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How to get a QR code for a Google review – easy step by step instructions

Introduction

You’re here because you know exactly what you want – an easy way to get a QR code for your Google reviews. You want customers to point their phone and instantly land on your Google review listing so that they can give you that 5-Star review you deserve. This article covers more than this; click the links below to jump to the part you need

Benefits of Google Review QR Codes

The fastest way to get a Google Review QR Code

Recommended: The smart way to get a smart review QR code

Do your customers need to install an App on your phone to read QR codes?

How do QR codes actually work?

How do I get my Google review link?

Benefits of Google Review QR Codes

  1. Ease of use: QR codes eliminate customers needing to search for your business online or navigate multiple pages to find the review section. With a simple scan, they can quickly access the review page.
  2. Convenience: By providing a QR code, you offer customers a hassle-free way to leave a review without requiring them to remember your business name or go through multiple steps to find your listing.
  3. Increased reviews: The convenience of scanning a QR code significantly increases the likelihood of customers leaving reviews. This can lead to a higher volume of reviews, enhancing your business’s online reputation.

The fastest way to get a Google Review QR Code

  1. Access your Google My Business account: Ensure that you have claimed and verified your business listing on Google My Business. If you haven’t done so, visit https://www.google.com/business/ and follow the steps to claim and verify your listing.
  2. Go to the “Reviews” section: Once logged into your Google My Business account, navigate to the “Reviews” section on the left-hand side menu.
  3. Locate the “Get more reviews” button: Within the “Reviews” section, look for the “Get more reviews” button. Clicking on this button will open a new window.
  4. Copy the URL or generate a short link: In the new window, you will find a URL or a “Copy short URL” button. Clicking on either option will create a link to your review page.
  5. Generate the QR code: Use a QR code generator tool (there are many available online) and paste the copied URL or short link into the designated field. The tool will automatically generate a scannable QR code for your Google review page.

https://www.qr-code-generator.com – this is a great QR generator, powered by Bit.ly

https://www.qrcode-monkey.com – this system also includes stats on how often the code is used

https://express.adobe.com/tools/qr-code-generator – Adobe have provided a nice simple QR Code generator that can easily cover your needs

The smart way to get a review QR code

Yes – sure you can get a QR code for your Google Review page following the steps, but what if you would like to get reviews on more than website? What if you want reviews on Trip Advisor AND Google? Create 2 QR codes? Nope – there is a smarter way. Introducing Leave.Review – The easier way to have 1 QR code for All of the review sites that work for your business. Watch the video below to see how the one link gives your customers a way to automatically distribute reviews across all of your essential review sites. This link can easily be turned in to a QR code using one of the QR Generators above (or get a QR automatically from the leave.review software)

Smart review QR Code

Do you need to install an App on your phone to read QR codes?

One of the positive things to come out of the COVID 19 pandemic is the education and uptake of QR codes (Quick Response Codes).

Before COVID 19, QR codes were the tools of the nerds (like me, and even I rarely used them). Sure you’d find them on the back of some advertising packages, but most people had no idea what they are. The thought of pointing your camera at the code was as alien as…… well an Alien.

During COVID, they became ubiquitous and sometimes an essential passport to access the normality that was taken away from us all.

Most phones have inbuilt QR readers. Apple released the feature for iPhones to read QR Codes as early as 2017, and Google android introduced in 2018 – before that, people had to download an app to read QR codes

How do QR codes actually work?

You know barcodes right? You know how they work right?

Nope – ok, well each line reflects an amount of light. Depending upon the amount of light it reflects its tells the computer what number it is. You’ve been in a store before when the code doesn’t scan, so the cashier grumpily types in the number manually while squinting at the tiny digits.

So what is the difference between QR codes to barcodes? Well first of all a barcode is read horizontally, whereas a QR code is read vertically and horizontally. Due to this structural difference, it can hold a hundred times more information. kaboom!

The 3 black squares are position markers – these allow the scanners to know where the data modules are. The different-sized blocks are in rows and columns, and each block represents different pieces of information. Some cool things about QR codes are that they can have your logo/picture in the centre and they have built-in error correction (something called the Reed-Solomon Code), which adds backup data to the QR code mathematically. This means if part of the QR code is obscured, it will still work (up to a point)

Check the QR code on the right; we have the Leave.Review logo and our main character image embedded onto the QR code. I created this quickly by pasting on the graphics and testing, but you can get really creative with your branding and your QR code.

We have a blog post on how to create your Google review link – but the concept of creating a QR code can be used for any review site, eg Trip Advisor, Facebook, etc

In short though, you head over to your Google Business listing and

Good review examples

Shoppers value customer reviews.  A whopping 86% of people surveyed said that they read reviews for local business.

When it comes to online reviews, a high star rating isn’t enough to differentiate your company from the competition. A star rating (no matter how high) falls flat in the absence of written reviews.

Before making a decision, the average consumer spends 13 minutes and 45 seconds reading through reviews and review responses. The right review response from your company can boost the impact of a 5-star review while mitigating the impact of a negative one. Let’s take a look at some positive review examples and discuss how your company can leave winning responses.

What is a positive online review?

The answer to this question may appear self-evident… A “good review” is when a customer gives your company 5 stars! In reality, what we need is an excellent review – This entails much more than a star rating. Here are three specific elements to look for in a customer review that make it particularly valuable.

