For medium and especially small businesses, customer testimonials and reviews can be make-or-break your success. The power of solid, 5-star business reviews simply cannot be understated.
Professionalism, prompt communication, a quality product of service – all of this and a great deal more must go into every interaction with a customer before they’ll dish out a perfect 5 stars. If you’re asking yourself how to get 5-star reviews, however, the buck stops with customer service: the best product in the world will still be rated poorly if it’s sold by someone who was perceived as rude, disinterested, and untrustworthy. A great deal of money is lost by companies every year due to this.
6 Common Themes
Leo Tolstoy once said that every happy family is alike, while all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way. Customer reviews are much the same, but fortunately for you, in this case it is a good thing! It means that every 5-star review can be attributed to more or less the same things:
- Timely service/delivery
- A friendly, streamlined greeting and introduction
- Communicative, creative problem-solving
- Kindness and patience
- Absolute professionalism
- Honesty and clarity
If you can confidently say that all of those have been met, you’re in good shape. Just take a look at Yelp: one or more of these techniques to get 5-star reviews will be listed in practically every single positive review there.
Perception & Honesty
Another one of the most important attributes that a business can work toward is ensuring that they are both honest and perceived as honest. If you stand behind your product or service, don’t oversell it, and fully deliver on your promises; your customers will not only be happy with their decision to work with you but will also jump at the chance to give you a 5-star business review. This just makes sense!
Eye-Opening Reviews
Despite every negative review being negative in its own way, there are still some definite takeaways from low-star reviews that should be avoided at all costs. It’s worth reiterating that first and foremost, we can always control customer service. Nearly all bad reviews will in some way or another include poor interactions with staff, either on the phone or in person.
This is why patience, friendliness, and a readiness to both admit mistakes and solve problems will be some of your best techniques for getting a 5-star review.
While it may be nearly impossible to achieve a perfect 5/5 from every single customer, following the guidelines above can make an enormous difference in ensuring that most of your customer interactions end positively. People are less likely to leave a bad review for situations that are outside the control of the company when they feel like a valued customer. Ensuring that even a bad interaction, such as a product return or a late service delivery, is not a terrible experience will go a long way.
Customer Service is Key
And remember, again: customer service is key! Make sure customers are always greeted in a friendly manner. Make sure their problems are heard, understood, and solved if possible. This can really be the difference between success and failure, or success and resounding success. It can even be in your best interest to work with a communications partner with the same excellent customer service goals you have to really guarantee this need is met.