95% of consumers read online reviews before buying a product.
But is it that easy to get reviews from your customers?
With increasing competition, reviews can make or break your online store’s success. They can help you build trust and credibility among potential customers, which can impact your store’s sales.
But how do you generate more reviews for your eCommerce store?
In this guide, Discover how to get more reviews for your business using effective strategies.
Impact of Reviews on Businesses
Reviews are a major force in how people shop today, especially online. They influence decisions in a big way!
Reviews help customers gain more insights about a product before purchasing and influence consumer decisions. It acts as social proof, highlighting your product features, quality, and benefits, bringing more sales and leads to your business.
Let’s talk about the benefits of reviews for your online stores and businesses.
Importance of Reviews for Online Business
Build Trust for Your Product
You might be a new or relatively unknown store and face the hurdle of building customer trust. But how can you do that and stand out from other competitors?
Reviews can act as social proof, showing potential customers that others have purchased and are satisfied with your products. This builds credibility and trust among potential customers, influencing them to buy and converting them into buyers.
Increase Visibility
Consumers use search engines like Google and other search engines to make purchase decisions. Reviews from authentic customers can help you improve page rankings and increase organic traffic to your site.
Positive reviews can help you improve your search results and increase leads.
Increase Sales
A good review brings more leads and sales. Positive reviews can significantly boost conversion rates by reassuring potential buyers that they can trust the site and make a purchase.
Understanding and leveraging the power of reviews can transform them from simple feedback into powerful tools for influencing customers’ decisions and ultimately driving more sales.
How To Get More Reviews for Your Business
Getting more reviews is beneficial for business growth and building trust. Here are 10 successful strategies for encouraging customers to leave reviews for your store.
1. Setting Up Your Review Request Process
The first step is to make it as easy as possible for customers to leave reviews. The more effort it takes, the less likely they are to share the review. Ensure that leaving a review is quick and straightforward, avoiding recurring logging steps or too many steps.
For instance, you can create a review page showing customers how to leave a review and add links to the page where they can share or generate reviews. You can also ask them to leave a review via posts, stories, or comments on social media pages.
Optimize your review page for different devices, as many customers might use their phones to share feedback.
Pro Tips:
- Clear Instructions: Provide clear and concise instructions on how to leave a review. Include links directly to the review page or relevant platforms.
- Timing is Key: Send review requests at the optimal moment. For immediate purchases, send an email shortly after delivery. For complex products that require time to understand, wait a bit longer for a more comprehensive review.
2. How to Ask for Customer Reviews
You don’t need to wait for customers to share a review. Instead, simplify the process and don’t hesitate to request a review. Make a post that features other reviews from happy customers and reminds other customers to share their customer experiences.
This section will explore how to create requests that stand out and encourage customers to write valuable reviews.
Keep It Friendly Message
Use a conversational and appreciative tone. Thank customers for their business and highlight the value of their feedback.
Focus on Specifics
Instead of a generic “leave a review” request, ask for feedback on a particular aspect of their experience.
Example: “Did our new packaging make unpacking easy? Share your thoughts in a review!”
Keep it Short & Sweet
People are busy! Make your request concise and easy to digest.
Use Strong Call to Action
Clearly state what you want them to do, whether it’s visiting a review page, clicking a link, or leaving a social media comment.
Example: “Help us spread the word! Click here to leave a review on [Platform name].”
Bonus Tip:
Craft personalized review requests that help you connect with the customers and appreciate your efforts by leaving valuable feedback.
Address customers by name and reference their specific purchases. This adds a human touch and makes the request feel more genuine.
3. Utilizing Different Platforms for Reviews
Social media and third-party review sites are great platforms to collect reviews about your products, brands, or services. Select relevant and well-known sites for your industry, as customers trust online reviews from popular sites.
- Amazon, Flipkart, Google My Business Reviews, Trustpilot and Yelp reviews can attract highly targeted customers.
- Emails, websites, and social media channels provide direct links to your profiles on third-party review sites, making it easier for customers to leave reviews on these platforms.