Detail in your online review

What, a 5-star rating isn’t enough to impress new customers? You want your positive reviews to be as detailed as possible. Although high star ratings are always appreciated, a detailed review explains why the customer enjoyed your company. This helps prospects understand what distinguishes your company from the competition.

Take a look at how this review of an Asian Restaurant goes above and beyond the star rating.

The review describes how the review felt when entering the restaurant. It described the atmosphere, highlighted a benefit for families, and finally included photos of a couple of the dishes.

This review ticks a lot of boxes for Google My Business. So despite it being older than many of the other reviews of the restaurant, it appears at the top of the search results. You can read more about how Google decides which reviews are most relevant to customers here.

Provides a description of the customer experience

A good review should cover a wide range of aspects of the customer experience. Did the customer receive excellent service? Was a particular employee especially helpful, and did the customer mention the employee’s name in the review? Did the customer mention other aspects of the customer experience, such as a fantastic website that was simple to use? These details will not only be appealing to potential new customers, but they will also help you understand what your company is doing well.

positive feedback from customers

  1. Detailed feedback
    Did you receive a high star rating in a review but mention some negative experiences in the review response? This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how your company responds to feedback. Thank the customer for their response and explain how you plan to improve. This will likely make the customer even happier, and show prospects that you are always working to improve your business.

Why should I react to positive feedback?
Responding to positive reviews boosts their worth. When you respond to a positive review, the customer who left the review feels appreciated, which increases the chance for repeat business. Review responses also show that you value customer feedback and care to improve your customer experience. This will attract new customers and set you apart from your competitors.

Watch Now
How to respond to positive reviews: 5 examples
Now that you know what to look for in a good review, it’s time to learn how to respond to them from these positive review response examples.

Example 1: Be creative and personal.
Chef John Howie uses YouTube to respond to Yelp reviews of his restaurant, Seastar Seafood Restaurant and Raw Bar, in a creative and personable way. This type of review response is advantageous for a few reasons. First, by posting these videos, Chef Howie reaches a broader audience than just Yelp users. Videos are also shared more often than other forms of media, so this can help increase visibility for the restaurant.

Second, a response like this establishes the restaurant’s credibility — the chef is proving that he actually reads his reviews and values customer feedback because viewers can watch it happening for themselves. Finally, by responding to his reviews on video, Chef Howie is giving a face to his business. When customers and prospects feel like they know the chef, they are more inclined to return to Seastar Seafood Restaurant and Raw Bar time and time again.

Example 2: Respond quickly.
There are few businesses who are better than JetBlue when it comes to responding to customer feedback. JetBlue proves that your business’s response doesn’t need to be long-winded. Even a quick thanks goes a long way.

quick response
JetBlue is also great at responding to negative feedback. When a passenger complained about their broken television screen on Twitter, JetBlue responded instantly. This opened up a personalized conversation, and both parties could come to a solution.

Example 3: Use humor.
How can you turn a negative review into a positive one? Use humor in your response! Instead of this sandwich shop getting discouraged by negative Yelp reviews, it actually used them for marketing content.

Putting a lighthearted spin on one customer’s rant got them a lot of attention. This chalkboard not only shows passersby that the business has a fun vibe, it also proves that the owners actually read their customers’ feedback. Using humor when responding to both positive and negative reviews is a great way to show your business’s personality and grab customers’ attention.

Example 4: Recognize the staff.
Positive reviews are a great way to boost employee morale and keep your team motivated to deliver awesome experiences every day. In this review of Hard Rock Cafe, the customer mentioned the fantastic waitress they had by name. Take a look at how Hard Rock Cafe responded to that positive review:

Example 5: Don’t shy away from personality
When you respond to reviews, don’t be afraid to show your company’s brand! This will make customers more excited to engage with your business. The hair dye company oVertone does a great job at using their brand personality in every response. Every employee is free to use emojis and includes their favorite shade of hair dye as a sign-off signature.

personalized positive review
Review response templates
Need help getting started with your review responses? Look no further. Here are some templates showing how you can respond to positive reviews, negative reviews, and everything in between.

Type 1: The customer is happy and they have no complaints.
This is the easiest kind of review to respond to. A simple thank you should do the trick.

Thank you for your review. We’re glad you had a good experience, and hope to see you again soon!
Type 2: The customer is happy, but there is room for improvement.
Start by thanking the customer for their feedback, then move on to an apology and what you are going to do to make the experience better for next time.

Thank you for your feedback! We are happy that you had a good experience overall, but we are sorry to see that you are upset about [the complaint the customer has made]. We are addressing your concerns by [your plans to fix the problem]. We hope that you come back to see how we’ve implemented your feedback. Thank you again for your review, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Type 3: The customer is upset, but they provide no details.
Responding to this type of review can be tough. Without details to go off of, it can be difficult to know how to respond. Start by asking if the reviewer could give more details about their experience, then switch to email or direct messaging to finish solving the issue.

We are so sorry that you had a negative experience with us. Can you please provide more details about what went wrong? We will do what we can to make it right. Thank you!
Type 4: The customer is upset, and they provided details as to why.
While this can be upsetting to read, this type of negative feedback can be very helpful to your business in the long run. Negative reviews that offer specific reasons can show you exactly where your business is missing the mark. When responding to this review, address each concern the customer has. Take ownership for where you went wrong, and explain how you are planning to improve.

