How to Get Client Reviews that are Jaw-Dropping Good

This blog isn’t just about, “how to get client reviews?” It’s about how to get JAW-DROPPING client reviews!

Raise your hand if you got so excited when someone left you a review but then it said something generic like: “Ariel was so good. I loved working with her. Pictures were beautiful. Highly recommend.” Sure, that might make us feel good, but, reviews like that, aren’t changing anyone’s minds about whether or not they should hire us. 

Why you should care…

Studies show that 85% of consumers trust reviews AS MUCH AS personal recommendation! WHAT!?!

But it can’t just be any review. Generic reviews like the one above do nothing. Instead, we want something like this:

“When I look back on our experience and the photos I feel so much joy. Before we found Ariel, family photo sessions were stressful and no one cooperated. We’d get the photos back and you could see the misery through the fake smiles and I felt like the worst mom ever! But after our experience with Ariel, I am in awe! I have fallen back in love with my family and their each of personalities. You gave me a new perspective on my boys and motherhood andI am forever grateful.”

Sarah Bueschar – Photos by Ariel Client

Those are the kind of reviews that don’t just make people want to hire you… they make people want to hire you no matter what the cost. So, how do we get our clients to go nuts for us in written form? How do we get them to shout our names from the rooftops for all of social media to hear? How do we get them to spend not just precious time to visit different sites and leave reviews for all of google to see? 

That’s what I’m going to teach you today! Here are my 5 FAVORITE strategies for getting sparkling reviews from my clients! 

Experience

People don’t talk about good experiences they talk about GREAT experiences. Make sure your customer experience is truly unique and STELLAR at every single phase of the process. 

Exchange Kindness

If you want them to give you kind words, give them kind words first. When requesting a review from a client I always praise them first. I mention how much I loved working with them, some sweet details from their session that are especially memorable, their names, their kids names, etc. By setting up my review request in this way, I’m making them not just willing to send a review but excited! 

Why Though? 

A few years ago I began to experiment with my review request process by adding a short little tad-bit in the email about why reviews were important. I was shocked at the results. Our clients, in general, have no idea of the weight that reviews hold. By letting them know that reviews aren’t just important for my business but VITAL, that increases their willingness to take the time to share.

Be specific! 

My reviews are sent in questionnaire form that I have on Honeybook (my friggin’ amazing client management system)! The reason I have a questionnaire with specific questions is because I found that simply “asking for a review” isn’t enough. If you want them to rave about you, you have to ask the right questions. We want our questions to be specific, evoke emotion and ultimately tell a story! For example: 

• What were your problems and struggles before you Hired me? 
• How did your experience with me affect your overall day-to-day life? 
• What specific part of the photo session experience stands out in your mind that you appreciated and why?
• What specific part of the preparation process leading up to your photo session did you appreciate and why? 
• Has your experience with me differed from your experience with past photographers? How so?
• Describe how you felt walking into the session?
• How did you feel leaving the session/receiving photos/etc.?

Time Limit! 

Life gets busy so if we don’t set a time limit up front that will indicate to our clients when we’d like the review by, then don’t be surprised when they don’t do it. In your email that requests the review incorporate a sentence like the following: “If you wouldn’t mind taking 5-ish minutes to share your experience working with me I’d love to get it up on my website in the next 4 days.” That way it doesn’t feel overwhelming but it also gets done. 

Bribery

Bribery isn’t just for kids. Haha! As adults we like to call it incentives and rewards. I like to offer my clients a free “8×10” professional print of their choice from my printing lab. Not only is this beneficial for them, but I’m confident that once they compare that print with the ones they printed from Walgreens, they will be placing orders for more. However, your “prize” could be: 

• A percentage off a future session
• A number of additional photos from their session included in they gallery
• A gift card ($5 to Starbucks, Target, or Amazon are always a good idea)

Make it Easy! 

If you want people to review you, indicate to them about how long it’ll take to fill out the form like I did in the sentence above. But also, give them the links. I have a feedback from but I also ask them if they would mind copying and pasting their review onto Facebook, google, etc. with the links! Make the entire process as easy for them as possible! 

Conclusion

If you implement these 6 tips I know that you’ll start receiving the reviews you’re looking for right and left. And not just that, I know that those reviews are going to get you MORE amazing clients. Read more about how to do that, here.