Chasing down positive review for your business can be daunting. Here is a quick template that I put together to ask for a positive online review using one or more of the common online review services like Google or Yelp.
Here is the background on why having online reviews of your business is important, not only for credibility but also for search engines optimization. I urge all of my clients with local businesses to use these online review services.
The Internet has come full circle, where once you could find anything you wanted in any part of the world, now the major search engines have placed a specific focus on connecting local businesses to local customers. Google and Yahoo have their maps integration but all of the major search engines are prioritizing local results above some of the most notable national brands. The challenge now is to rise above the local clutter of businesses in your area and do the things that have been proven to work in enhancing your local business listing.
One of the most critical aspects of local search optimization is having honest reviews of your business from your past and existing clients. One of the easiest ways to to this is simply to ask. You will never get anything if you don’t ask for it, and when you do here is a quick email template that you can use to help insure that if you gave excellent service that your customer will provide you with an excellent review.
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Dear John,
It has been a while since we have spoken but I wanted to reach out to you and ask you a favor I am trying to expand my business and I have chosen to grow my practice by leveraging the Internet, I would like to ask you to positively review my services and the experience that you had with our firm on Google and Yelp/etc.
A typical review takes about 5 minutes to complete, and it mentions when we did business, your opinion of our services and perhaps it mentioned if you would consider referring me to a friend or doing business with us again in the future should the need arise. Online reviews are read by prospective clients and business partners and I am confident that the service that we provided to you would warrant a positive review.
However, if you feel that you would not be able to provide a positive review of your experience please stop what your are doing, and pick up the phone right now and call me at 111-222-3333 or responding to this email right now. I pride myself on providing excellent customer service and if for any reason you don’t feel that this was evident in your situation please let me know.
You can review my business at:
Link to google business listing
Link to Yelp Listing
Once again it just takes a few minutes, but your positive words can really help me grow my practice. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know.
Thank you,
Business Owners Name
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Pretty straightforward – if you want an online review of your business. Ask for it. But make sure that you use the term “positive review” so that you have a much higher likelihood of getting a great review. And if the person is unwilling to give you a positive review hopefully they will give you a call and let you know how you can make it right by them.