Google Reviews give Singapore brands that have a good reputation online a higher cutting edge in the market. Research studies have proved that these reviews help enhance your Singapore local SEO efforts, that is, they make it easier for potential customers to find you. Even before they contact you, they get a clear idea of the quality of services or products to expect by reading the reviews posted by other customers.

One of the challenges that Singapore SMEs face is getting enough reviews from their clientele base without using any black hat tricks. In this article, we will look at actionable ways of reaching out to clients personally and requesting them to write a review. The more genuine positive reviews you receive, the more customers your business will get.

Are Google Customer Reviews Essential to your Business?

According to research done by Vendasta, 40% of online customers get a perspective about your business by reading 1-3 Google reviews posted by other customers who have tried out your service or product.

Therefore, Google Reviews is one of the primary deciding factors for people who are yet to make the final decision and are comparing your business with other companies in the same niche. For example, when potential clients are looking for the best hotels in town, some of the factors that they consider include:

• Opening and closing hours
• location
• Reviews
• Pictures of the interior spaces such as the living room and patios
• Menu

Of course, other factors come into play, but these are the five most important ones that you should keep in mind. For example, tourists are usually more willing to pay for premium services and travel more if the Google reviews posted online show that other tourists got value for money.

Concisely, Google Reviews will improve your local SEO by displaying your company information whenever a user searches for information related to your services in the areas that you operate in. Note that Google is keen on providing the most accurate results on SERPs to users. The feedback from customers who have tried out your services is one of the strong signals that your business is real.

First, Understand the Basics

Before we look at actionable ways of getting as many feedback from customers in 2019 and beyond, you need to understand the basics to get the best results. The first thing that you need to do is make sure that your Google My Business listing is fully optimised. This will make it possible for potential customers to find your business online and successfully submit a review after making a purchase.

Let us know look at techniques that you can start applying to get genuine Google Reviews.

Tip 1: Be Straightforward

Sometimes as an entrepreneur in Singapore, you have no other option but to make your intentions clear to your customers openly. Even though a majority of online customers in Singapore prefer making the crucial buying decisions independently, they will often appreciate if you go against the norm and ask for reviews straight up without using backhand tactics.

Wait, does this not contradict Google Reviews guidelines? No, you will not be breaking any of the stringent Google regulations, unless you try to coerce them to write a positive review. They should be able to decide the type of words or kind of feedback (positive or negative) they should write. Your primary goal should be to provide a top-notch service that is worthy genuine positive reviews.

Tip 2: Incentivise Reviews

There is nothing wrong with motivating your customers to take a few minutes to write a review by using an incentive. Just make sure that you are not rewarding them for giving you positive feedback. The secret is keeping things as straightforward and light as possible.

You should not push them too hard to leave feedback. An excellent way to do this is informing them that their feedback will be instrumental in improving customer experience and processes. By doing so, they will not mind writing feedback if it will ensure that they get the best experience in the future.

You are customer-oriented Singapore business and want to get your loyal customers involved in the journey to profitability. Feel free to give customers who leave a Google review a discount coupon for their next purchase, but be clear that it is not a reward for leaving a positive comment.

If done right, it will show the clients that you are a professional company that only wants to provide the best services and products to the customer. This simple fact is enough to encourage them to come back and do business with you.

Tip 3: Request for Specific Feedback

Surprisingly, some of your clients do not leave feedback for the mere reason that they do not know what to say. Yes, they enjoyed the digital marketing service in Singapore but don’t know what to write in the feedback.

Make it easy and convenient for this select group of customers by asking them to leave feedback for specific criteria. For instance, you can tell them that you are trying to get a clear perspective of the quality of your customer service and their feedback will help you to know areas that need to be tweaked. Alternatively, you can focus on a particular service or product to target other people who might be interested in it also.

By pointing your customers in the right direction, you will be making it easier for them to submit a Google Review. You also stand a better chance of getting feedback that will position your business for success.

Tip 4: Send Follow-up Emails

In some instances, it might not be appropriate to request for a review immediately a customer buys a product through your Singapore online store. This, however, does not mean that you will be breaking any Google Guideline or paint a negative image of your business if you reach out to the customers afterward via email or phone.

You can write a personal email that is dedicated to encouraging the client to come back and write feedback. Be sure to include a call to action and reasons why you need the input. Show that the input will benefit not only your brand but also other customers.

For example, you can indicate that the feedback will help you to know if there are certain parts of the product that need to be tweaked. If such dedicated follow-up emails don’t work (they rarely fail) spice the email up by including a call to action or information about an upcoming sale or new products that you are planning to launch.

Experiment with different CTAs to identify one that is ideal for this purpose.

Tip 5: Reverse Incentive

This tip works well for Singapore businesses in the services industry such as travel agencies, hotels, and restaurants. However, it can still work magic for companies that sell products online if executed well.

What does this entail? Earlier on, we mentioned that you could encourage customers to leave feedback by giving them incentives that a discount coupon that they can redeem on their purchase. The reverse incentive does the opposite, that is, you tell the customers that your personnel a bonus for every review they get from clients.

This strategy works well because instead of deciding on whether the incentive is worthy of a review, they choose whether to deny your multi-talented staff a small bonus for their input in the product or service that you offer.

Bonus Tip

In our previous articles, we have discussed the importance of making the buying process as straightforward and customer-oriented as possible. You can apply the same concept to get more Google Reviews. That is, eliminate barriers that make the process of writing and submitting feedback tedious and time consuming for the customer. For instance, you can include a link to the specific page where the client can write and submit the feedback.

Do not be afraid to test different approaches and monitor the results that you get to know which strategies to follow. More importantly, make sure that the services or products that your Singapore business offers are worth genuine five-star reviews. Also, always adhere to Google guidelines to avoid any penalties.

Get in touch with us for pro-rated digital marketing services in Singapore. Over the past decade, we have helped leading local and international brands to get a firm footing in the country by creating and running custom digital marketing campaigns as well as on-site and off-site SEO. Feel free to call us (+65 6789 9852) for a free and no-obligation consultation session.