Ultimate Review Request Cheat Sheet // Local Marketing Insider #066

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The best local marketers know how to ask for reviews. They know when, how & what to say.

It’s a skill that will generate thousands of reviews for your business, driving your listings further up local searches on Google. This is great for assisting prospects in discovery & research.

Local business marketers are looking to master review generation, seeing as it’s come up thousands of times in our search data this year. Our guide, 20 Examples: The Best Way to Ask for Reviews, has been downloaded 800+ times.

If you don’t already have this skill locked down, here’s the cheat sheet you need.

Here is the downloadable version of it.

And for the sake of easy consumption, here is the same content in a text format for easy reading on mobile.

3 Times to Ask

• Right after engagement (experience)
• 7 days later (product)
• Lifecycle stage change (long-term customers)

6 Types of Review Requests

• Easy, quick (use numbers)
• Tell why you care
• Relevant timing
• Focus on value prop
• Focus on facilities
• Competitive comparisons

13 Interchangeable Review Request Templates

1. [Name], it was great to have you [interaction with business] today! Would you mind taking a moment to leave a review? [Explain why it's meaningful to your business].
2. I'd love to learn why you decided to [insert action].
3. Our [insert specific team] would appreciate any feedback you have.
4. Would you mind taking [insert timeframe] to leave us a review? We've made the process quick and easy, just click here to get started.
5. We've made the process quick so it should only take [insert timeframe].
6. [Customer name], happy [insert time period] as a customer! In that time we hope you've had the chance to [insert experience or use of facility].
7. Hey, [Name]! All of us on the team here are thankful for [insert customer/client etc. relationship] and we'd like to know what stands out for you.
8. We pride ourselves on [unique value proposition] and we'd love to hear how this impacted your experience.
9. Congratulations on your new [insert product].
10. We recently upgraded our [insert upgrade] and we're looking for feedback. How was your impression of [new upgrade]?
11. Your feedback is how we know we are achieving [target objective], and helps us identify opportunities for improvement.
12. Good or bad, I'd love to get your feedback.
13. We would really appreciate it if you could share how we compare to other [insert industry] businesses in the [enter city] area.

Sites to Send Reviewers to

• Google
• Facebook
• Industry-specific sites

*Note: Yelp does not allow review solicitation

How to Ask

• Text message
• Use a 10-digit number with a localized area code
• Email if text is not possible

Play By The Rules: Don’t selectively solicit reviews

• It is against FTC policy
• It’s viewed as false advertising
• Risks: fines, mass review removal
• De-risk by asking every customer and don’t block negative reviews or filter unhappy customers to internal surveys (gating)

3 Psychology Tips

• Humans like numbers - use them (i.e. “it only takes 30 seconds”)
• Relevance & personalization get attention
• Unhappy customers have a natural motivation to leave reviews. Happy customers need to be asked.

4 Execution Secrets

• SMS
• Automation
• CRM integration
• Eliminate human error

5 Personalization Tips

• Use the customer & rep's first name
• Product/service purchased
• Details from the experience
• Department utilized
• Time of year

6 Ways to Segment Your Customers

• First-time buyers
• Repeat shoppers
• By lifecycle stage
• By product/service
• Department
• Event participants

BONUS FORMULA: PERSONALIZATION + BUSINESS + ENGAGEMENT + WHY + ASK

e.g. Sam, thank you for stopping by Cityside Auto today. This is Tom, and it was a pleasure to work with you. Congratulations on your new vehicle! We value customer feedback as it helps us learn how to improve and grow. Would you please take 30 seconds to leave a review?

See you in 2 weeks - Jake, Marketing @Widewail