Getting clients to leave reviews on various platforms (TripAdvisor, Google, Facebook)?

[K0608]

Hi,

I'm trying to encourage clients to leave reviews for us on TripAdvisor, Facebook Business and Google My Business, however, I'm finding that less and less bother doing so.

I send all of our clients a link to a feedback form (created on Microsoft Forms) and then depending on whether we get 5-star reviews on that form, will depend whether the client then gets sent another (automated) email asking them to leave reviews on the various platforms. If we don't get 5 stars, then the client is sent an automated email saying that we'd be more than happy to discuss their experience in more detail. I appreciate it's a bit sneaky, but I'm happy with that.

Anyway, I'm finding that less and less clients bother with the final stage, which is quite important to us. Any suggestions on how I might be able to increase the number of (5 star) reviews left for us on those various platforms, please?

 

[fisicx]

Don’t send them a form. And don’t validate their review. All you are doing is annoying people. What you do is get them to write the review before you say goodbye. And you accept the number of stars they give.

When are you going to get you site sorted? One of the things you can do is integrate the review submission into the site.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Personally I only leave reviews if the experience is above and beyond, or so bad that I think others should be warned

I certainly wouldn't leave multiple reviews.

I've no idea if I'm typical of your type of customer.

 

[Fagin2021]

I think I read a piece of research somewhere that said people don't trust a list of reviews all with a 5 star rating. I certainly don't.

 

[Fagin2021]

I'm thinking aloud so this might be nonsense but I'm not sure a load of reviews are what you need anyway.

Reviews are ok for products and services but you're offering something different. I'd be more inclined to interview people who've had a great experience on one of your courses before they go home, then write it up, attach relevant photographs (or even a video) and get their permission to publish it on your site.

Just a thought.

 

[OMGVape]

I think I read a piece of research somewhere that said people don't trust a list of reviews all with a 5 star rating. I certainly don't.

I don’t usually read reviews until I’ve bought a product and only if it was a shoddy experience, like recently buying something online and still waiting 6 weeks later for it to arrive.

I was gob smacked to find this huge, well known, national retail company have got more 1-stars than they have 5-stars :-(

I must learn to check reviews prior to purchase, especially if I want to (very unlikely) buy again from The Range

 

[Joseph K]

I like to read reviews prior to purchase of an item or a service. I feel more encouraged to leave a review of a purchased item if there will be a reward or discount on offer after I do it.

 

[Newchodge]

How do you incetivise people who had an average experience to leave an average review though. Tough one to solve.

Pay them. You are looking at this from your own perspective. Why should your customers/clients give a flying **** about spending their time giving you a review?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I have only left a bad review when an antique dealer badly let me down ( I think he was the real life Lovejoy ) I then removed the review when he offer me cash to take if down from Google business . So I removed it

You do have to chase customers and put a load of work in to the point that I have not done any work on it for a while resulting in the last Trustpilot review being in April

 

[WaveJumper]

Nothing more annoying than being asked to leave a review, well almost as annoying when websites have a pop up that almost immediately asks if you would like to leave one once you have finished browsing ..... Biggest turn off ever.

I never leave reviews and don't trust them either

 

[Deleted member 59730]

I am almost an expert on Tripadvisor reviews. The only way to get good mentions is to work at being friendly, cheerful and relate well to your customers. I know of a small place in Mexico well off the beaten track in the middle of the Puuc. A small number of cabanas and a restaurant. Nothing special. It relies on Tripadvisor reviews and many of the guests are happy to leave a review and to make it real and genuine. Last time I looked a well known actor had left a review.

And if you think you only need 5 star reviews forget it. 100% 5 star reviews indicate that none of them are genuine.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

At the risk of sounding naive and/or flippant, do you deserve / have you earned a 5-star review?

Like many, I'm happy to voluntarily give a great review for great hospitality / service.

I actually feel deterred from doing so if specifically requested to do so after receiving average hospitality / service.

Putting it differently, what do reviewers mention (i.e. what matters to them) in reviews of your competitors, that you can use to modify what you do so that your guests enjoy the experience sufficiently to give you great reviews.

 

[Paul Carmen]

Pretty easy to automate both the process to gather reviews in a customer friendly fashion and showing them on the website from multiple sources.

