Get Feedback & Reviews From Your Business Customers

Generally, feedback refers to customer comments that are provided privately within a business. It is ideal for product development and making operational or other (remedial) changes. Conversely, reviews refer to more public feedback. The latter is ideal for building social proof. However, since reviews can be either good or bad and can tarnish your business' reputation regardless of the improvements you make, use these subtly different forms of customer communication at the most strategic time for maximum effect.

Getting useful feedback and good reviews from business customers requires timing as follows. Furthermore, respond to negative public reviews in ways that avert potential problems.

• Strike while the iron is hot! Include the task of getting reviews from your business customers in a CRM process. In some cases, this may even involve using tentpoling.
• Ask when your customer is happiest. If possible, interact with your customers in a way that allows you to gauge the perceived quality of the customer experience (CX). Satisfied and especially delighted customers are most likely to give the most positive reviews.
• Ask immediately after the customer has enjoyed the benefits and business' unique value proposition from using your products or services.
• Help customers to contribute well to your brand story by providing questions, examples and or guidelines.
• Strike while the iron is cold! When your customers are angry, invite them to vent as quickly as possible and before they can tell the world over the internet. Whether you use a contact form or, preferably a phone call or physical meeting, feedback is a golden opportunity to understand and resolve operational loopholes. Either way, ensure to log the feedback in your CRM and, whenever possible, have a predetermined process for resolving different types of angry complaints.
• See how you to handle negative public reviews. Notice that, in both cases, although the seller personalizes responses to negative public reviews, (s)he follows the same formula in both responses: 
1. the seller thanks the customer for making the review; 
2. Empathize and or state concern over the product's inability to satisfy the particular customer need; 
3. Encourage the customer to continue the discussion offline by 
• a) saying that the seller has already sent a private email with a resolution and 
• b) inviting the customer to email a publicly stated address for future concerns. 

Here are sample email requests for feedback (for internal use) or reviews (for public display) from business customers.

Review

Dear [CUSTOMER'S NAME],

Thank you for having chosen to use our [DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES] services. Our goal is to find ways to raise and maintain the quality we provide by listening to the comments and concerns of clients.

Please share your opinion.

Thanks,

Feedback

Hi [FIRST NAME],

Thank you for [DESCRIBE THE CLIENT'S RELATIONSHIP]. It has been my pleasure helping [SERVICE YOU PROVIDE].

Reviews help others to learn about our brand and build an online presence. We value your opinion and would be grateful if you could please write a review.

Thank you in advance for your comments.

Regards,

[YOUR NAME]

Feedback (requested within product packaging)

Dear valued customer,

Thank you for choosing [BRAND NAME]. Please use the link below for full product details, to share your comments & suggestions or to contact us otherwise.

Thanks

[BRAND NAME] team

 

[QR CODE]

CONTENT RELATED TO HOW TO ASK FOR REVIEWS FROM BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

• Your customers' feedback and reviews can become valuable elements of your brand story.
• Using suggestions from feedback (to resolve complaints) and reviews (to know what you are doing correctly) can be used for enhancing customer experience (CX). 
• You can convert customer complaints into golden opportunities for your business' competitive advantage. 
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Reviews are a form of referral marketing. See how to create a full referral program to increase customer acquisition.