Customer reviews play an important role in any e-commerce business. This gives your customers a good idea of how effective your products/services are. Customer reviews have the power to either rip a brand into pieces, or build its reputation and place it in the spotlight. When you generate positive reviews, you can significantly boost your traffic and sales. But that’s not to say that customer critique is unwelcome. Just as good reviews are valuable, so are the negative ones too. Listening to negative feedback allows you to identify the kinks in your products/services and iron it out. Continuous improvement is crucial to building a reputable brand image that’s trustworthy and reliable.
Encouraging customers to give online reviews is crucial to the overall growth of your brand. It provides increased visibility and gathers unique insights about the wants and needs of your target audience. The more online reviews you generate, the more information you’ll acquire to build your brand the right way. These 5 tips will help you generate more online reviews and help set you up for future success.
5 Strategies to acquire more online customer reviews
Whether it be on dedicated site reviews or on social media, you’ll find online reviews everywhere in the digital space. Roughly 50% of customers consult online reviews before making a purchase and the impression you make will make or break your sales. The quality of your products/services will speak for itself. If it sucks, it sucks. But if it exceeds the expectations of your customers, they’ll be more inclined to write a review.
But only 10% of customers leave online reviews after making a purchase. Therefore, businesses need to implement a strategy to better acquire reviews from their customers.
- Use email campaigns
Asking customers for feedback through email is a great way to generate more online reviews. Email campaigns are easy to automate, which means you can prompt your audience to take action immediately. You can send your customers a follow-up email and ask them about their interaction with your brand. Ideally, you want to send your emails within a week after their purchase so they can leave a review based on their user experience.
- Reach out to social media
Social media has a big influence on how businesses interact with their customers. If you’ve garnered a loyal following of people on social media, it’s an excellent place to look for online reviews. Running a campaign or creating a poll can help you acquire more reviews and find out what the online community thinks of your brand as a whole.
- Optimise your website
You can optimise your website by making it easier for customers to leave reviews. Adding a review request post-purchase is a good idea. You can also encourage your customers to leave reviews at the end of a blog post to help refine your products/services in the best possible ways. Simplify the review process like adding a star or emoji rating so that customers can quickly add their thoughts and experiences after interacting with your brand.
- Publish both good and bad reviews
Putting all of your reviews whether it be positive or negative, leaves an impression of authenticity in the eyes of your customers. It means that you are open to change and your brand is willing to adapt according to the needs of your target market. Customers are more likely to leave their input when they see that other people are genuine with their interaction with your brand. It’s okay to see negative reviews from time to time. This gives you a good idea on what to improve on so your products/services meet the expectations of your customers consistently.
- Create incentives to generate more reviews
Creating incentives is an exciting way to generate more online reviews from your customers. While you shouldn’t offer discounts in exchange for reviews, you can offer a reward for your review campaign. One example is to use social media voting to learn more about your customer’s favorite products/services and offer prizes in exchange for the chosen participants. The thought of winning makes for a great incentive that prompts customers to leave reviews on your website.
Generating online reviews doesn’t need to be difficult. All you need to do is to implement a strategy that prompts your customers to take action. With a little focus and creativity, you can establish a reputable brand image that’s backed by reviews from your loyal customers.
Conclusion
When implemented properly, online reviews can help establish a strong brand image. Customer feedback is crucial to leaving a positive first impression and the more reviews you get, the more trustworthy your brand will be. These 5 tips will help generate authentic customer reviews about your products/services and nurture new leads that are bound to roll in.
