Since more than 80 percent of online shoppers pay attention to product reviews before they make a purchase, an aspiring eCommerce business should do what it can to gather as much feedback on its website. Customer reviews build authority and make the store seem more genuine, then the sure thing is you must use product reviews to boost sales.
This leads to shoppers who are on the fence about spending their money on your store changing their stance. Whenever they see reviews below a product’s description, they read through them and get an idea of what to expect.
Having said all that, customer review management for an eCommerce business is not that straightforward. You need to put a lot of effort into creating a proper strategy that can benefit the store and increase conversions.
Below, you will find 7 valuable tips that will help you make the most out of customer reviews for an eCommerce store.
1. Automate Review CollectioneCommerce
The first thing you want to focus on is review collection automation. To increase Shopify store sales, a proper review management system is a must, but it would also be beneficial to think of how you can automate some processes.
For example, you could import reviews directly from other platforms if you sell the same products. A popular product ought to have multiple reviews, and you can even prioritize positive ones while avoiding negative reviews.
Simplifying review submissions for customers is another worthy consideration. Instead of asking them to write a wall of text, why not create a survey or provide templates? If submitting a review becomes easier and more automated, more customers are likely to oblige and share their feedback.
2. Include Pictures to Make Reviews Look More Genuine
Visual content is one of the most important elements in modern marketing strategy. From videos to infographics, consumers find it easier to digest visuals than text.
A similar thing should be applied to reviews. A picture that accommodates a review is more likely to persuade a customer who is still undecided.
3. Find the Right Time to Ask Users for a Review
You should not expect that many customers to leave feedback by themselves. No, if anything, you will need to ask them directly. For instance, after they complete the transaction, there should be a pop-up that asks them to kindly share their thoughts about the shopping experience.
Or, once the product is delivered to them, you could send an automated email and ask them to rate the product or write a review on the website.
Reminder emails are also encouraged because some customers might be willing to submit a review, but they forget about it or get disrupted, so reminding them about it is bound to bring more reviews to the website.
4. Gain Customer Insight From Reviews
Reviews do more than just encourage other shoppers to spend money. You can also gain valuable insight from reviews submitted by the customers.
Say someone is sharing their experience about using your product and mention their age by writing “as someone who is X years old…”, you can use the information to get a better understanding of what some of the demographics of your customers are.
Of course, it is important to note that you need a decent sample size, but given how competitive the eCommerce industry is, you should treat any insight as valuable and make the most out of it when possible.
5. Enable User-Generated Content
User-generated content in the form of customer reviews also works as original pieces that boost SEO. Therefore, you should not limit the store to just surveys but also have the option to let users write detailed reviews if they want and even allow others to comment under a review to encourage a discussion.
Let customers upload videos if they are interested enough to record one. It will add an extra bit of creativity, originality, engagement, and interest generation because of the visual type of content that is known to be quite effective.
6. Deal With Negative Reviews
Do not make the mistake of blocking negative reviews altogether. Doing so would raise red flags among shoppers. Imagine someone stumbling upon a product and finding nothing but the highest ratings and praises.
Instead of deleting bad reviews, you should address them. Reply to a customer’s concerns and show that you are interested in solving the conflict so that they are happy. Such behavior will get noticed by other customers after they see one of the store’s staff members replying to a review.
Keep in mind, though, that some conflicts are better be solved privately, so do not rush to confront customers that might have interests different from what you expect.
You should treat negative reviews as a way to improve the store and appreciate constructive criticism rather than look for ways to circumvent the problem. It may seem counterintuitive, but negative reviews have their value.
7. Give Customers an Incentive
In case the struggle to encourage customer reviews is too much to handle, think about how you can incentivize them to provide feedback.
Freebies like free shipping or exclusive discounts could work. A store could also organize a raffle and offer more entry tickets to customers who submit a product review.
A weekly or monthly contest that declares the most insightful and best-written review or the most original video review is another idea to consider.