We are so sorry to hear about your negative experience. Please know that we strive for all of our customers to have a great time when visiting [name of your business]. I see that your main concerns are [list the specific complaints the customer has]. Here is how we are planning on correcting these issues: [list how you plan to improve]. Again, my deepest apologies for your negative experience. We hope that you come back to see how we are improving. Thank you for your feedback! We will use it to grow our business and correct our mistakes. All the best.
The image below is a great example of how a business can respond to negative feedback.

respond to negative feedback
These positive review response examples and templates should give you everything you need to identify and respond to good reviews. Learn from these positive review examples and start engaging with your customers today.

how to leave a review on amazon – movie

In this video we detail the exact steps that you need to take to create a review for your latest movie rental on Amazon. In short, it’s really easy and takes seconds. Get your pop corn out, an oversized drink (that’ll make you pee half way through the movie) and relax. It’s show time BABY!

Step by Step instructions to leave a review on Amazon for a film

  1. 1. Login to your Amazon account, click on Account & Lists

2. On the drop down menu, click on Your Orders. A page will appear showing all of your orders. Find the movie that you would like to review:

3. Let’s write the review – click on “Write a product review” – the review page will open

4. Choose how many stars you would like to assign to the movie

5. Then enter a review “Headline”

6. Now we put sugar on the pop corn and harness those writing skills. You’re writing this review to give the prospective viewers an insight in to the film WITHOUT GIVING AWAY SPOILERS. If you must give away a key plot theme – then prefix the whole review with this: “*** CONTAINS SPOILER ALERTS ****”. This saves ruining someones experience of the film

7. Click submit and you’re done! Amazon reviews every review (either via a fancy computer or by a human, so it’ll take a couple of days before it appears)

It’s possible to easily update your review during the processing period.

How to create a review for amazon movie rental video

how to leave a review on etsy

Jump to video

Step by Step instructions to leave a review on etsy

  1. To access your Etsy account, log in to your account, and then click the Your Account link that appears along the top of every Etsy page.
Etsy - Your Account Menu drop down for writing reviews
  1. On the drop down menu, click on Purchases and Reviews
  2. The Items Awaiting Feedback appears when the Feedback page loads.
  3. Under the product you want to review, click the click on the Review button
  4. Choose how many stars you wish to award the product
Etsy - Rate a product with stars on the write a review page on Etsy
  1. Write your review – more details on what to write can be found at the bottom of this post
Etsy - Write a review of your Etsy product
  1. If you wearing the item you purchased, a picture of the item in its new home, or just something ridiculous to make your seller laugh. On Etsy, appreciation images are a terrific way to show some love! Simply click the Browse option, then locate and select the appropriate appreciation photo from your PC / Mac
Etsy - Upload an image of your product when writing a review
  1. Click “Post your review”
Etsy post your review button

How to write a review on Etsy Video Instructions

The official instructions for leaving a review on Etsy

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115013197687-How-to-Leave-a-Review-on-Etsy?segment=shopping

What to write in an Etsy review?

Your review should be helpful to both the shop owner and future buyers. So write with them in mind. 

So here are a few tips for writing a review that will help others:

1. Don’t be afraid to give bad news! If the seller was late with your order and didn’t inform you, don’t hold back & say so in your review. Or if there was damage on arrival or the item wasn’t as described tell them. The only thing worse than finding out after purchase is never knowing until it’s too late! Please note that it’s really important to contact the seller before writing a review if you have a problem. If you do not give them the chance to make amends then you will not accurately be portraying their customer’s service.

2) Give plenty of detail about what you liked/disliked about their products. People are more likely to buy a product that has been well-reviewed especially if they have similar needs to the one that inspired you to purchase the product.

3) If the product arrived damaged or defective in some way, be sure to make mention of it & give a detailed account. This will help not only future customers who are looking for reviews about the seller’s products but also other sellers so they can see what might have caused the defect and work to improve their own quality control.

4) Be honest! People buying from Etsy want to know the true story behind each item especially if they’re spending good money on it.

5), Lastly be polite & patient with your words! You may have experienced problems with an order but that doesn’t mean you need to come across as hateful or uncaring with your review- keep your cool.

When you can not review a product

Did you know that sometimes you can not leave a review on Etsy? If you follow the instructions above, but still do not find the product there are a number of reasons why. Let’s explore them:

  • You bought the item as a guest – You can still write a review, but before you do that you need to claim the review to YOUR etsy account. Follow these official instructions to claim your product oder
  • You only have 100 days from the expected delivery date. So if you bought a product and a year later it broken in to pieces, I’m afraid you can not leave a review for it. This is unlike how Amazon review work
  • There can not be an open case on the order. Ie if you’re settling a dispute, then while that dispute is open you can not leave a review. Once the case is closed it’s review writing time!
  • Have you cancelled or voided your transaction? If so during the cancellation processing time you can write a review. Once the cancellation is complete the review window has closed!

Do I have to leave an Etsy review?

No review is required – you can leave a review if you’d like. If you’re unhappy with an item you bought, you should first contact the store and ask them to respond. Store owners are interested in your thoughts, and it benefits their business to know what works, and what doesn’t.

What if I’m asked to change the star review rating on Etsy?

