Feb 18, 2015

How To Earn Stellar Reviews

What motivates players to leave positive reviews of your store online? There's a really easy way to find out.

Feb 18, 2015

How To Earn Stellar Reviews

What motivates players to leave positive reviews of your store online? There's a really easy way to find out.

Online reviews are everywhere. Yelp alone hosts over 53 million of them, and 120 million users view the site each month. Throw in Google+ Local, Angie's List, and others, and with millions of reviews influencing consumers on dozens of review sites the world over, it's likely that before a new player checks you out, they've checked you out online.

That's important. According to this study, a one-star increase on Yelp can lead to a 5-9% increase in revenue.

So what motivates customers to leave positive reviews?

There's a really easy way to find out. Read them.

Make a Good First Impression

Comb through some reviews and you'll notice right away: customers generally leave reviews after their first visit.

Take this Google review of Universe Games:

Very good first visit, great service—even with my purchase totaling $0.53. Will definitely be back.

The purchase may have been worth a mere 53 cents, but the review is invaluable. When you greet a new customer, assume you're greeting their entire friends list.

What next?

How do you turn a good impression into a good review?

Most review sites forbid incentivizing positive reviews, but you can still be active in generating them. Try printing a link on your receipts and circling it before handing the receipt to the customer.

Offer Great Customer Service

The old cliché is true: you only get one chance to make a first impression. But you get a chance to earn a great review every time the door swings.

Keep scrolling and you'll see stores earning online review gold with fundamental customer service.

Like this Yelp review for Versus Games:

 

 

"The first time I visited the store it was just to look around with my friend.  I came back three months later...and [owner Dee Veloz] still remembered my name."

As customer service goes, learning a name is as fundamental as it gets. But even this simple, friendly gesture was worth a glowing review from this Yelp user.

What next?

You connected with the customer. How do you get them to share that connection online?

Good service isn't delivered with an agenda, so keep it honest: try a sign by the point of sale requesting feedback, positive or negative, for the sole purpose of improving their experience.

Online reviews are a powerful tool that can help improve your visibility and calibrate your business. Put that power to use in your store today!

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