How to Get your Car Dealership Customers to Contribute Online Reviews

Online reviews are a vital part of the car-buying process. They can make or break a car dealership’s brand reputation, and dealerships with frequent positive reviews are far more likely to out-compete the others.

Here are some innovative ways to get your customers to write online reviews for your dealership.

1. Request a Review Every Time a Customer Buys a Car

The best way to request online customer reviews is to ask in person, when they are still excited about their new ride. Requesting in person increases your chances of getting reviews by a mind-bogging 7-8x than emails.

When car-buyers visit your car dealership, they will spend hours there before taking home their new car. By now, a strong bond would have been created and customers are highly unlikely to turn down a review request at this time. 

2. Email Your Request

You need to be a focused when requesting reviews over email. 

1. Send a mail from a real person and not your car dealership id
2. Make the request personal 
3. The subject line matters – if you miss this one, they may not even open the email
4. Plain text is preferred over HTML email
5. Always add a clear call-to-action button
6. Always test and measure

3. Try Texting

About 56% of online customer reviews are posted using smartphones. Try texting to request online reviews and there’s a good chance that customers may use their cellphones to write a review for your car dealership.

One of the best things about texting is that it has a 98% open rate.

4. Providing Physical Handouts to Encourage Online Reviews

Many customers wouldn’t know how to reach a website where they can post reviews online. It is best to provide a handout that guides them step-by-step to write and post online reviews.

5. Try the ‘Tip’ Trick

If your sales executives request an online review after spending some time with your customers, then they can also add – "Your online review can earn me a tip as well." This will encourage customers to write an online customer review.

For more information on how to get online customer reviews for your car dealership, and how Buyerater can help you with it, Contact Us.