Google Reviews
If you haven’t claimed your Google My Business page yet, go and check out my handy guide and get that set up before we go any further.
Once you’ve got your Google My Business page, create a short business name and URL to request reviews from customers. You can then share this link on your social media, add it to your email signature, make sure it is prominently displayed on your website, and even print it on your business cards.
Google Reviews are one of the most trusted sources for consumers and potential clients. 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends, according to Inc., and Google Reviews is often the first place those prospective customers will look.
There’s another added bonus, too: gathering just a few positive Google Reviews positively impacts your SEO, helping you to rank higher in search results. Marketer and author Brodie Tyler reported that a business appearing in the top 3 results for a local search had on average 7.62 reviews.
Just Ask!
This is probably the most under-utilised method of gathering feedback, but it’s so, so useful! Want to know what someone thinks? Just ask them.
When you’ve been working with a client for a while (or a customer has had your product for a while,) reach out to them directly using whatever method you normally use to communicate.
Just say something like this: “I’m seeking some feedback on [my work/the product/our customer experience/delete as appropriate]. I wonder if you had any thoughts you’d be willing to share on anything that is working well and anything I could improve?”
If you have this conversation verbally rather than in writing, make notes so you remember what they said.
Social Media
Social media is a goldmine of potential candid customer feedback, and there are a number of ways to use it.
The easiest way is just to put up a post asking for customer feedback. You could link to your testimonials form or Google Reviews page, or ask people to drop their feedback directly into the comments. Another option is to use polls. For example, on Twitter you can run a poll with up to 4 multiple-choice options. Here’s how tech giant IBM used a Twitter poll to ascertain what type of content their audience values: