The 3 Reasons Why You Need To Ask Your Clients To Leave a Review
Think about the last time you booked a holiday or bought something new. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have spent time researching the best options and reading reviews to ensure you’re getting you’re paying for. Between Google Reviews and social media testimonials, most of us now rely on online reviews as much as word of mouth to seek out the best deals. As female business owners, client testimonials and reviews are essential in growing your business. Not only do they give potential customers confidence in your products and services, but they also have the power to boost your online visibility. In this blog, we’ll break down the reasons why you need to ask your clients to leave a review.
- Find your exclusive testimonial planner, part of our business masterplan template at the end of this blog! -
Having positive Reviews Builds Confidence In Your Service
First and foremost, having positive reviews shows that the service or product you’re offering can be trusted and will be money well spent. In a time where people are thinking more about where and how to spend their money, recent (and positive) reviews can be the thing that makes a difference and convert a client’s interest into a sale.
Testimonials that show how you or your product solved a client’s problem can also become the key to unlocking new clients who find themselves in the same situation.
Reviews Can Build Your Authority in the Industry
Everyone has to start somewhere and even the biggest household names relied on word of mouth and recommendations when they were first starting. By asking clients to leave you a review, they are building you a portfolio of happy customers which you can then use to showcase to new prospective clients, or equally in your pitches and proposals for new business. If you can get positive feedback that you can use from other industry experts or from clients, it’s clear evidence that you know what you’re doing and people can trust you. Having positive reviews can also build your own self-confidence as it’s clear validation that you’re doing something right!
Reviews Help Improve Your SEO
Yes, you heard us right! Building a wealth of reviews, particularly on Google Reviews, can really help your SEO for your business! Google loves to share businesses that are trustworthy and that people love - especially when it comes to searching for things in your local area. So whatever your business, make sure you have claimed your business listing and asked people to leave a review!
Learn how to set up your Google Business Listing in this helpful Youtube video here:
For more SEO tips, read our blog on simple SEO tricks all female business owners should know.
How Can I get Client Reviews For My Business?
Now you know why you need to ask for client reviews, let’s talk about how you can get reviews and where to store them as it doesn’t have to be another time-consuming item in your busy life as a female business owner! Here are some simple steps to streamline the process of getting reviews for your business:
Set up an automated email asking for Google reviews.
Once you have set your Google Business listing up, click the “ask for reviews” button to get the direct link that you can share with clients. Google Reviews are some of the most powerful in driving your SEO and Google ranking, especially for when people are searching for services near them. If your selling a product, ask for reviews on the platform you are selling on (e.g Amazon, Etsy, Shopify etc), or if you have a big presence on LinkedIn, ask for LI recommendations.
Set up a template to ask for testimonials/reviews that come directly to you.
Just as onboarding your clients in service-related industries is important, ‘offboarding’ is too. Consider the questions you will ask your clients to help them leave you a worthwhile review. Things like, “what were you struggling with before we worked together?”, “how did I help you with a particular problem?” or “what’s your favourite thing about this product/service?” can help frame your review in a more helpful way. You may also want to take this opportunity to ask for constructive feedback too so that you can continue to improve your product/service. Note: this bit doesn’t have to be public!
I haven’t tried it myself but as we all know, the power of video is only growing - especially on social media - and so you could even ask for video testimonials for clients who may feel comfortable leaving feedback this way! Video Ask is a tool that has been recommended to me multiple times, so let me know if you’ve given it a try!
Listen to this podcast from Janet Murray, The Courageous CEO, on how to write testimonials that demonstrate thought leadership and get great results.
3. Think about how you will share your reviews to maximise their potential
Don’t just share your testimonial online with a “thanks for this great review” caption. Consider how sharing this review can help convert new clients and think about the story you want to tell in sharing it. The key is using the testimonials to help your future clients make the decision to buy from you/work with you. They need to read it and think that is exactly the position I am in. In your caption, if you’re sharing on social media, make sure you talk about why your client came to you and the problem you helped them solve. Give tangible results or statistics if appropriate (e.g. I grew their impressions by X%, or after working with me, they made £X sales in X days) and tell future clients you can help them with this same problem!
Where is the best place to store my client reviews?
Getting all of these reviews shouldn’t have to be time-consuming, and of course if you’re asking for Google reviews - Google will do the hard work of keeping them all stored. But if you want to ask for more details, or equally if you want an easy-access central storage point for your reviews, you’re in luck!
This month’s section of our exclusive Business Masterplan Template is all about testimonials and gives you a one-stop shop to store all your reviews and plan how you’ll use them.
Download your business masterplan today and unlock this tab, as well as how to plan your business content pillars, simple SEO tricks and how to land the perfect collaboration partnership.
What are you waiting for? Let Your AJency help you take your business to new heights and build the online visibility your female-owned business deserves.