When it comes to negative reviews in their store, shop owners are understandably concerned; after all, they reflect negatively on them as business owners and shop keepers.
If you have left a negative review and the shop owner has resolved the situation to your satisfaction, the shop owner would greatly appreciate it if you could change your review to reflect the favorable resolution. Some store owners may approach you and ask you to change your review, but you are under no obligation to do so.

Can the Etsy seller have my review removed?

If the shop owner believes that the complaint is out of their control, they have the right to have your review removed. For example, if the item was lost in the mail, if the item was left in the wrong location, or if the item was damaged in the mail, the seller is not liable under these circumstances. i.e., it was devoured by the dog 

But, I would still recommend giving an honest review. If the item is late in shipping (for whatever reason), be sure to mention this. It’s very important for buyers and sellers alike to know that they can rely on each other. Also, even if you don’t like the transaction or service, if it’s not a bad experience, try your best not to include any negativity. For example: “The seller was great until they shipped a package with missing parts without letting me know beforehand.” You get the drift- we all make mistakes sometimes – let’s keep it positive 🙂

All review sites have guidelines where a review will be removed if the rules are violated. Etsy’s rules are here:

They list the following as the type of scenarios where a review will be removed:

  1. Contain private information
  2. Contain obscene, racist, or harassing language or imagery
  3. Violate our Anti-Discrimination Policy
  4. Contain prohibited medical drug claims
  5. Contain advertising or spam
  6. Are only about things outside the seller’s control, such as a delivery carrier (mentioned by name), Etsy, or a third party
  7. Contain threats or extortion
  8. Include shilling or otherwise falsely inflate a shop’s review score. I have no idea what ‘shilling’ is – it sounds like a word from the 17th century.

Can I edit my Etsy Review?

There is a 100 day review period that you have to edit your review, after that date that your order was expected to arrive. If you have a support case open, then while the case is open you can not alter the review.

How to leave an anonymous business review in Google

If you have a great online review for a business, but don’t want to give your name or email, then this article is for you. There are many reasons why people might not want their online reviews tied to them; maybe they’re in the military and need to keep their location private, or they’ve had online harassment problems that stem from reviews posted on Google Maps. Whatever the reason, we’ll cover how it’s possible to leave anonymous online reviews using Google!

Google used to allow consumers to leave reviews anonymously, this is until 28th may 2018. They also went as far as deleting ALL previously entered anonymous reviews. So it’s very clear that they do NOT want you to leave a review anonymously.

This is a big change to Google and the online consumer world.

Fortunately, it’s still possible to leave reviews anonymously on google- but you can only do this if you have a ‘Google account’. A Google Account is required for many of their online services so in short; they want your personal info !!!

So basically, we’re back at square one with leaving anonymous online reviews using google- except now we need our own personal information. To summarize: You cannot create an anonymous review without creating a Google account or logging into another existing Google account that has already created a profile !!!!!!

Here are the steps for creating a “review account” with Google

  1. If you have a Google account already, sign out
  2. Open your browser in incognito mode or private browsing mode (this doesn’t hide everything)
  3. Search for the business that you would like to review, hit the review button
  4. Google will ask you to sign in. Create a google account using another email address (or create a temp one using https://temp-mail.org/en/)
  5. Fill in your name or any alias you wish to use
  6. Add a password and confirm
  7. Click next and verify the email with the sent code
  8. Click verify and then write your review

Tips for being anonymous

When creating reviews online always consider how much information about yourself you are giving away with every single word typed on keyboard

It’s important for any online writer to protect his or her own privacy when making content publicly available online. Remember that anything you do online can have consequences in real life. It’s best if people don’t know who they’re talking too! If someone wants to identify themselves without revealing their name, please include some contact information at the bottom of your article so readers can reach out via email or social media

Can a Google Review Be Traced?

No, Google does not have a way to trace online reviews

Many guests are curious about how they can leave online reviews without revealing their name. This is something that many people would like to know and it’s an important question for business owners too

As the owner of a small restaurant in our area I am often asked by my customers if we offer this type of service or what advice I might give them on how to do so online anonymously. For starters, there isn’t anyway for Google Reviews from being traced back to your IP address or account information because all reviewers use pseudonyms when leaving comments

There may be other ways for businesses online reputation management consultants who specialize in handling these types of requests but generally speaking, you should expect that

Can You Block Someone from Leaving a Google Review?

There are internet trolls online looking to hurt companies online. They leave reviews that are either outright lies or they purposely say something bad about your company just so the review will show up on the first page of Google when people search for it!

– It is hard enough running a business these days, and then you have someone showing up online trying to sabotage what you’re doing.

– Some businesses struggle with finding out who left a negative online review while others know exactly who wrote them because the reviewer left their name in the comments box at checkout time!

So how can these nasty reviewers be blocked? Unfortunately you can not block a visitor from leaving a bad review (they may also leave one anonymously). Your only option is to report them for violating Googles guidelines: https://support.google.com/business/thread/14337674/can-i-block-some-one-from-my-business-listing?hl=en

The steps to flag a review as inappropriate are:

  1. On your computer, go to Google.
  2. Find your Business Profile.
  3. Click on Reviews.
  4. Find the review that you’d like to flag.
  5. Point to the star rating.
  6. Click Flag as inappropriate. . Select the type of violation that you want to report.

