7 Tips to Help You Get More Product Reviews from Your Customers

Not all that long ago online customer reviews were not a thing. That changed quickly, and Amazon was pretty instrumental in altering the landscape. Today, consumer reviews are everything – over 90% of people read reviews before visiting a business, according to Forbes, and most of those who read them admit that their buying decision was influenced by what other people said about the product, company, or experience.

Today, a lack of customer reviews can lead to your products languishing in the ether, ignored and un-purchased. It has become so important to have reviews that it spawned an entire industry of paid-for-reviews and fakes. While that has is starting to be addressed today by the marketplaces, the fact remains that without authentic customer reviews, your products are unlikely to sell. So, how do you get more for your multichannel ecommerce business? Here are seven tips that can help.

1. Make it Easy

Perhaps the simplest tip here is this – make it possible for customers to leave a review. You should have a simple review form available from the product page on your website that allows customers to easily review and rate the product and leave comments about their overall experience. Note that this capability needs to be pretty obvious, and you may consider adding a call to action concerning reviews.

2. Make the Ask

When was the last time you bought something from Amazon? About a week later you may have received an email asking you to review the product. You can and should do the same thing. If you’re selling through platforms like Amazon or Walmart.com, then they’ll handle that for you, but you must ensure that you’re taking care of things on your own branded website, as well as smaller marketplaces that might not automate the review process. There are numerous tools available to help you do this with some of them located at Webretailer.com.

3. Share Your Reviews through Social Channels

Social has become one of the most important elements to establishing online success, and it can help you get more reviews, too. When you do get a positive review, share it with your followers on Facebook or Twitter. Thank the reviewer, obviously, but the point here is to show that you are getting reviews and to encourage other people who might have bought from you to leave one, too. You can even ask for reviews in the same post – “Anne loved our new shoe design! What do you think?”.

4. Encourage Reviews on Other Sites

If you run a multichannel ecommerce company, then Yelp isn’t going to do much good for your brand building efforts. However, other sites can help you here. Facebook reviews can be powerful tools, and you can highlight customer messages left on the Facebook page as testimonials or reviews. There are even Facebook groups dedicated to finding people to review your product (legitimately).

5. Use Incentives

Your customers are busy people, and leaving a review takes time out of their day. Make it worth the effort by incentivizing it. You can offer a small discount or a coupon, or entry into a contest. Just make sure that you’re incentivizing an impartial review, not paying for a positive one. Note that incentivizing reviews should not be akin to “paying for” reviews. One is a viable solution to building your brand. The other is an unethical tactic that will ultimately backfire and tarnish your reputation – not to mention possibly get you suspended or banned from a marketplace.

6. Include a Link in Email Marketing

You should be leveraging email marketing to build your brand and bolster sales, but you can also use it to encourage your customers to leave a review. Just include a link asking them to review you or their purchase.

7. Thank Your Reviewers

When you do get reviews, make sure to read them, and thank the reviewer. This shows that you actually care what your customers think, and there’s a chance that the customer will leave a review on another website as well. Make sure you do this the right way, though. Come across as being genuine, not spammy. Be a real person, not a faceless corporation.

These are just a few of the ways that you can get more product reviews for your multichannel ecommerce company’s offerings. The most important thing is to realize how vital those reviews are, and be willing to take action.

Source:

• https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/10-ways-to-increase-brand-loyalty-and-product-reviews/
• https://www.yotpo.com/blog/how-to-get-more-reviews/
• https://neilpatel.com/blog/convince-your-customers-to-review-your-products/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2014/08/28/6-simple-ways-to-get-customers-to-review-your-business-online/#198e862014c5
• https://www.inc.com/david-finkel/15-email-marketing-tips-to-increase-your-sales.html