When it comes to leaving reviews, “it’s not me; it’s you” is only half true. In their own ways, both parties are at fault when it comes to the downfall of the feedback loop. Reviews are important to the customer so they can express themselves and to the business so they can improve themselves. So why aren’t reviews provided more often? What causes these invisible barriers? 

1. The stigma behind honesty

Some people are averse to openly responding negatively to things; they view it as rude, abrasive, or unnecessary. This is something we have learned through our social norms; however, we also know the importance of constructive criticism! We can’t get better if we don’t know what we’ve done wrong, right?

The fix: Encouraging honest reviews, both good and bad, empowers your customers to feel comfortable enough to share their thoughts with you so you can improve your practices. 

2. It’s too much work

This should never be the issue. Rewiring the brain to learn it’s okay to provide feedback even if it’s negative is one thing, but a customer not leaving a review because it’s not clear where they should go to do so is not okay. 

The fix:  Make it clear on your business cards, on signs in your office, on printed receipts, and on social media accounts where you’d like people to leave feedback about their experiences. Better yet, get a review management software like ReviewMaxer to request reviews from customers and direct them to where you want them to leave a review.

3. Customers aren’t asked

According to BrightLocal, 67% of customers are being asked for reviews, yet research shows that 76% of customers would leave a review when asked. Taking the leap and asking your customer to leave a review bridges the gap between your customers potentially wanting to communicate and actually doing it. 

The fix: Reach out through subscriptions, emails, receipts, texts, or social media messages to prompt your customer to consider leaving a review based on their recent experience. 

4. It isn’t worth it to them

Let’s face it, customers are taking time out of their days to drop a few lines about their experiences. Unless they are getting relief from a bad experience with venting or embracing altruism from the shared joy of a good experience, they aren’t getting anything out of helping you. This doesn’t leave many initiatives for the average joe to want to help. 

The fix: Consider including a coupon for a completed survey or something of the like. Be completely transparent about how much leaving a review means to you and your business.

5. They forget what happened

Our brains can be hyper aware of experiences that break our routine. Bad experiences are more likely to stick than typical good ones. This was designed to protect us from hurting ourselves in the future by repeating past mistakes. It has carried on to modern-day shopping experiences, rendering the customer’s memory only as good as the bad taste left in the mouths from a particularly poor experience.

The fix: Reach out to the customers fairly quickly after their visits and/or purchases. This is easily managed by programs like ReviewMaxer and leaves customers the option to leave a review/rating.  

The delicate dance between wanting reviews and actually getting them is a tedious one, and the payoff is worth it. Encouraging reviews, both good and bad, shows credibility and lets future customers know what they’re in for. If you’re responsive to the reviews, offer solutions to bad experiences, and thank customers for sharing their good experiences, you’re one step closer to building a relationship rather than simply facilitating a transaction.

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