You can also use different widgets or plugins to display third-party reviews directly on your website, enhancing trust and providing social proof to potential customers.
Utilize various tools to monitor and collect reviews from third-party sites and stay updated with new reviews and feedback.
4. Encouraging Customers to Write Reviews
If asking your shoppers for reviews isn’t helping, try the incentivizing process. Motivate customers to write reviews for your products by offering them incentives like discounts, gift cards, or coupons. This will motivate them and even influence them to shop again.
Everyone believes their time is valuable, so give customers a reason to leave a review.
Quick Tips:
- Provide Excellent Customer Service: Positive interactions throughout the customer journey will leave a lasting impression and make them more likely to leave a favorable review.
- Highlight Existing Reviews: Prominently showcase positive reviews on your website and e-commerce store. This builds trust and demonstrates the value your product or service offers.
- Loyalty Programs: Reward loyal customers with points or benefits for leaving reviews. This can be a great way to encourage repeat reviewers and build a strong customer community.
5. Responding to Reviews
To show that you value customers’ opinions, respond to every review to make them feel valued. This includes responding to positive and negative reviews and not ignoring any feedback.
Engaging with positive and negative reviews is essential for maintaining a solid online presence and building customer trust.
Appreciate their feedback and choice of products. Share their reviews on social media platforms or websites to highlight customer satisfaction and build a strong customer relationship.
Conversely, address a negative review as quickly as possible to show that you take your customers’ feedback seriously and are committed to resolving issues.
6. Leveraging Social Proof to Get More Reviews
Showcase existing reviews as social proof to demonstrate that others have already had positive experiences with your product or service, create a sense of trust, and encourage them to share their feedback.
Craft case studies or success stories based on detailed customer reviews and share them on the website and in your marketing materials to build credibility. Use social proof tools to show real-time purchases or reviews on your website.
7. Run A Contest
One of the effective ways to market your business is to run a small contest for your current customers.
Ask customers to add hashtags to their Instagram posts or post a quick story in exchange for prizes such as discount coupons, free products, gifts, cards, or exclusive access to upcoming products.
Use tools to analyze the consumers who participated in the contest and gain insights to improve future review collection strategies and contests.
8. Target Loyal Customers
Loyal customers are those who purchase from your store every month. Or the person who buys the latest product whenever they visit your store.
They are loyal fans of your store and can usually directly promote your products to other customers.
Your loyal customers are the ones who keep coming back and enjoying your products. Reach out to them and ask them for reviews.
9. Follow-Up Strategies to Encourage Reviews
The most crucial element to getting more reviews is asking; the more you ask customers, the more reviews you will get.
Automate your outreach process by sending customers emails asking them to share their feedback or write reviews on the recent product they purchased.
Even with a great initial request, some customers might miss it or need a gentle reminder. Here are some follow-up strategies to increase your review response rate:
Quick Tips:
- Staggered Reminders: If you haven’t received a response, send a second email or message a few days after your initial request.
- Change the Channel: If your first request was via email, try following up through a different channel, like social media or SMS (with permission).
- Offer Help: In your follow-up, politely offer assistance with the review process. Let them know you’re happy to answer any questions they might have about leaving a review.
10. Use Best Review Management Tools
Review management tools are very useful in your quest for more reviews. These platforms streamline the collection process by sending automated requests at ideal times.
They also act as a central hub for managing reviews across various platforms, allowing you to respond to all of them efficiently.
Tool Recommendations
You can use popular options like Yotpo, Podium, or Wisernotify review tool. This way, you can still provide valuable information without promoting specific brands.
Conclusion
Reviews build trust and credibility and help influence customers’ purchase decisions. Collecting feedback to increase the chances of conversions and showcase positive product reviews is crucial for sustained growth and success.
Offer incentives, run contests, send follow-up emails and social media posts, and engage with both positive and negative reviews to show your commitment to customer satisfaction. Leverage them as social proof to encourage other customers to share their reviews across different platforms.
By adopting these strategies, you can create a system to gather authentic feedback and enhance your store’s reputation to drive more sales. In today’s competitive market, showing positive reviews is essential for growth and success.
