The statistics show that people trust reviews from others – even strangers online. According to Reputation X, 85% of people find online reviews as trustworthy as recommendations from people they know. This means your reviews can either help you earn more business or drive people away.
Does your firm regularly ask for and monitor reviews? If not, you need to start now. Many families who had a great experience working with you would likely be willing to leave a review, but if you don’t ask, you’re missing out on this feedback. And if you’re not monitoring your reviews, you’re letting any negative reviews have free rein online.
Let’s go over seven ways to get more online reviews and testimonials, as well as some tips for monitoring them.
1. Add a Testimonials Page to Your Funeral Home’s Website
Your website is the perfect hub for collecting and showcasing your testimonials. To start, create a testimonials page on your website. This is a place for website visitors to read testimonials and submit their own. It also keeps traffic on your website, instead of directing your website visitors elsewhere.
Consider adding relevant testimonials to other pages on your website. For example, if someone talks about how personalized the service was, add their testimonial to your services page. Or if someone mentions how they love their keepsake, put the testimonial on your memorial products page. This way, your website visitors see testimonials that are relevant to the services they’re interested in.
2. Make it Easy for Families to Find Your Testimonials Page
You can’t just hope that families will come across the testimonials page on your website on their own. These are just a few simple ways that you can direct them to it.
- Post on your firm’s social media pages and include your testimonials page link.
- Email a personal message to the family asking for them to leave a review and directing them to the link.
- If you email follow-up surveys to families after the funeral, consider adding a section at the end of the survey for leaving a review.
- Ask them in person. You can simply mention you have a testimonials page on your website or create a small, printed handout with the link.
3. Connect Your Google Reviews to Your Website
Google Reviews are so important because they show people the real experiences others had working with you. Google’s often the first place that people go to when they need a product or service. This means your Google Reviews could pique their interest to click on your website or cause them to avoid it.
Connecting your Google Reviews to your website makes it easy for families to submit their feedback. If you need help doing this, just let us know! We’re happy to help. And in the meantime, if you want to learn more about Google Reviews, download our eBook.
4. Be Respectful and Keep Your Message Short and Personal
Asking for reviews in the funeral industry can be difficult. You don’t want to upset the grieving family, but that doesn’t mean you should be afraid to ask. If you’re respectful, many families would be willing to leave you a review.
Not sure what to say? Here are a few tips.
- Start your message by checking in with the family.
- Keep it short and personal.
- Don’t say anything that would sway the review in your favor.
For example, here’s a sample email you could use as a starting point:
Hi (INSERT NAME),
I want to check in to see how you are doing. Please let us know if there is anything we can do. We would be happy to provide grief resources, memorial ideas, or anything else you may need.
I also want to ask if you would leave us a review of our services. This gives us valuable feedback and helps other families. If you are interested, click here (INSERT LINK) to leave a review.
Again, please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything. You can reply to this email, call me at (INSERT PHONE NUMBER), or stop by our facility any time.
Take care,
(INSERT NAME)
5. Aim to Provide Exceptional Service
An indirect way to get more online reviews is to aim to provide exceptional service. Think about the last time you left a review for a product or service. It was probably either because you had a really bad or really great experience, hopefully the latter. Either way, you felt compelled to leave a review to let others know about the experience you had.
If your firm went above and beyond to serve a family, they’ll be more likely to share the great experience they had working with you. Other families will see that you provided them with exceptional service and will be more likely to choose your firm.
6. Respond to All Your Online Reviews Whether They’re Positive or Negative
Monitor popular online review sites like Google, Facebook, and Yelp regularly. Whether the review is positive or negative, you should respond to all of them. This shows both the reviewer and people who come across the review that you’re responsive and care about fixing people’s problems.
Plus, by responding to a negative review, they may even delete it or update it to a positive review after talking with you. People who leave positive reviews also make good candidates for testimonials or even case studies. Ask the reviewer if you can use their review in your marketing or if they’d be willing to submit something else.
7. Reach Out to Your Partners and Suppliers Along with Families
When asking for reviews, don’t just ask the families you’ve served and stop there. You can also ask your suppliers and local businesses you frequently partner with. These reviews still show your community that you’re a reliable business to work with.
Not sure who to reach out to? These are a few places to start with.
- Local hospice centers, nursing homes, and/or hospitals you work with
- Local churches and cemeteries you work with
- Your funeral technology provider
We can help you showcase your testimonials and reviews on your FrontRunner funeral home website! Just book a free 15-minute website demo to get started.
