How to Collect Customer Reviews

How to build review requests into your workflows

Once you're in the habit of asking clients for a review, these requests will fit seamlessly into your workflow. In many cases, you can plan and automate these requests in advance so you can save time and don't have to send outreach manually. Many entrepreneurs who use Squarespace recommend scheduling outreach shortly after your wrap up with a customer or client, so the interaction is fresh in their minds.

For example, your online store platform might offer this option. Squarespace users on certain plans can automate review request emails. After someone buys something from you, they'll automatically get an email a set number of days afterward.

Service providers who see in-person clients can hand over a business card with a review request after a visit. To make the process easier, this card might have a QR code that takes users directly to a review site.

Other business owners might ask for feedback in the text of a client wrap-up email or create boilerplate text about leaving feedback in their email signature. And for business owners who solicit feedback via social media platforms, building occasional review requests into a broader social media strategy makes the process a breeze.

When should you respond to reviews?

Not all review platforms let you directly address customer feedback. If you can't respond publicly, feel free to send a note of thanks via email. If the review is negative, be polite and apologetic, and try to make the situation less fraught by being empathetic and offering a discount for a future service.

If you can respond directly to reviews, try and respond to all the feedback you receive. This shows you are attentive to clients and customers and value their feedback.

Positive reviews

For positive reviews, express gratitude to the customer for their support and express that you're happy they are satisfied.

This response might look something like this:

"Thank you for doing business with me! I'm thrilled you loved my [good/service]. I appreciate the compliment and look forward to [seeing you/working with you] again in the future."

Neutral or negative reviews

Neutral or negative reviews can be trickier to navigate. Don't cast blame and don't respond with anger. Instead, publicly apologize to the unhappy customer and then offer to make things right.

This response might look something like this:

"Thank you for your feedback. I'm sorry to hear that my [good/service] wasn't what you were expecting, and I appreciate you letting me know so I can do better next time. I'd like a chance to make things right. I'm going to reach out via email; please keep an eye out."

In response, you might email them with an offer for a discount or partial refund, or some other resolution to their concerns.

4 ways to incentivize reviews

Satisfied clients and customers don't need much encouragement to leave a positive review. However, people can get busy and forget to follow through. Here are some ways to make it worth their while.

1. Offer a discount in exchange for a review. This might take the form of a percentage off on a future order; free shipping on a future order; or a certain dollar amount knocked off their next service.

2. Don't make review requests overly complicated. The reviews you request don't have to be epic-length novels. Emphasize to customers that a few sentences will suffice.

3. Stress how little time it takes to leave a review. People can feel overwhelmed if they think a review might require a big time commitment. State up front that you're just looking for a few minutes of their time.

4. Send reviewers unexpected discounts at a later date. Every so often, make it a point to send reviewers a surprise incentive, like a discount coupon.

Send review requests with Squarespace Email Camapigns

Using reviews on your website

Reviews can include feedback shared privately via email, reviews left on external review platforms, or compliments included as part of a broader customer testimonial. All of these things can be great assets to your website.

Your website is one of the first places people will go to learn more about you and your products, if not the first place where they interact with your business. Include reviews on your site so that potential clients and customers can independently verify that your product or service will deliver on its value. Remember, we tend to trust independent reviews and testimonials more than promotion directly from a brand or business.

You can place reviews on your website in a dedicated section at the bottom of a product page, your homepage, or on a standalone feedback and reviews page. You can differentiate review text by giving them a specific section style or using a different font or font style.

On Squarespace, plugins like Judge.me or HelpfulCrowd can give you the ability to add a robust review section for your website.

Using reviews in your marketing materials

Reviews can also be an invaluable part of your overall marketing strategy. Just like they do on your website, these can act as social proof in your client proposals, ads, content, and social media that convinces a potential client to work with you.

When talking to potential new clients, you might put together a one-sheet highlighting your services alongside select review quotes from satisfied customers. As an example, think about how movie posters use positive praise for advertisements.

You can also incorporate customer feedback into social media copy, particularly on business-geared platforms such as LinkedIn, or create colorful graphics around positive feedback and share them as part of an Instagram carousel. If your business lends itself to it, consider asking customers or clients to shout out your business on social media and among their friends too.

Another idea is to create blogs or social media posts detailing the work you've done with a client and include their positive review at the end. This kind of storytelling gives prospective customers a richer idea of what your business has to offer and how you work with clients to achieve success.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.