It turns out that people rely on online reviews for just about every purchase—not just for restaurants and stores. In fact, 91% of people regularly or occasionally read online reviews and 84% of people trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations from friends.
Businesses are well aware of the power of reviews, but the process of getting positive reviews can be a challenge. It can be difficult to send requests at the most opportune moment for not only customers (i.e. when they’re available), but also for your business (e.g., after a product or service has been delivered).
That’s where business text messaging comes in. By capitalizing on business texting’s impressive open rate and response rate, your company can attract more reviews—and more new customers—than ever before.
Why Send Review Requests Through Business Text Messaging
Consumers open 98% of the text messages they receive each day. Comparatively, they only open 20% of emails. The stats don’t stop there: business text messaging has a response rate of up to 80%, according to Heymarket research, while email has a low response rate of 6%. Additionally, 19% of people will click links in business SMS campaigns compared to just 4.2% for emails.
Considering its high open rate, response rate, and click through rate, business text messaging is the perfect channel for sending review requests to customers. They will almost certainly open your message, and there’s a good chance they will click on your feedback link and respond, too.
When To Ask For Reviews Through Business Text Messaging
In essence, it’s best to ask your customers to leave reviews when they are the happiest. This may seem obvious, but sometimes it can be difficult to pinpoint when your customer is primed to leave not just a review, but a positive one. Consider sending review requests at a few opportune moments.
In a final delivery notification text:
Hello, {{first name}}, this is PetHappy. Your order of {{recent order}} has arrived. Text us back if you have questions, or provide feedback on Google Reviews if you’re happy with everything! {{review link}}
After a repeat customer signs up for a customer rewards program or a similar event:
Hi {{first name}}! We’re so happy you signed up for our Customer Gold Program—welcome to the ShoeMart family. Will you consider providing feedback online describing your experience to others? {{review link}}
After a successful and very positive customer service interaction:
I’m glad we could solve that for you, {{first name}}! If you’re sure I can’t help you with anything else, will you consider letting us know how we did? {{review link}}
Each of these situations should feel like natural opportunities to ask for reviews—for both your customer service agents and your customers.
How To Ask For Reviews Through Business Text Messaging
Now that you know when to ask for reviews, you should learn how. There are a few tricks to ensuring you get a response from your recipient when you use business texting.
Just do it. If you are a small business and haven’t felt comfortable asking for reviews before, you need to dive in. When asked to leave a review, 70% of people will do it. So once you send that business SMS, you’ve already taken a big step toward success.
Don’t directly ask for a positive review. No one likes to be pressured to give you five stars or a raving review. While it’s okay to ask directly for a review, don’t say something like “Will you please leave us a 5-star, positive review?” Try “Will you share your experience with others?”
Switch up your wording. If you aren’t having much success with a straightforward ask, then it’s time to switch up your wording. Try framing the question so it appeals to your customer: “Let us know how we’re doing” is an indirect CTA that might encourage more clicks from customers.
Include a direct link to the review site. For convenience, always ensure the review requests you send via business text messaging include a short link to your review site. Customers should be able to click the link and immediately connect with the review site of your choice.
Remember: Business texting is valued by customers because it is short and straightforward. All of your feedback requests should be brief and to the point.
Where To Direct Review Requests Sent Through Business Text Messaging
You’ve figured out when and how to ask for reviews, but which review site will you ultimately link to? You have many options to pick from, but there are definitely some that are more useful than others.
Google Reviews. Google reviews account for almost 10% of your Google ranking chances. If you’re trying to boost your SEO strategy, direct your customers here. The great thing about Google Reviews is that it works for any business in any industry. Your business can also set up a Google My Business listing, so customers can find and text your business easily.
Yelp. With nearly 170 million monthly active users, Yelp provides a lot of visibility for businesses with strong reviews on its site. It is particularly popular for restaurants, coffee shops, stores, or salons, but offers review opportunities for nearly any business.
TripAdvisor. A classic review powerhouse, TripAdvisor is especially useful for businesses that tourists might be interested in, like restaurants, hotels, and activity services. With an astonishing 490 million monthly active users, TripAdvisor can boost foot traffic for a positively reviewed business.
Better Business Bureau. The Better Business Bureau features reviews for all kinds of businesses, charities, and non-profit organizations. This is a great website to send your review requests to if you own a business that offers special services, like a construction business or moving service.
Your website. If you conduct a lot of business on your website, it may make sense to centralize your reviews on there. However, remember that it might be harder for potential customers to find those reviews as opposed to those on a communal site.
How To Improve Your Business Text Messaging Review Request Process
Once you’ve started to send review requests through business SMS, you’ll probably be able to tell that your business is starting to receive more reviews. However, to know exactly how successful your business SMS review request process is, you’ll need to start gathering data.
While you can easily use URL shorteners to track how many customers click your request links, top business texting platforms can track all kinds of additional data, like customer response rates and response times. As long as you set up your review request campaigns correctly, you can continually analyze and improve your SMS campaigns:
- Use clearly labeled lists and campaigns to request reviews.
- Check relevant reports to see how your lists and campaigns perform.
- Tweak message wording to see whether review rates improve.
After a few rounds of analyzing and adjusting your review request campaigns, you’ll be on your way to consistently gaining positive reviews on the websites of your choice.
Ready to start getting reviews through business SMS? We’ve got you covered.
