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Attempts to get customers to leave a review is like herding cats - without a process in place to consistently guide customers to leave a review, the likelihood of receiving customer reviews is very low. In fact, the chances of receiving a negative review far outweigh the chances of getting a positive review when you are not asking for customer reviews. This is why it is extremely important to your small business to have a customer review funnel in place to actively get your customers to leave a review.
A customer review funnel refers to the process of strategically guiding customers to leave reviews for a product or service. It involves creating a simple process to encourage customers to share their experiences and provide feedback. The customer review funnel typically begins by filtering the customer's intent, then directing them to leave reviews on various platforms, such as on Google Business Profile, Facebook Business Page, or other industry specific platforms, or privately share feedback with the small business to make improvements or correct an issue for the customer.
This process helps small businesses gather valuable customer reviews and testimonials, which can be used to improve their products or services, build trust with potential customers, and enhance their online reputation.
This article is an ever-growing library of customer review funnel instructions, examples, and resources. Make sure to bookmark this page to come back for updates in the future.
Get Google reviews
Google has shared the best practices for getting customer reviews for your Google Business profile.Tips for getting more online reviews
This is a short article from Google on some easy ways to get reviews for your Business Profile on Google.What is a Customer Review Funnel?
A customer review funnel is series of actions that helps guide a customer to leave a review, give a testimonial, or provide feedback based upon their intent and choices.
Customer Review Funnels can be a simple as a single action, such as a direct link to a Google Business Profile review form, or more complex with multiple steps, such as a customer satisfaction survey with a series of questions and choice of actions.
The customer review funnel that is right for your small business can be determined by your goal, which in most cases is getting customer reviews.
Let’s take a look at how to make a customer review funnel for your small business.
How to create a Customer Review Funnel?
Creating a customer review funnel involves laying out a series of steps to guide customers towards leaving reviews for your small business. Here are the steps to help you build a customer review funnel:
Set clear goals
Define the purpose of your review funnel, whether it's to increase visibility, build credibility, or improve customer satisfaction.
Identify where you want reviews
Determine the platforms where you want your customers to leave reviews, such as Google Business, Yelp, Facebook Business, or industry-specific review sites. For B2B customers and clients, you could get more recommendations on your Alignable profile.
Optimize your business profiles
Ensure your business information, including your website, social media profiles, and business profiles for reviews, are up to date and consistent across your small business web presence. Make it easy for customers to find and access your business profile review forms.
Establish a dedicated landing page
Create a landing page where customers can start the process, either on your website or using a customer review funnel tool. From here, your customers can be guided to leave feedback, provide testimonials, or share reviews on your chosen business profiles. Include clear instructions and direct links to review forms.
You now have a customer review funnel in place. Time to take some action and start getting customers through the process of your funnel. Here are your next steps to start generating customer reviews for your small business with your customer review funnel:
Request feedback and reviews
Once the landing page is published, you may begin proactively asking your customers for feedback and reviews. You can do this in many ways, such as sending 'ask for review' emails, posting on social media, using in-store signage, or through interactions with your customer service team members.
Create a landing page for customer reviews with ConvertKit.
Great looking landing pages that are easy to manage and grow your customer reviews.
Follow-up with reminders
Send gentle reminders to customers who haven't left a review yet. Be careful not to be pushy or spammy, but a polite and friendly reminder can help nudge them to share their experience.
Promote positive reviews
Share positive reviews on your website, social media platforms, or in marketing materials to showcase the positive experiences of your customers. This can encourage others to leave reviews as well.
As your small business customer reviews are coming in, you will want to continue to encourage and attract more customer reviews. Here are a few further steps to take to keep your new customers actively leaving feedback for your small business:
Monitor and respond to reviews
Regularly monitor the reviews left on various platforms and promptly respond to all customer positive and negative customer reviews. Show appreciation for positive reviews and address any concerns or issues raised in negative reviews.
Analyze and track results
Use analytics tools or platforms to track the performance of your review funnel. Monitor metrics like the number of reviews generated, average ratings, sentiment analysis, and customer satisfaction levels.
Make improvements as you go
Regularly update and optimize your review funnel based on feedback and results. Experiment with different call-to-action buttons, review request timing, or incentives to find what works best for your small business.
Remember to always respect platforms' terms and policies and avoid any practices that may violate their guidelines. Building a customer review funnel is an ongoing process, requiring consistent effort to maximize the number and quality of reviews for your small business.
Customer Review Funnel Process
Here is a process scenario of how to collect customer reviews and manage your customer review funnel. I have broken it down into 5 simple stages:
Stage 1: Post-Purchase
After the purchase, the customer receives a thank-you email or message, confirming the order details and expressing appreciation for their business. This is the first opportunity to ask for feedback or reviews.
