Reviews and testimonials are a powerful tool when marketing your business — in more than one way! 

Did you know that according to Backlinko, 75% of consumers check online reviews when researching local businesses — and 61% check 2-3 review sites before they make a decision? That’s a lot of review checking!

Backlinko goes on to tell us that the most checked review platforms are Google (81%), Yelp (44%), Facebook (45%), Instagram (34%) and YouTube (32%).

Not having reviews could be hurting your business far more than you imagined.

“But I hate asking for reviews!”

If this is you, you’re in good company. Asking for feedback can feel icky and difficult. Not to mention frustrating… You ask, the client agrees, and then… crickets. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “There has to be a better way…” you’re in luck! 

In this blog post we’ll talk about options to make collecting reviews easier on both you and your clients.

Why reviews matter

If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, here are four top reasons why you want to invest effort and time into getting online reviews:

1. The majority of consumers read them and 46% of consumers’ buying decisions are influenced by them. 
2. Just having reviews isn’t enough — you need to respond to them too. Consumers are more likely to perceive your business as legitimate and customer-focused if you’ve given appropriate responses to reviews, whether they’re positive or negative. It’s a great opportunity to demonstrate your excellent customer service skills.
3. If you get a negative review, don’t panic! Use it as an opportunity to improve your business by setting up a productive feedback loop. No business can improve without feedback.
4. Google Reviews are also one of the ranking factors that Google considers when deciding how high to place you in search results. It’s not the only factor (they also look at other information in your Google Business Profile and on your website), but it’s a key factor. Trainers often report they see a noticeable increase in business when they begin actively soliciting reviews! 

How many reviews is enough?

Wondering how many reviews to aim for? Look to see how many your local competition has. SEO isn’t a game of “What should I do” so much as a game of “How can you be just a little bit better than the competition in Google’s eyes?” Meaning, do what you need, but no more.

So, you don’t have obsess over collecting reviews, but you do need to be proactive about it.

How to collect reviews

Now you understand why they’re so important, let’s look at some ways you can painlessly collect them. 

Create a “Give Us a Review” page

One of the best ways to streamline the process of receiving reviews is to create a single page that you can share with clients that has all of the links necessary for them to leave you a review. Create a page on your site with a URL like: website.com/review

On that page, list out the places where people can leave you a review. Have links they can click that will take them to the right place for them to input their review of your business.

Use a text messaging service

Alternatively, consider an SMS program to collect reviews — if you already text with clients, this can be a powerful addition to your toolkit. We’ve heard good things about NiceJob.

The free tier requires manually requesting a review and also requires the email address of the person in the free tier. The platform can do campaigns and automated follow-ups as well as integration between HubSpot CRM, FreshBooks, Square, and NiceJob.

Next…

Create a strategy to collect more reviews

Once you have a “go to” place for people to visit so they can choose where they’d like to leave their review, it’s time to determine how you’ll provide them that link. 

Here are the main options we recommend for dog trainers: 

• Put a QR Code and your review page URL on a business card or postcard. If you choose to create a business card, you can leave it with the client on their last lesson and ask them for the review before they leave. Use Canva or a program for generating QR codes. 
• Create an automated email sequence or follow up email that you send out after your last lesson with a client, and include the link there. 

And don’t be afraid to mention your review page if your client naturally offers a complement!

Your script for asking for a review

We know asking for a review sometimes feels awkward. But by keeping the emphasis on how much a review can help your business, you can increase the likelihood that clients will leave reviews while also benefiting from them. To help you get started here are some scripts you can use: 

In Writing: 

As a small business, reviews can make a big difference in helping others know that we can help them — we’d really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to share an honest review of our work together! 

In SMS: 

Thanks for trusting us to help you with [dog name]! We’d really appreciate it if you could take a few moments to provide an honest review of our work together: <LINK>. 

Verbally: 

“How is progress going?” [Let them reply] 

“That’s fantastic! That is so great to hear. We really try our best to [do what you’re being praised for]. And thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback. You know, if you could write what you just said in a review on [platform], that would be awesome. Those kinds of comments really help prospective customers to feel more confident in choosing us.”

To wrap up…

Reviews are important, but asking for them doesn’t have to be complicated. They can help you both by improving your SEO ranking AND by helping prospective customers trust that you can do what you say you will!