Just about everyone does their research online these days before hiring a professional, and this includes borrowers. If you have any hope of besting the competition, you’ll need a strong online presence (more on that, here), and you’ll need some, and hopefully an impressive amount of, reviews. Posting some testimonials on your website helps, but borrowers really want to see unfiltered reviews from past clients — the kind that show up on Facebook, Google, and a host of other places. These make it easier for prospective clients to get a better idea of who we are and how we do business, but it also increases the chances that they’ll find us online in the first place. Here are some ideas to make it easier to ask your clients for reviews:
Make it as Easy as Possible
When you ask a client to leave you a review, you’re asking for a favor. So, it only makes sense that you should make the process as simple as possible for your clients. Sending a direct link to your review site of choice, along with a personalized note with instructions is a good way to go. Then, with just one click, your clients can be sharing their thoughts. Making sure it’s convenient also helps to preserve your clients’ positive impression of working with you.
Don’t Apply Pressure
We don’t ever want to put our clients on the spot or make them feel pressured at any point while we’re working with them, and this also applies to after the process when we’re asking them to write a review. Email is probably the best vehicle for this ask; As I mentioned above, you can add a direct link, and you allow them to address it at their convenience. If you send the email after you’ve sent a thank-you note (preferably handwritten and mailed), it makes the request for a review feel less intrusive. Sometimes asking a client in person may make them feel uncomfortable, and you also have to rely on them to remember the site and instructions, but it’s up to you to decide what feels right and works best.
Deliver a Top-Notch Client Experience
If we’re going to ask our clients for reviews, we need to be absolutely certain that we’ve impressed them. We can’t afford a tepid, or worse, unfavorable review to be published online. We need them to say that we went above and beyond to deliver an exceptional client experience. If you’re actively trying to build your book of online reviews, this offers great motivation to make sure your client experience is highest level. If we can’t deliver, then we shouldn’t be asking for reviews — they’ll only serve to tarnish our reputation.
Ask for Feedback First
Asking for feedback from your clients before you ask for a review is a smart move. In the first place, it shows your clients that you genuinely care about their experience and want to be sure that you did everything correctly. It also gives them an opportunity to share with you directly any issues they may have had while working with you. Asking them directly, in person or on a call, works; So does an emailed survey. Based on that feedback, you’ll know whether or not you should be asking for a review to be posted online.
We all do business differently — some of us might prefer to leave it up to the client, and some of us might want to be more proactive about getting reviews. Either way, positive reviews are important if we want to be found online and stand out from the competition.
If you’d like to talk more about getting more online reviews from clients, or if there’s another matter I can be of assistance with, please get in touch. I’m always happy to block out some time to connect.
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