Generating online reviews can be hard, but with each passing day more and more people are making buying decisions based on the popularity of a restaurant, product, or business based on their online reviews. Numerous studies have been done to see what type of impact positive and negative reviews have online, but here are the quick facts.

• Consumers are likely to spend 31% more on products or services from businesses that have excellent reviews
• 84% of customers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation
• A negative review can drive away approximately 22% of customers

So as you can see reviews play an important role on the impact of your business, and if you gain the attention of someone online. So what are the best ways to generate online reviews?

1. E-mail Marketing

E-mail marketing enables you to automate your online reviews. By using programs such as Constant Contact or MailChimp, anytime someone uses your products or services you can send them a review via email. This way you can be sure that you actively have a campaign that will generate online reviews.

2. Text Messages

SMS Text Messaging has become more popular thanks to smartphones like the iPhone and Google Pixel. While the open rate on an e-mail marketing campaign hovers around 22%, text messages are opened 83% of the time within the first 2 minutes of them being sent! So if you are looking to generate online reviews quickly, programs such as review trigger or getfivestars.com might be the program for you!

3. Asking them in person

Remember you can connect with your customers in person too! Simply asking them in person to leave a review for your business online, can go a long way in helping to grow your business. After you have provided a customer with a great experience, you can ask them “Hey can you write a Review Online for Us?” You may be surprised to see how quickly they will do so!

Best Websites to Generate Online Reviews

1. Google My Business – Available to any sort of business Google My Business is the premier destination in order to generate online reviews. This is because the average monthly traffic hovers around 159 million people totaling 34.30%byf the U.S. Traffic online!

2. Facebook – Again available for any sort of business, Facebook Reviews can be seen by up to 85.57 million people online! This is the second largest platform online, so making sure to be reviewed by both Google and Facebook is important.

3. Amazon – If you have an e-commerce section on your website it is important to have reviews on Amazon.com. As the leader in online shopping, this will help solidify your online store and build trust 5-star customers online.

4. Yelp – If you are a restaurant owner making sure to have positive reviews on Yelp.com is important. Many people looking to eat out will see a restaurant that has 3 stars and pass on it because in the same area is a 5 star restaurant with one review.