Some of this will depend on your systems; e.g. order/epos system, email/review platform etc, but if you can get the data into the email platform you can do this in a slick automated way.

This should all be approached from a customer service point of view and avoid complex forms, so it's simple for customers to do, plus you help those with any issues and generate reviews from those who loved your company.

 

[japancool]

Personally, I don't hold with giving 5 star reviews for just doing what the company is supposed to do.

It's like Uber - ok, you got me from A to B on time without killing me. That's what I pay for. That's what you're SUPPOSED to do. Why do you deserve 5 stars for that?

 

[K0608]

Personally, I don't hold with giving 5 star reviews for just doing what the company is supposed to do.

It's like Uber - ok, you got me from A to B on time without killing me. That's what I pay for. That's what you're SUPPOSED to do. Why do you deserve 5 stars for that?

I think there's a difference between companies that offer a service vs those that offer an experience, like we do. There are so many variables that need to be factored in when we deliver our mountaineering courses, nevermind the guides needing to build rapport with their clients. It's much more than just a case of yes you got me back to my car in one piece. Actually, shit happens in the hills and some clients have injured themselves and still given us a 5 star review and have taken into consideration how we dealt with the unforseen incident.

 

[fisicx]

That may be so. But your whole approach to getting reviews is fundamentally flawed.

Just send them the tripadvisor link on the last day and buy them a beer for lunch.

 

[tony84]

You are asking people to leave a review twice. That is why you are not getting as many reviews as you would like the second time around.

Have a look at the feedback you are generally getting. If 90% is 4-5 stars, then I think you need to change your process and just go out for feedback on google/tripadvisor etc the 9 positive reviews will outweigh the 10 negatives. If you are are getting significantly less than that, then you need to look a little closer to home. We will all get bad reviews from time to time, but if you are getting more than the odd disgruntled customer then it may be something you guys could improve on.

Failing that, if you really do want to vet customers you could ask the guides whether they enjoyed the walk or not before sending out the request.

 

[Mark T Jones]

When discussing credit control, my central premise is that there are 2 points when people are positively motivated to pay - when they decide they want it and when it is delivered. After the point of delivery, desire to pay falls in a precipitous manner.

I guess the same applies to reviews. When they are still buzzing a 5 star review should be easy. When they get home & go back to work, the buzz quickly fades & so does the will to make the effort to review.

 

[K0608]

Yep, I think th

When discussing credit control, my central premise is that there are 2 points when people are positively motivated to pay - when they decide they want it and when it is delivered. After the point of delivery, desire to pay falls in a precipitous manner.

I guess the same applies to reviews. When they are still buzzing a 5 star review should be easy. When they get home & go back to work, the buzz quickly fades & so does the will to make the effort to review.

You're absolutely correct and as I've been so busy, it's sometimes taken me a while to get round to emailing clients to ask how things went. That said, they seem more than happy to fill out the Feedback Form in Microsoft Forms, but then don't act upon the automated reply, which as others have said, may feel like one request too many.

I would say that 98% of our reviews are 5 stars, so there's clearly something to be said for emailing the links to TA/Google/FB etc. straight away.

 

[fisicx]

I would say that 98% of our reviews are 5 stars, so there's clearly something to be said for emailing the links to TA/Google/FB etc. straight away.

Do this before you say goodbye. That way they can write the review while you are having your post adventure meal together.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Have them write it there and then. mention the review as part of delivering the price

 

[Iain Venn]

Integrate reviews on your website (as already suggested) You will need to make sure the software integrates well with your website software. Your web developer / website provider will be able to give you this information and support you, in getting it installed.

Customer reviews are important both for you and new customers.

Well managed reviews provide valuable feedback to you in terms of validating what customers like about your product/s and service/s. They also give you an insight into what might be improved.

These same reviews help potential new customers understand what's good about the products and services and also, where weak points may exist.

If you haven't already, reflect on your own shopping experiences (when you have read reviews before purchasing)

Reviews done well help everyone, because done properly, new customers will not have unrealistic expectations of what you can offer.

 

[dancat234]

I think the secret is delight your customer, it's as simple as that. Agree with Mark T's Sunday post that if the experience is 'above and beyond', the 5 stars will roll in. What can you do more now than you are doing presently?