknowledge your clients’ efforts
• It helps you build customer relationships
• It shows potential customers that you care!

Remember, the customer experience doesn’t just stop after asking for reviews. 

Highlight and share positive customer reviews

Review platforms often give you the opportunity to mark reviews as helpful, so other customers can view them easily. 

Do this as much as you can so your best reviews are highlighted for everyone to see. 

You can also share reviews to your company’s social media channels by taking screenshots or reformatting them into quotes.

There’s nothing more powerful than social proof, so don’t be afraid to leverage your positive customer reviews. 

How to Get Reviews for Your Service Business: The Fail-Safe Way 

It’s simple: provide the best customer service, consistently.

If you can make your customers happy, you might not even need to ask for reviews!

Ready To Get Started?

Determining ways to ask customers for reviews has many benefits.

Whether you’re trying to build your business’ online reputation or increase sales, how will you implement these strategies to get more customer reviews for your service business?

Book a demo with MarketBox to discover how to streamline operations and get more positive customer reviews.