Google reviews and reviews on all other platforms are the lifeblood of getting new business. I can’t tell you how many clients have told me that they hired me instead of another notary because of my 5-star reviews. So today, I want to tell you how I ask for and receive my reviews. This won’t be a perfect system for everyone, and there are those with the school of thought that believes we should press harder once a review commitment is made. That's just not how I do business. But it can work for others. 

At the time of writing this blog post, I currently have 74 five-star reviews. You might not think that's a lot, but I am satisfied with my growth over the last two and a half years. Could I change up my review getting practice? Sure, and I might, but today I want to tell you what has worked for me.

You Don’t Want Every Review:

First thing, asking for a review won’t happen at every appointment. You might have clients who are grumpy and unhappy. Maybe you made a costly mistake or were late to your signing.  There are a number of reasons why you wouldn’t want someone to leave you a review. You will have to decide that for yourself. You also don’t want to ask repeat clients for reviews, especially if they have already left one. The only caveat is that if you have multiple review platforms like I have Google and Gotary.com. You could absolutely ask your repeat clients to spread the word on other platforms. 

Create Easy Access:

Before I ask for a review, I have already created systems that make it easy for the client to click a link and be taken directly to where I want them. I do that with a keyboard shortcut on my phone, with QR codes on my business card, and direct links on the webpage. Also, if someone books me through my online booking system, they automatically get an email requesting a review with the link after the appointment. Click here to see my video on how to add a iphone keyboard shortcut for your reviews.

You don’t want to be that Notary that says, “Can you leave me a Google Review? Just look me up on Google.” Making them work for it is not how you'll get 5-star reviews. 

At the Signing Table:

The first place I start when asking for a review is at the signing table. It doesn’t matter to me if this client booked me directly or if another company hired me. That may not go over well with others, but my train of thought is; I was the notary they worked at their home, their space, or wherever. This doesn’t always work, so be mindful of your space and situation. After the signing is complete, and while I am packing up my things, if the appointment went well, I ask, “Would you mind leaving me a Google Review? Reviews like yours help others like you find me, and it really supports my business.” 99% of the time, the signers agree enthusiastically. Sometimes they say- they don’t have a Google account, and that's when I give them the option of Gotary. If they agree, I tell them I will send them a link via text, or I do that right there and then. 

After I Have Left The Appointment:

If the appointment went well and I got in and out quickly, I may wait to ask for a review via text once I have left. I do it within minutes, if possible. The text says the same thing as when I ask in person, except I start that text conversation by thanking them for a great appointment. When they respond, and most of the time they do, I then go into my review spiel. When I ask for a review this way, pretty much every time, they ask for the link. 

What Happens If They Leave a Review?

When the client does leave their review, within 3-4 hours, I will both like their review and respond. I rarely just say thank you. I most often respond with a comment about their specific signing. SEO words that apply to our business that appear in reviews and review responses don’t hurt our visibility and can give us a little boost. So I might say something like, “ Jane, thank you so much for the lovely review. It was really my absolute pleasure to help you both with your trust package, home purchase, or home sale. I wish you the best of luck and hope we see each other again soon.”

If you don’t respond thoughtfully to your reviews, you are lagging on the potential of future appointments. It also shows those looking for you that you don’t care about the reviews you got and treat these appointments like a transaction. I will tell you that people don’t hire those who don’t care about their clients or, in turn, their business. And if you start treating your clients like people and responding appropriately, you will see a marked difference in the health and success of your business. 

What Happens If They Don’t Leave a Review?

Approximately 40% of the clients who say they will leave a review don’t. At least, that's my number. So what do you do if they don’t leave a review? Depending on the client, I might send a text asking if the review link worked if I haven’t seen a review pop up in about 3-4 days. However, that's as far as I go. I know there are those who advise going a little farther to encourage those reviews. My train of thought is: if they were going to leave a review they will, and if they don’t, they don’t. I don’t want to guilt or pressure them to leave me a review. It's not worth it to me. I have no problem with getting clients with my 74-five-star reviews. Will I get more clients when I have a hundred reviews? I don’t know, but my process is, if it's not happening naturally, it's not going to happen. I know I am a great notary and take good care of my clients. That's why 30% of my business is repeat business. 

How Can I Use My Reviews?

I love this question because it's a great one. Why let those reviews work only once? Let's put them to work and share them. Every month, I try to grab my last 3-5 reviews on Google, do a social media push, and update my webpage. It is kind of a brag post, but if done correctly, you can share with your community how much you appreciate your clients. Our society looks at gratitude with special eyes. Seeing people thank their wait staff, family, or friends on social media gets much attention. Why? Because it's so different from the roar of complaining, bickering, and hate that is shared across all platforms. And if you do a post like this to your Google business account, it shows potential customers that you value your clients, which means you will value them. 

What If I Get A Bad Review?

If you get a bad review, you have a choice to make. Do you ignore it, or do you try to fix it? My answer to that is that you absolutely try to fix it. Just like you should handle correcting mistakes you make as a Notary, addressing a bad review is essential to representing your brand and your integrity correctly. First, you should respond to the bad review on the platform. Google, Yelp, where ever. Respond professionally and calmly. That might mean you take a day or so to collect your thoughts. So when you do respond, you do it calmly. Once you are ready, I encourage you to apologize to the client as part of your response. Apologize that they feel that way or that situation happened. Then tell them you will be reaching out to them to help correct the issues. And then DO! Call them, talk to them, and try to find a way through it. That bad review may stay up there, but when people read it, they will see how you responded and how quickly you responded. We all make mistakes, and even if they aren’t ours, your job is to go above and beyond to make it right if you can. That is the hallmark of a business owner.

I understand how much pressure notaries put on themselves to get their review count up, but my advice is to stop stressing about it and focus on being an excellent notary and getting really great at customer service. Those reviews will come, and it might start slowly, but eventually, you’ll notice you have 20, then 40, then 80 reviews. I hope this blog post helped to inspire you to change up your review asking process and maybe try some new things.

I would also love to hear what your review-getting process looks like. Leave me a comment and let me know.

Until Next Week-

Jennifer K. Cooper- JKC Mobile Notary