How to Get More Online Reviews for Your School

Parents rely on each other more than ever for advice on things ranging from the best organic baby food, to helpful tips on getting kids to sleep in their own beds. Online reviews for children’s products and services are like gold.

As a business owner, fishing for reviews can be daunting and maybe even a little uncomfortable. There are some simple things that, when done regularly, can boost reviews for your school.

Be remarkable!

Customers are driven to write about their experience with you when it’s remarkable--either negatively or positively. You operate an excellent school. Your curriculum is on point, your teachers are outstanding. What can you do to be memorable and inspire customers to tell others about it? Here are a few ideas to start with:

• Surprise newly enrolled parents on their first day with a $5 gift card to the nearest coffee shop. Tell them it’s to make their first day as part of your family a little sweeter.
• Share classroom stories with individual parents at drop off and pick up, and on your social media pages. When you notice something extraordinary a little one did that day, share it with mom or dad. Be sure to thank them for being part of your school.

Ask!

When you have a hallway conversation with a parent and they give your school or staff a compliment, ask them to share it with others on Google, Facebook, Yelp or other review sites. Most families will if they’re asked to do so. If you are inclined, send a follow up email to that same parent thanking them for sharing the compliment. Here is some example text to send them:

Dear (Parent),

Thanks for taking the time to tell me about the wonderful things Miss Katie is doing in her classroom with your little one. She’s a gifted teacher and I’ve passed along your compliments to her. Would you be kind enough to share your thoughts about our school with others looking for preschools? You can leave us a review here. [insert link to make it easy for them.]

Make it easy!

So many review sites, so little time! Your school should be listed on various sites already. Pick no more than three of them to focus your time and energy on. For each one, claim your business listing, upload photos and update your information. Then put those icons on your school website so that you are leading prospective families to read those sites as they research you, and enrolled families to leave review there when they are ready.

Building your reputation involves so much offline and online: getting positive reviews is a critical part of this long term goal. Make this a weekly task to focus on. Approach every great customer experience that you deliver as a way to ultimately get a 5-star review.