How to Ask Customers for Reviews? 15 Tips & Techniques

To start analyzing reviews, you need to collect those reviews first. Unless you make reviewing easy and enjoyable, you’ll end up with no feedback at all. Here are 15 tips on how to ask customers for reviews and get as many reviews as possible. 

_{1. Get the timing right}

To maximize the number of responses, you need to send your review requests at the right time in the customer journey. The experience should still be fresh in the customers’ minds, especially if you want to get feedback on your customer journey touchpoints such as the checkout or delivery process. If you want to get feedback regarding the product itself, don’t rush it and give your customers time to form their opinion.

_{2. Use multiple channels}

Different customers will be comfortable with sharing reviews through different channels, so make sure you are leveraging a variety of channels for your customer segments. Aside from using multiple feedback channels, invite your customers to share their opinions at different touchpoints in the customer journey. For example, leave a sticker with a QR code in the waiting area or add a personalized postcard with your social media handles to your packages. 

3. Focus on positive reviews

While negative reviews are essential for growth and improvement, positive reviews are the key to building customer loyalty and positive brand perception. Leverage your promoters to create positive word-of-mouth around your brand and maximize the impact of positive feedback. Ask your customers for private feedback, and if they give you a high score, invite them to share their experience through a channel of their choice. 

4. Track social media mentions

If your customers are active on social media, use it to your advantage. Monitor your social media mentions, engage with your audience, and ask your followers for their opinions regarding different aspects of your product. When someone leaves a positive comment, ask them to share their experience through other review channels. Make your social media handles simple and visible to make sure your customers can find you and tag your profile. 

5. Reduce friction 

In the customer feedback collection process, your biggest goal should be to make reviewing as easy as possible. To identify potential friction points, map your customers’ feedback journey and make sure every touchpoint is fast, convenient, and requires very little effort. Don’t presume your customers will leave reviews anyway. Make the process simple and enjoyable.

6. Personalize

Personalization doesn’t end with including the customer’s name in the review request. In your feedback requests, you should consider the customers' behavior and purchase history. Mention specific details about the customer’s purchase or interaction to show that you care about their individual experience and take customer feedback seriously.

7. Explain the importance of feedback

Always remind your customers how important their reviews are. Long dramatic emails are not necessary, so be brief and give your customers one good reason to leave a review. You can say that their feedback will help other people choose the right product for them, and it will also allow your company to make the product better. To strengthen your point, you can mention improvements that were made based on customer feedback.

8. Incentivize

Offering a little something in return for feedback is one of the best ways to maximize the number of reviews. While paid fake reviews are strictly forbidden by most feedback platforms, you can give your customers a bonus, discount, or a little free for their honest feedback. Such things demonstrate that you don’t take customer feedback for granted and appreciate the time people spent reviewing your product.

9. Сreate a landing page for reviews

More and more companies now create specific landing pages for collecting reviews. What’s great about those is that they are fully customizable, so you can create a landing page that aligns with your brand style and voice, addresses your customer feedback objectives, and strengthens the customers' connection to your brand. You can share the link to the landing page in your emails, receipts, social media profiles, and customer support interactions. 

10. Leverage customer support 

Customer support is an essential part of the customer experience. Effective customer support is important for many customers, so don’t forget to ask for reviews for your support team. Invite your customers to leave a review after a positive customer support interaction and provide them with the link to your feedback channels to make reviewing as easy as possible. 

11. Automate 

Of course, sending every review request manually is not an option. Set up a system that would automatically send your customers a review request at specific touchpoints in the customer journey. You can include review links to email confirmations and receipts or even ask for feedback at the point of sale, especially if you want to focus on the in-store experience or the quality of your staff. 

12. Estimate time

When you request a review, let your customers know how many questions you’re going to ask and how much time it might take to leave a review. Business and lack of time are one of the main reasons people don’t leave reviews, so address this issue head-on by making it clear that you're only ask for a couple of minutes of their time. 

13. Share positive reviews 

Positive reviews are a powerful tool for social proof and word-of-mouth marketing. Get the most out of them by reposting positive reviews to your social media or even creating ads with positive reviews. Remembe real positive feedback is better than any kind of advertising. 

14. Reply to reviews

Customers are more likely to leave reviews when they see that you interact with reviewers and take customer feedback seriously. With negative reviews, timing is particulaly important. Try replying to negative reviews in under 24 hours to demonstrate your dedication to resolving your customers’ issues. 

15. Create a profile on review platforms

People who have a habit of giving feedback often use review platforms like TrustRadius, TrustPilot, or G2 to review different products they use. To claim your reviews on such websites, set up a business profile and start collecting feedback. You can then analyze your reviews and get the most out of customer feedback with Essense, an AI-powered customer feedback analysis solution that turns unstructured data into actionable insights. 

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