How to get more Google reviews?

Recent research suggests that more than 90% of users trust online reviews as much as in-person recommendations. It is surprising to believe that people now trust the opinions of others online more than their family members! As we are now in the digitalization era, having a good online presence is the primary concern of many businesses.

Reviews validate whether or not users want to use the services of an establishment. Developing and strengthening your online brand image by analysing your customer reviews is therefore important to exist and perform on Google.  

How can you do it? What are the means at your disposal to get a maximum of reviews from your satisfied customers? Don’t worry! You are at the right place. You will find all the information you need to get reviews on your Google My Business listing.

Asking for customer reviews: a criterion is taken into account by Google to promote a business

The criteria to be highlighted by Google

To make a Google My Business listing visible, three criteria are taken into account by Google. Firstly the relevance of the establishment concerning the user’s query. Secondly, the distance between the user and the place searched. Thirdly, the establishment and the prominence, that is to say, the popularity and reliability of the establishment- also called online reputation.

Reputation: your average rating, the number of reviews, your responses, frequency of responses  

This criterion focuses on the reputation basis. Online reputation is an evaluation by Google of the popularity of a Google My Business listing and if this listing is recommended by internet users. Google evaluates the average rating but also the number of reviews the listing has, the responses, and response time to customer reviews.

Reviews are now the criteria of choice for Internet users. Actually, 90% of Internet users say they consult reviews on Google, Facebook, and other online platforms before visiting an establishment. Essentially, having good reviews helps to reassure and attract new customers to your business. It is also highlighted by Google in the search results. With this, it’s important to adopt good practices in this area. Developing and strengthening your e-reputation is crucial to exist and perform on Google. 

How to solicit reviews on Google?

As you now know, reviews are important for your online reputation. Below shows an example of how to get a customer to leave a review on your Google My Business listing. There are several effective ways to collect positive reviews on Google. Let’s take a look at which ones.

Ask for reviews verbally when the customer is still with you

The first thing to do is to keep in mind that a customer will not necessarily leave a review spontaneously on a Google listing unless you ask him. Who better to talk about your service than your customers? 

For example, if you have lunch in a restaurant and you find it incredible. If the chef is interested in your feedback and asks you to leave a review on the restaurant’s Google page, would you do it? The answer is probably yes. On the other hand, would you have done it spontaneously if the chef had not asked you? Probably not…. 

Getting an unsolicited review from a customer is rare. On the other hand, an unsolicited review is more likely to be negative. Asking for reviews from satisfied customers is not complicated. It is often enough to simply ask. Asking orally to your customers to leave you a positive review is the first thing to do to get reviews on your Google page.

Ask your customer for a positive review at the right time

Choosing the right time to ask for a positive review from a satisfied customer is also important. You don’t want to send it too early or too late. If you ask for a positive review from a customer too early, it may look suspicious. If you ask for a review too late, you may miss an opportunity. The customer may have forgotten about the great service you provided and won’t leave a review.

To get reviews on your Google My Business listing, you have to be responsive but not too hasty! The ideal is to ask the customer to leave a comment at a strategic moment, why not ask for it at the time of payment at the cash desk? Or when they leave your business.

Be careful not to let too much time pass between the service and the request for comment. The more time passes, the less receptive the customer will be. Also, remember to adopt good practices by responding to your reviews quickly.

How to invite people to leave a review on your Google business listing?

The easiest and quickest way to get as many positive reviews as possible from your customers is to send a personalised message to the customer with a redirection link to your Google business listing. 

Why should you do this? It is possible that the customer agrees to leave a comment on a business card but does not know how to do so. Also, asking for a review verbally is not always enough to get the customer to leave a review. It is easy to forget. Make it trouble-free for your customer and send them a personalised SMS with a link to your Google listing. This will also help them remember to leave you a review.

Personalising the message in the SMS can also earn you points with your customer, think about it. It is possible to collect Google reviews all due to Partoo’s solution!

30 seconds: that’s how long it will take you to send an SMS to your customer with Partoo. 2 minutes: that’s how long it will take your customer to leave you a review on your Google My Business listing. 

Generally, sending a personalised message by SMS to a customer, shortly after having been in contact with him, is the best way to collect a maximum of positive reviews on your Google listing.

Invite the customer to scan your QR code to leave you a review 

Another effective way to get positive reviews on a Google business listing is to install a QR code with a redirect link to your listing in a strategic location in your establishment. This can be near your checkout area, in a waiting room, or another strategic location. It is possible to collect Google reviews with a QR code all because of Partoo’s solution.

If you are a hairdresser for example, why not integrate the QR code on your counters. While you are doing your hair, your customer will have the time to scan it and leave a positive comment on your Google My Business page if you invite him to do so. 

Diversifying your customer review collection channels can help you collect more reviews from your customers.

Business gesture to invite customers to leave a Google review

Finally, to make customers want to leave you reviews, you can also consider making offers to your customers so that they leave you a positive review. For example, you can offer them discounts or a commercial gesture such as a coffee, a cookie, or other, at the end of the meal!

If you are a restaurant owner and you are going to open your restaurant, don’t hesitate to have a look at our article to see how to attract customers as soon as your restaurant opens. 

The Takeaway 

A Google listing with a lot of reviews and an excellent average rating will have more chances to be chosen by internet users. It is, therefore, necessary to implement an efficient review collection strategy to obtain a maximum of positive comments from your customers. 

There are several ways to collect Google reviews on your business:

• Ask for reviews verbally from your customers when they are in front of you
• choose the right moment to collect positive reviews, 
• Be proactive and send them an SMS after they have visited your establishment, 
• Simplify the process and invite your customers to scan a QR code while they are still in your establishment.