Have you ever read an online review that was so vague and generic that you wondered if it was even real? It almost sounds like the reviewer was their cousin’s friend, and in return for watching their dog over the weekend while they were on vacation, they put something nice on the dog-sitter’s Google business page. Not knowing anything about what they do, they could only speak in generalities. Something like, ”Johnny was awesome! He was super friendly and got everything done on time” – words that could literally apply to any business.

They offered no details, no stories, no specifics…just vague words. It might sound positive, but this actually has very little effect on a potential customer.

A good, quality review should provide useful, constructive feedback, with specific details that cover a full range of the customer’s experience.

Why is it important to get these types of reviews?

Because good, quality reviews make you feel something. It gives others a sense of what it’s really like to do business with you, and the factors that have contributed to someone’s positive, negative, or just an “eh” kind of experience. And for the readers who haven’t yet decided whether or not to do business with you, those details build TRUST.

So, how do we get good, quality reviews? Here are three pieces of advice from the experts:

1. Actively ask for reviews. We talked about this last week and how much impact it can make. The reality is, most people don’t bother leaving you reviews unless they have a complaint. You don’t want to leave your online reputation in the hands of angry customers – give happy people a chance to tell your story too.

2. Make it easy. Which leads to the second point – once the satisfied customers are willing to do you the service of leaving a review, make it easy! Tell them exactly where to go, and make reviews available on as many platforms as possible.

3. Ask good questions. If you do this right, you’re actually helping the customer write the review and say nice things about you. Be clear about what you’re looking for in the specific questions that you ask – for example:

• What did you enjoy most about using our service/product?
• What’s the biggest benefit/result you got from going with us?
• Would you be willing to recommend us to your friends?

Bottom line: it doesn’t matter how good you think you are. What matters is how good your customers think you are. Give them a voice and be ready to listen. Best case scenario, they’ll brag about you to the world; worst case scenario, you’ll have some valuable feedback that will help you get better.

And that’s worth a lot more than empty flattery from your cousin’s friend (Side note: I’m starting to think he’s just using me for free doggy day care…I may need to talk to my cousin about this).

Related posts:

Online Reviews and a Bunny How Do I Deal With Negative Reviews? Does The Quantity Of The Reviews Even Matter? Your Online Review Solution