Guidelines

  • Only flag reviews that violate Google policies.
  • Don’t flag a review just because you disagree with it or don’t like it.
  • Business owners have the opportunity to respond directly to reviews, which means they might be able to answer your concerns quickly on the post itself.
  • Be patient. It can take several days for a review at Google maps to be assessed.

Tip: You can’t flag reviews made by third-parties. To flag an inappropriate review, contact the third-party provider directly. You can click on the reviewer’s name to be redirected to the third-party website. After a review is removed or altered at the third-party site, changes will be reflected on your Google Maps profile

One issue arising from a one-star review with no comment is that it can still be published on Google My Business. As long as the opinion does not violate any policy, you may find yourself in the situation where a business’s Google page displays reviews without commentary. One tactic to use when faced with such an instance is to respond.

We have an article on how to respond to negative reviews which is great follow up reading

Can a Google Review Be Traced?

No, it’s not very likely, and doing so requires a lot of time, effort and resources.

Getting the IP address is relatively easy. This will appear in the Google log files on their services. All websites have a log file of who visited their site, which pages they accessed, etc.

Having an IP address though is pretty useless. It’s anonymous.

We know from the news that it is possible to trace an IP address to a visitor. This is achieved through law enforcement agencies contacting the Internet Service Provider and requesting access to THEIR database, to reveal who had the IP address at the specific time.

The investigation may be further complicated if the person was logged on to a public internet service, for example the local library. The library is unlikely to have details of who logged in to their network at the time that the Google was written.

In short, your google review is unlikely to be traced back to you unless you’ve seriously broken some law that merits the time and effort of government agencies to track you down!

How to Write a Google Review Without a Gmail Account

Do I need a gmail account to leave a google review?

Are you old school with a Yahoo, Hotmail or Live.com? Perhaps you have a company account or an account with your internet provider. You want to leave a google business review, but are worried about not having a google account? Well fear not.

As you may know the benefits of local reviews especially google reviews is especially important for small businesses. Personally, I prefer to use google reviews as a way of ascertaining the quality of a business before visiting it and provide feedback after my visit. 

If you’re interested in knowing how your own review without a gmail account can help your local business on Google Maps please read on:

Search for the business, company or website you want to review on Google Maps

Click on the reviews section – (where the star ratings are shown):

Find google local business

-Scroll down and click “Write a Review”

google local business write a review

Google may present you with this screen. Just click Sign in – we will cover the fact you don’t have a google account or gmail email address further down

There is a chance that if you Google recognises other google accounts that you’ll presented with this screen – in which case click on “Use another account”

On the Google account page sign in, click on Create and Account:

Then select “For myself”

On the account creation page, here you will create your Google Account. Now this is not a gmail account. This is a Google account. You will be able to use your own non-gmail email address for your google account.

The reason Google does this is that is does not allow anonymous reviews to be left. Therefore you need to verify your email address with Google to prove that you own it.

On the next screen click on the link that says: “Use my current email address instead”

use a non gmail email to create a google account option

The Gmail field will magically change to an email address field:

use a non gmail email to create a google account

Once you have added all your details, you will need to verify your email address by typing in the code that is emailed to you.

Head over to your email inbox and open the email from Google

Verify this email is yours google account

and then paste the number in to the google account creation page

Next you’ll have to add a few more personal details such as your date of birth and recovery account details.

You will use your normal email address address for all things google from now on. So next time you need to write a review, just log in to your Google account with your own email address!

2021 customer review survey

Getting a 5 star review is your obvious target when requesting reviews – but what is the minimum number of stars required to gain trust from prospective customers?

We asked over 1,000 people their opinion about reviews. We then broke down the information by age and gender and crunched the numbers. The Leave.Review 2021 review survey will help your understanding of what builds customer trust, how reviews impact your online reputation and also gives you faith that online reviews will work for your business.

We asked the following questions:

Let’s get started with question 1

When reading online reviews, what’s the minimum number of stars a business must have for you to be interested in using them?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

OK, so that’s interesting – so it looks like 4 stars is the sweet spot, with fewer consumers demanding 5 star reviews. In other words, 56% of new customers expect to see a minimum of 4 stars before they’d consider using a business

This means when receiving a 4 star review, you should celebrate as you’re in the “hot-zone” of customer reviews.

Diving down in to the detail a bit more, we learn that there is very little difference in the response to this question by gender:

When reading online reviews, what’s the minimum number of stars a business must have for you to be interested in using them (by gender)?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

So, gender does not have a big impact on review choices for minimum star, rating. How about age groups?

When reading online reviews, what’s the minimum number of stars a business must have for you to be interested in using them (by age)?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

Breaking down the data of minimum stars required to use a business illustrates that there is an increase in demand for the 35-44 age group for 5 stars. This group accounts for 22.73% of the 6 age bands. The smallest volume was 5.68% for the 18-24 year olds demanding 5 star reviews.

Key statistics – Minimum review count

  • 56% of new customers expect to see a minimum of 4 stars before they’d consider using a business Tweet this
  • Only 9% of consumers require a business to have 5 stars before they will consider using them. Tweet this
  • Just 6.76% of consumers would consider using a business with a 1 star, and only 7.85% would customer using a business with 2 stars Tweet this

Do people read online reviews?

