In business, asking for and collecting reviews is the lifeblood of capturing social proof to further our business. Putting a review process together is a very important first step, but when it comes to what to add to your review questionnaire, there are some missed opportunities. 

When entrepreneurs are reaching out to their clients to ask for a review, very often they will leave it at that: a box to type in a public review, maybe with some sample questions to help them get started. 

But when you don’t ask one particular question, you leave money (and very valuable information) on the table. The information you’ll gain from this question can single-handedly be the leverage you need to level up your business in a new way.

So, what is the #1 question you need to add to your review questionnaire?

One very simple sentence: “What could I have done better?”

Being human and all, most of us only want to hear the good parts; we want our clients to sing our praises and gloss over the rest. While positive feedback is so important (and validating), hearing constructive feedback is equally as important. 

Why? This is what gives you the knowledge to make your experience and service even better for the next client. And offering a better, improved service means you can charge more money for it.

At this point in the customer journey, they’ve completed their work with you. As someone fresh out of your pipeline, they’re the people with the most up-to-date information about what your process is like – good and bad. 

We are all biased to our own work. We usually think everything we create is a flawless piece of art. Sometimes it is, but more often than not, we aren’t able to see our own blindspots because we aren’t objectively experiencing our service and customer journey. We’re subjectively experiencing it. 

It doesn’t have to be scary

A common objection to including this question in your feedback form is being afraid that clients will rail on you, and take the opportunity to leave a scathing one star review. But in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

If you’re sending a review request to a client, I’m pretty confident you know they’ll have something positive to say about you. And if that’s the case, including this one question is not going to change their perspective about the service you provided.

How do I know this? From having dozens of clients answer this question in my feedback form.

I’ve received a myriad of responses: clients who say “absolutely nothing,” clients who would’ve liked an additional touchpoint or two on a specific topic, clients who would’ve enjoyed more 1:1 time spent on a particular area, clients who loved the resources I sent them but would have liked to see them earlier in the process.

At the very end of the spectrum, one client in particular voiced some very real disappointments. And even still, that client? At the same time that they were answering my question about what I could’ve done better, they were publishing a glowing 5-star review on Google. We don’t navigate the world in a vacuum; we have mixed emotions about almost everything we experience. Both ends can exist together, and in my experience, they almost always do. So don’t use the fear of opening the door for judgment and bad reviews as a reason to skip adding this question to your review questionnaire.

You’ve got this. 👊🏻

While yes, it does bruise your ego a little to read those things and know you could have done better – more importantly, it shines a light on areas that might have some friction on the client side. Knowing about these things in the service you provide means you can show up better and more prepared for the next person you serve.

At the end of the day, if you want to make your service the best it can possibly be, the only way you’re going to be able to do that is to hear suggestions directly from your past clients. Check your ego at the door, put your CEO hat on, and use their feedback to level up your client experience!