When it comes to converting casual browsers into enthusiastic buyers, one method can help motivate shoppers to take action: customer reviews.
In fact, 49% of shoppers say they trust reviews just as much as personal recommendations from family and friends. This is why encouraging customer reviews is vital for your business’s success.
Why are customer reviews important for merchants?
Customer reviews provide numerous benefits for your business, ranging from helping targeted shoppers discover your storefront to persuading hesitant buyers to purchase from you.
Let’s explore these benefits one by one:
Gaining the Trust of Target Buyers
According to Global Web Index, nearly half of consumers in North America use online customer reviews when actively seeking more information about a brand, product, or service.
Buyers typically look for reviews from consumers who share their viewpoints or from other shoppers in similar situations to gather information that matters to them.
Buyers’ interest extends beyond just reading reviews; they also trust them. According to the same source mentioned above, 31.2% of consumers in North America trust what online reviews say about products.
For example, if a customer has sensitive skin to fragrances, they are likely to seek reviews from other customers in the same situation.
So, if you haven’t taken steps to gather customer reviews, you are failing to leverage a free tool that can easily help you earn the trust of buyers.
Increasing Foot Traffic in Store
78% of consumers say they actively search for information about local businesses online more than once a week. This includes tourists, new residents in the area, and ready-to-buy shoppers who are constantly looking for merchants nearby.
Google suggestions that surface as a result of these “near me” searches help shoppers make quick decisions about places to visit. Since customer reviews appear next to your business profile on Google in search and maps, they help you to:
- Appear in local Google search results. Fresh, regularly received reviews on your Google My Business profile, your website, and other external review sites like Yelp are key factors in improving local search engine optimization.
- Convince shoppers to visit your storefront. 88% of consumers say reviews persuade them to check out local businesses. About half also say they would travel further and pay more to shop from businesses with better (and more credible) reviews.
Building Social Proof
Customer reviews also help merchants build social proof. Humans tend to look for groups or communities to validate their decisions.
A customer may be interested in a product but hesitant to purchase. Customer reviews can provide the social proof needed to confirm their initial interest and make the purchasing decision.
When a customer writes a review, that story can be a compelling endorsement from an unbiased source in a way that your product description alone cannot achieve.
No matter how detailed and honest you present it, you certainly have a direct interest in showcasing your products in the best possible light. You operate as a merchant looking to make a profit, at least.
And if you are still a bit hesitant about allowing – and even encouraging – customer reviews for fear of receiving some negative critiques, consider that even negative reviews can be valuable for your business. According to a study by BrightLocal, 70% of consumers are more likely to use a business that responds to negative reviews.
Improving
Improve Your SEO
When it comes to search engine optimization, Google always puts the end user first. Your user is a Google user. Google takes cues from what its users want and what they believe and trust.
That’s why, if your customers leave reviews (good or bad), Google uses that as a signal to rank your site.
Here’s how good reviews can help you rank higher in search engine results pages:
- Increased click-through rate. People are more likely to click to visit your site if it’s associated with positive reviews.
- Building engagement on social media. Although social media is not a direct ranking factor, it can help improve SEO because posts show up in search results. High-quality content is vital for SEO, and customer reviews are a perfect example of authentic content. Integrating customer reviews into your social media strategy will encourage more people to talk about you, leading to improved search results.
- Reducing bounce rate. When shoppers read online reviews and learn about your business through current customers, they are likely to spend more time on your site, and hopefully, eventually convert into paying customers.
How to Get Customer Reviews
Before you can benefit from the many advantages of using customer reviews to boost your sales, register your business online and on social media.
Start by creating a Google My Business profile. It’s free and makes it easy for you to connect with local customers on Google Search and Maps.
You can create a listing that displays store information such as contact details, a link to your website, hours of operation, a map, photos, videos, coupons, and more.
Additionally, if you have retail locations in multiple sites, set up separate web pages for each location. This way, the branch closest to the potential shopper will show up first for them.
While doing this, set up your business on social media and external sites that encourage positive customer reviews. These include Yelp, Facebook, and other social media platforms, as well as search engines like Bing and Yahoo.
You can also use industry-specific directories that pertain to your business. These might include places like Angi, Citysearch, Trustpilot, or Tripadvisor.
This is the essential first step to make it easier for happy customers to leave reviews wherever it’s convenient for them.
Once you’ve done that, use these proven strategies to encourage customers to leave reviews:
- Ask for customer reviews
- Ask for reviews in person
- Ask for reviews via text messages
- Ask for reviews via email
- Encourage others to share
- Follow up on customer review requests
- Offer incentives for customer reviews
- Send cold emails and direct messages on social media asking customers to leave a review. Don’t be shy.
- Make it a conversation, not a robot
Source: https://www.shopify.com/retail/how-to-encourage-customer-reviews-and-why-you-should
Don’t assume that your shoppers, even the most loyal ones, will take the initiative to write a review for you.