Ok – it’s great to know that the specific star rating is important for people reading reviews, but how many people actually read reviews?

How frequently did you use the internet to find a local business in the 12 months?​

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

What’s reassuring about this is that it’s clear that a lot of people are using online reviews before choosing a business. Over half (53.98%) of those surveyed use online reviews at least once a week. Only 9.64% have not used online reviews in the last 12 months.

The shockers? 18.09% only use the internet once a monthly basis to read reviews. My assumption before analysing the data would be that people are as dedicated to reviews as I am. I was expecting the “Few times per week” statistics to be a the leader with a much bigger lead.

Let’s see how these stats look when split down by gender:

How frequently did you use the internet to find a local business in the 12 months?​ (by gender)?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

Ok – where’s the notable stats? The graph shows us that men are 30% more likely to read reviews a few times a week compare to females. They’re also 38% more likely to read reviews daily compared to females.

All other gender comparisons have too little in difference to be remarked upon.

Let’s break down the data by age group to see if that creates an interesting angle.

How frequently did you use the internet to find a local business in the 12 months?​ (by age)?

Leave.Review 2021 Customer Survey

It didn’t! – You can see that the age groups are divided relatively equal for all categories. That’s 10 seconds of your life you’re not getting back 🙂

Key statistics – Minimum review count

  • 53.98% of consumers use online reviews at least once a week Tweet this
  • Men are 38% more likely to read reviews daily compared to females Tweet this

Do you read online reviews for local businesses?

OK, time to bring out the big stats. A whopping 86% of people surveyed said that they read reviews for local business, with only 13.6% who say that never read them.

In more detail this is 12.2% always read reviews, 50.8% occasionally and 23.4% regularly.

The clear message is that if you want a customer for your local business then there is an 86% chance that a prospective customer will read a review before making a buying decision

How likely are people to write a review (in the last 12 months)?

It is quite interesting to know how many of those surveyed have actually left a review in the last 12 months.

This gives us an idea of the size of the review writing market out there – which may have an influence on your review outreach strategy.

Have you written an online review for a business in the last 12 months?

That’s another interesting statistic. My assumption would be that most people would have written at least 1 review, but it appears that just 34.19% of those surveyed had left a review in the past 12 months.

This may mean that those who write reviews, write many and that there are a large segment of consumers who are more “readers” than “writers”.

Have you written an online review for a business in the last 12 months (by gender)?

The gender breakdown is evenly split, illustrating that there is no bias in leaving a review

About this Survey

  • The survey was conducted over 3 days between 10th Jan 2021 and 12th Jan 2021
  • A total of 1007 consumers provided complete responses
  • Responses were taken from consumers in the USA
  • Hover over the segments in the charts below to reveal the actual count of gender and age categories.

 

How to get more reviews

The internet has created a superpower called reviews. Reviews can be a force of good and evil for consumers and businesses alike. They’re the perfect double-edged sword.

This article gives you the tools to defuse review grenades and maybe converting shrapnel into medals of achievement for your company service.

Back in the olden days (pre-internet), the only way consumers had to determine if a business is a right fit was to read publications or by asking a friend. Today you can read a review of most products or services within seconds, filter by the number of stars, sort by recency and get immersed in tales of misfortune, joy and the occasional rant.

What’s interesting is how the business owners respond to a negative review. I’m quick to read how the owner addresses a public complaint. Their response can be one of the most telling signs of their approach to customer service.

Negative Publicity

If you take reputational management seriously, you’re actively encouraging your customers to leave reviews on sites such as Google, Tripadvisor, etc. 

I don’t know about you, but when I’m choosing between 2 places to eat, if they both have 5-star reviews, I’m likely to select the one with the most reviews. 

Reviews are an excellent opportunity to confirm what works (or doesn’t work) in your business. When I receive a 5-star review – where the customer is waxing lyrically about how absolutely awesome we are, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my ego gets a power-up.

On the flip side, your customers have a free reign on the internet. At any day and any time they can open their phone and vent their fury. For business owners, their terrible experience can trigger a reputational crisis for you. 

Negative feedback can come in from a complaint, personal attacks and even exposure to a particular product’s dangers. If you represent a larger organization, then there is a risk of a mob mentality – a viral effect causing others to ride the wave of momentum by piling on their views. If the speed of reviews increases rapidly, then there is a risk of catching the attention of a local or national news organization.

Customers are not alone in writing negative reviews. You may also see reviews written by:

  • Competitors running a digital smear campaign
  • Disgruntled employees and their friends
  • People are accidentally reviewing the wrong company.

It’s for these reasons that it’s good to be prepared. Welcome to your ultimate negative review response guide:

Check the facts

Your business is your baby, but don’t let that maternal instinct kick in like a mother protecting it’s young from a predator. Just like socks with sandals (sorry Uncle Bob), this is not going to be good for your image and is the first step towards failure in damage limitation.

We recommend the first thing that you should do is investigate the validity of their claim. It’s vital to recognize that the reviewer also may not be alone – one person may voice their views, but it can actually represent the same opinion of many others. Some people are either reluctant or too afraid to express. Therefore, dismissing a single reviewer can amount to being rude or uncaring.

If you need more time to investigate, then do this – Thank the reviewer for their feedback and promise to look into the issue before getting back to them with a detailed response

Respond to reviewers. Immediately.

ine wines, smelly cheese and George Clooney are examples of things that improve with age. My waistline and on online reviews definitely do not.