Stage 2: Review Collection
The customer is encouraged to leave a review by sending them a follow-up email asking for feedback. The email can provide links to business profile review forms, a customer satisfaction survey, or ask for a rating on a specific review site.
Stage 3: Review Sharing
If the customer leaves a positive review, they might be offered an incentive or encouraged to share their experience on social media. This helps to amplify positive reviews and increase brand exposure.
Stage 4: Monitoring and Responding
The reviews are monitored regularly on various business profiles (e.g., Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.). Responding to both positive and negative reviews shows that your small business values customer feedback and is committed to providing excellent service.
Stage 5: Customer Engagement
Engaging with customers who leave reviews helps to build relationships and loyalty. Responding to reviews and addressing any issues mentioned demonstrates a proactive approach towards customer satisfaction.
For Customer Review Funnels and Customer Feedback Surveys, I recommend using the simple tools and customer feedback templates at Kit (formerly ConvertKit).
Example Customer Review Funnel Setups
So you understand the process of a customer review funnel, but still need some ideas on how to set up your own? Below, I have prepared a few examples of how a customer review funnel can work for different types of businesses. Keep in mind, not all businesses are the same, so please customize your review funnel to suit your goals.
Example 1: Basic Customer Review Funnel
- All customers are asked to leave a review via email after purchase.
- The email contains a link to the Leave A Review page on your website.
- The Leave A Review page has a thank you message with a request for feedback, and a single button that links to your Google Business profile review link.
Example 2: Restaurant Customer Review Funnel
- All customers receive a text message 5 minutes after their meal has been paid.
- The text message contains a link to the Leave A Review page on your website.
- The Leave A Review page has a thank you message with a request for feedback, and two buttons that link to your Yelp profile review link and your TripAdvisor profile review link.
- Also on the Leave A Review page, is a feedback form for customers to share issues they may have experienced while dining.
Example 3: Retail Shop Customer Review Funnel
- All customers are handed a Share Your Experience card at checkout that has a QR code and .review domain, which links to a customer feedback survey.
- The customer feedback survey starts with a question about the shopping experience, allowing the customer to choose a thumbs up or thumbs down response.
- If the customer chooses thumbs up, the survey's next step asks the customer to leave a review on your Google Business profile review link.
- If the customer chooses thumbs down, the survey's next step asks the customer to explain what occurred during the experience and how the experience can be improved.
Example 4: eCommerce Customer Review Funnel
- One day after an order has been delivered, an email is sent to the customer asking for a review.
- The email contains a link to the product review form, specifically for the product or products in the customer's order.
- After the review has been received, the customer receives a discount code for their next order.
Customer Review Funnel Resources
Create the ultimate customer review funnel using the resources I have prepared in the articles below. There are many examples of emails asking for reviews from your customers, as well as customer review responses. I have also created resources for email newsletter services, such as customer review MailChimp templates, to make automation part of your customer review funnel.
6 Simple Ways You Can Generate Great Customer Reviews
Your small business can generate great customer reviews just by applying these 6 simple concepts within your daily tasks.Emotional Intelligence Advantage: Crafting Review Responses That Wow Customers
Unleash the power of emotional intelligence to transform customer reviews into opportunities for growth, satisfaction, and business success.5 Essential Tips To Attract Customers With Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is one of the best ways to be seen by new customers. Optimize your profile, post relevant content, gain customer reviews, and more.How To Create A Great Customer Satisfaction Survey With 5 Examples
A customer satisfaction survey is a powerful tool to gain feedback and more about your small business products and services.How To Delete Negative Google Reviews And Get Better Ones
Don't stress! Here is how you can delete negative Google reviews and the steps to take to get better customer reviews in the process.ConvertKit - Create A Customer Review Landing Page
If you are looking for a simple way to create and manage a landing page for gathering customer reviews, feedback, testimonials and more, ConvertKit is the perfect tool for the job.About The Author
Chris Risse
Chris is the owner of Mediaryte, a digital commerce company working with local small businesses. He has worked with countless business owners on business mastery, systematizing processes, and quantifying results. Chris also is a competitive fat bike racer and has a fantastic sixth sense for detecting well hidden candy and treats.
Customer Review Resources
We've prepared additional resources to help you maximize your customer reviews.
6 Simple Ways You Can Generate Great Customer Reviews
Emotional Intelligence Advantage: Crafting Review Responses That Wow Customers
5 Essential Tips To Attract Customers With Your Google Business Profile
How To Create A Great Customer Satisfaction Survey With 5 Examples
How To Delete Negative Google Reviews And Get Better Ones
How To Get Customer Testimonials – Guide & Examples
Powerful Tips & Examples For Asking Customers For Reviews
How To Get Customers To Leave A Review
50 Easy Responding To Customer Feedback Examples For You To Use