Simply asking them to share their thoughts goes a long way, and it works well, as 60% of customers say they usually leave reviews when asked to do so.
Important tip: Before asking for customer reviews, educate your audience about their importance to your business. You can do this in the follow-up message after the purchase that you send to customers. Tell them how their review can help build trust and grow your business, and they’re likely to be more willing to support you.
Get creative with polite and unique ways to ask shoppers to write reviews for the products they buy. If you’re hesitant to ask, try changing the way you request it.
Depending on your brand voice, here are a few ideas to ask for customer reviews in personal and friendly ways: leave a comment, share your thoughts, tell us about your experience, how was your experience?
For ways to ask for reviews and the channels used to request reviews, here are some ideas:
This method works best to request reviews from repeat customers because you already know they have taken the opportunity to use your products.
Start
Conversation during payment and kindly ask for a review. Once agreed, tell customers where they can leave their review. It’s also helpful to display your business cards on the counter so you can give them to shoppers to find you online for writing a review.
Another idea is to train sales assistants to ask for reviews from repeat customers who have built a good relationship with them.
You can also request reviews at events you host in your store. These events are great for getting to know your customers and connecting with them, as well as asking for reviews from regular shoppers.
If text messages are part of your retail marketing strategy, they are the perfect channel to request customer feedback.
Create an automated text message that is sent out two weeks to a month after the customer receives their order. Make sure to include a direct link to the product they purchased so it’s easy for them to leave a review using their smartphones.
You can also create automated post-purchase emails tailored to each customer and send them out two weeks to a month after shoppers receive their purchase.
In this email, you can say something like: “We hope you enjoy your new [your product name]! We’d love for you to leave a review on our website to help other shoppers make a decision. Here’s the link [add link] to the product(s) you purchased. Thank you again for your cooperation! Best regards, [Your business name].”
In addition to post-purchase emails, integrate customer review campaigns into your email marketing strategy.
For example, once a month or once a quarter, send a general email campaign to everyone who purchased products from your store and include details on where and how to leave customer reviews.
Once you have some testimonials or quotes, you can post them on Instagram. This helps you share social proof with hesitant buyers who are following your business and encourages current customers to write reviews.
The best part? Asking for reviews via social media is easy. Just include a brief note in the caption saying something like: “Would you like to share your review and be featured here? Email us at [insert email address] or send us a direct message here.”
Another way to get reviews via social media is to respond to posts where people mention your business and ask them to share content about your business on their profile. Here Knix does this:
You can also send them a direct message asking them to take a few minutes to write an online review and include a link to the product page, making the process quick and easy.
Customers are likely to leave reviews weeks or even months after the initial purchase.
With Shopify, your customers’ contact information – whether they purchased from you in-store or online – is easily accessible in one central location.
Use this contact list and Shopify POS’s built-in email marketing tools to create an ongoing email campaign requesting reviews from customers a few days after they received the product.
Finally, encourage customers to write reviews by rewarding them for it.
Encouraging shoppers in this way makes sense and is fair – after all, it takes time and effort to write a review, so receiving some form of reward for it is likely to add to the positive overall experience they had with your brand.
Some ideas worth exploring include offering coupons or discount codes to encourage buyers to share their feedback publicly, holding periodic drawings, and giving a prize to a winner among customers who provided reviews within a certain timeframe.
On
For example, Nordstrom encourages customers to evaluate its products by entering them in a monthly gift card drawing.
Remember: Rewarding customers for sharing their genuine experiences with your brand is an acceptable practice. However, buying reviews is not. Ensure that your offer is only for writing a review, not for writing a solicited or specific request.
Examples of Customer Reviews
There are many different forms of customer reviews. Let’s look at some examples:
Quotes and Testimonials
One of the most common forms of customer reviews is quotes or testimonials from customers. You can usually find that on company websites, typically on the homepage.
Here’s an example of rotating illustrative quotes on the homepage for Thinx:
Thinx is also trying to earn the trust of more potential customers with a pop-up window encouraging them to read their reviews:
On the other hand, Muddy Bites features both customer testimonials and star ratings on the homepage:
Many brands also publish customer testimonials on social media or share them through email marketing. Both of these methods help to win potential customers’ trust and encourage more current customers to provide feedback.
Here’s an example of Dropps sharing testimonial quotes in their email campaign:
And here’s Glossier sharing their reviews on Instagram:
Online Product Reviews
Online product reviews help move potential customers through the online purchasing process. Many consumers also search for online product reviews to look for information before making an in-store purchase.
Unlike customer testimonials, online product reviews are displayed directly on the relevant product page and often include star ratings. You can use one of the customer review apps on Shopify to add product review functionality to your online store.
Here’s an example of an online product review on one of TITOV’s product pages:
This intimate brand offers a limited range of custom-made underwear in a wide variety of sizes. They use online product reviews to build trust and help potential customers choose products while shopping online.
We asked the CEO and founder, Masha Titova, for some tips on getting customer reviews online; here’s what we learned:
Leave a Reply