Most review sites have timestamps against each post that effectively starts the clock in evaluating your vigilance and to a surprising degree how much you care about your customers. Leaving it too long and the details of the occasion will have faded, momentum is lost and if anything you’ve actually made the issue worse.

Pro tip: Even if there is no answer to a question raised or concern posted, it is useful to acknowledge their problems and give a specific time to look into the issue and solution. 

If you fail to respond to a negative review, you will by omission add enormous credibility to the critic – always, always, always respond. A comprehensive explanation can reaffirm their trust in your business and demonstrate to future customers that you care. You could even reclaim a lost customer.

What about happy customers? Engaged customers can be your best marketing team. Reviewers love it when they receive a response to their review. They’ll get an email from the reviewing platform and a simple “Thank you” can trigger a happy endorphin response. Good reviews have to be recognized. People are short of time. So when a client takes the time to leave a glowing 5-Star review please, please thank them!

Don’t Argue

Irrespective of how great you believe your services and products are – at some point will be someone who will still be dissatisfied. As soon as you come to terms with this, the easier it will be to deal with the general public! 

A business owner can become emotionally overwhelmed and engage in a fierce PUBLIC exchange. Although tempting, you’re likely to kick off a knee jerk response which will backfire like your first cars motor. It’s absolutely the worst thing you can do.

I know I said in the previous section to respond immediately, but being rational takes priority. It’s way better to respond 1 day late than to react aggressively.

Storytime: A few years ago, my team pushed a significant software feature live. The upgrade resulted in some users receiving the annoying Google Captcha code too frequently. Within minutes one of our customers left an aggressive all caps post on our preferred review platform.

If you’re ever worked in software, you’ll know that releasing software is a stressful time and I was tired. To be honest, I was expecting the responses from our customers to be full of virtual high fives, glowing feedback and appreciation of our hard work and dedication to helping their business grow.

To say I was disappointed when I got the 1-star review (on 2 different review platforms) is an understatement. First thing I did was (curse under my breath) verify the issue. 

Equipped with knowledge (and a tech guy on standby) I called him and immediately apologized for the inconvenience. While talking through the details of the issue, he started to explain how his business has had a tough time recently. Apart from the irritation of the google captcha code, he was dealing with two major customer issues of his own. In reflection, the software bug was an irritation, but it was the tipping point of his stress levels. Writing a negative review was an easy way to vent his frustration.

Fortunately, we were able to resolve the issue while I was on the call. Within 10 minutes of the call ending the negative reviews had been deleted and replaced with super positive 5-star ones, highlighting our excellent customer service.

Personalize Your Response

Advertising companies have been hyper personalizing adverts for years. When a message is 100% directed to you, including exact details of your experience, it has far greater traction than a generic response.

Start with the customer’s name and introduce yourself with your organizational title and name.

e.g.

“Hello Sam, I am Stan Smith, PR Manager at Acme Corporation…”

If you can identify the customer – who they were served by, what they bought, when they received the product or service, etc. All of these details within your response demonstrate your attention to detail and how seriously you take their complaint.

It’s a Marketing Opportunity!

A response to a client’s negative feedback should offer an opportunity to market an organization and reinforce its core values.

Companies mission statement / pledge

There is a company in the UK called John Lewis who claim that they are “Never Knowingly Undersold” – this means if you can find the same product for less money, they will reimburse you the difference. They actively monitor their competition to ensure that you’re getting the best value. John Lewis’ price matching and their excellent customer service are core to their success.

Having a dependable guarantee to their customers allows John Lewis’ customer service team to promote this message in their review responses as well as provide refunds (if the occasion occurs).

It is also helpful to mention customer service procedures or standards.

These standards should explain that the organization takes customer complaints seriously and that every complaint will be thoroughly investigated and addressed.

Finally – I’ve seen this done well – A business owner can respond to a customer about their complaint informing that they can have a full refund as well as full payment for them to receive the same service at one of their competitors. This response is mind-blowing. This company seriously believes that their business is so good that they’re happy to pay for you to go somewhere else if you’re not 100% satisfied. A potential customer reading will feel their trust growing with this company – especially as it out there for the world to see!

Example negative review response templates

Hi Jane,
I’m Bob from Acme Inc – I’m sorry to hear about your issue with us, and I’m personally responsible for helping resolve this.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a phone number or contact email for you, so please contact us at XXXX when convenient.


Hi Jane,
I’m Bob from Acme Inc – I’m the manager/owner at here. We try to maintain the highest standards of service, but clearly, that’s not what happened here. I am sorry to hear about your bad experience yesterday.

Unfortunately, I was not in at the time. Please give me a call at XXX at your convenience. I want to find out what I can do to help.

Example negative review response template with detail

Dear Jane,

We want to sincerely apologize for your negative experience on at . However, we’d like to learn more about your situation and what exactly happened with .

We want to make things right. So, please give us a call on [phone number]. You can also email us at [email id], and we will get back to you promptly.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,
Bob – Customer Sevices Manager
Acme Inc

Example positive review response templates

Hi Jane,

I’m Bob from Acme Inc – Thank you for the 5-stars! We appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback. Hopefully, see you again soon.


Hi Jane,

I’m Bob from Acme Inc – We are incredibly grateful that you took the time out to leave us this review. Our company values put customer satisfaction as the top priority, and we are committed to our customers. Its customers like you that make our job fulfilling.

We look forward to serving you again.

Bob

FAQ

How do I handle a complaint that is creating damaging online engagement?

The organization should aim to move the conversation offline and engage the complainant on a private platform.

It helps minimize online engagement on a complaint by moving the conversation to a video chat, a phone call, direct message on the phone or social media platforms.

If multiple people are experiencing the same issue, create a formal channel for their problem to raised, log and dealt with in o a structured way.

How do I respond when the customer is right about the problem?

If the organization is responsible for the action that caused the negative review, it should offer a discount or any other compensatory measure.

How do I respond when the customer is wrong about the problem?

The organization should explain itself using facts and offer to help the client understand the situation entirely.

How can I find negative reviews about my company?

It’s excellent idea to get your whole team involved.

All employees should be encouraged to report instances of bad reviews on any platform. Younger employees may be more on the pulse with emerging social networks than you are. My kids think that Facebook is for oldies.

Try and work as a team in spotting bad publicity in any form.

Google Review Link Generator

What is a Google review link?

If your business is on Google My Business, the chances are that increasing the number of reviews you receive on your Google My Business page will improve your business reputation.

Your Google review link is unique to your business and provides your customers with direct access to write a review on Google

How to get your Google Review link – the easy way – Option 1

Use our Google Review Link generator to find your Google Review link in 10 seconds

How to get your Google Review link – the easy way – Option 2

If you have claimed your Google My Business page, ie you can respond to customers reviews then it’s easy: 

  1. On your computer, sign in to Google My Business. (If you have multiple locations, switch to the place that you want to manage)
  2. In the left menu, click Home.
  3. In the ‘Get more reviews’ card, you can copy your short URL to share with customers.

 

How to get your Google Review Link – The hard way

If you have not claimed your Google My Business Page, follow these instructions. Warning, it’s going to get a bit technical.

  1. Every business in Google maps has it’s own Place ID. Google uses this place ID to generate your unique review link.
  2. Using the Google Maps API, you can find the majority of businesses. Your place ID will look something like this: ChIJtV5bzSAFdkgRpwLZFPWrJgo.

    Alternatively, save time and use Broadly’s or Leave. Review’s find your Google Review Link Tool to find the online review link for your business automatically. Then you add your Place ID to this URL http://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<PLACE ID HERE>

    In the above example; the review link will be:http://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJtV5bzSAFdkgRpwLZFPWrJgo

I’ve embedded the Google maps API below so you can pick up your place id from here.

How to get your Google Review link Search Area Business

Couldn’t find your place id?

If you’re a cleaner, plumber or any other type of business that serves a geographical region, then the Google Maps API doesn’t work. Your location is what Google calls a Service Area Business (SAB)

What is a Search Area Business (SAB)?

A service area business (SAB) is a business that has no physical location which customers can visit. You typically specify your service area by city, postal code, or other areas (s).

Google writes:

The service area feature for businesses who visit or deliver to local customers. For example, it can be used by:

* A business that visits or delivers to customers, but doesn’t serve customers at its business address (e.g. a plumber or cleaning service).
* A business that serves customers at its business address, but also visits or delivers to customers (e.g. a restaurant that also delivers food).
You can read more information here on Google’s website

Google Places API search (mentioned earlier) does not return results for Search Area Businesses

How to find your Google Business review link if you run a Service Area Business?

Use the Leave.Review Google Review Link tool

Can a service area business appear on Google maps?

Yes – but your business will appear as a polygon shape covering the service area that your business supports. If you can not find your company, then head over to the  Google map listing for your business.  Once you create it, it can take a few days before the listing shows up in our tool.

How does Google decide which reviews are Relevant?

What do you mean by relevant review?

Looking at your Google My Business page – you may be surprised to see that your latest reviews are not a the top of the Google Review list. Check out the screenshot below from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s review page on Google (which is well worth a visit by the way – the work is life-saving and innovative).

Notice how the older review is above the new review

It’s sorted by relevance, rather than recency.

How does Google define relevance for reviews?

We spent a week reviewing 100’s of Google reviews across a variety of businesses to see if we could identify a pattern

  1. Length – The number of words in a review had a clear impact on how relevant it was considered. There was a consistent correlation between the number of words contained in a review with its position in the Most Relevant rankings.
  2. Keywords – Using the name of the business in the review led to an increase in the post’s relevancy ranking.
  3. Specific – A review that contained a specific story or example was more likely to rank higher than reviews with generic content.
  4. Local – A review by a user who posted other reviews in the local area is deemed more relevant than a user with either no reviews or one with reviews from a different geographic location.
  5. Time – The more time that passes since a review is posted, the less relevant it becomes.
Criteria Description
Time Although the results are not sorted by date, recency does play a role in determining how relevant a result is. A good way of thinking of this is that restaurant menus will often change every season or year. Therefore a review from 2 years ago will lose its relevancy due to age. Tip: Read our article How to ask for a review
Google Local Guide Reviews submitted by a Local guide are likely to be seen as more relevant, especially if the quality score of the local guide is high.
Length of review At least 200 characters. Reviews that are very verbose do not perform as well as those between 200 and 300 characters