Getting positive customer reviews is a significant part of e-commerce success. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get happy consumers to leave feedback. The good news is that you can use some tried-and-true marketing strategies to generate quality reviews.
In this post, we’ll look at four tips for getting more positive reviews for your e-commerce site. Let’s get started!
The Importance of Showing Customer Reviews
Research by the Spiegel Research Center shows that displaying customer reviews can increase conversions by 270%. There are two major reasons for this statistic: reviews can build trust and enhance Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
A positive review can work wonders as social proof since users testify to the quality of your product. The more social proof you can generate through consumer feedback, the more likely new potential customers will trust your brand and make purchases themselves.
Customer reviews are also great for SEO. On-site reviews are sources of user-generated content with relevant information. They can also diversify the material on your website. These are both essential elements for ranking in organic search results.
For an example of a high-quality review, check out what this customer wrote about a pair of headphones they purchased:
The reviewer establishes themself as credible by mentioning that this is the second pair they’ve purchased. They also outline specific use cases that could appeal to other customers. Furthermore, the review is also packed full of keywords relevant to headphones and music recording.
How to Increase Customer Reviews on Your E-Commerce Site (4 tips)
You can use the four tips we’ll outline here for any e-commerce site. These methods can boost the number of reviews you receive and generate more sales by building trust around your brand. Let’s take a look!
1. Send Post-Purchase Messages
Sending a message to a customer once they’ve made a purchase is one of the most effective ways to get reviews. Still, to get the most out of these requests, there are some things to consider.
Your customer communication channel can impact your review requests. Email is one of the most popular mediums for this, and it enables your business to craft more detailed messages.
For instance, you could use the space in an email to explain why reviews are helpful for your company, thus making your brand more relatable. Here’s a post-purchase email that includes a thoughtful review request:
It may also be helpful to include prompts for your customers when they write reviews. You can do this by asking leading questions such as “Did you receive your product quickly?” or “Are you happy with the level of customer service you’ve received?”
SMS is another channel that you might not have considered. Especially if this medium is already part of your marketing strategy, sending post-purchase messages by text is a convenient way to encourage your customers to write a review.
In addition to the channel you use, timing is an important consideration. How long you wait before asking for a review will typically depend on the product you’re selling. You’ll want to ensure the customer has enough time to experience the item.
Follow-ups for perishable products can happen sooner after purchases than items with longer lifespans. You might ask for a review of a flower order one week after the sale, but two weeks or more are appropriate with a new phone.
2. Partner With Influencers
Influencer marketing can benefit your e-commerce business, and it’s a great way to generate high-quality reviews. Testimonials from influencers are valuable because they come with credibility and can reach a broad, relevant audience.
Influencer testimonials are often also more in-depth and shareable than traditional customer reviews:
Offering monetary compensation can help when partnering with influencers. Alternatively, another option is to incentivize reviewers with free products, discounts, or affiliate commissions.
It’s also a good idea to consider both high-profile accounts and people with fewer followers. Influencers with larger audiences may be harder to incentivize, but they’ll expose your product to more people.
In contrast, accounts with fewer followers may have a smaller reach. Still, they could be easier to incentivize and might have higher engagement rates with their audiences.
To get the most out of your influencer partnership, consider making the process as simple as possible for the person. You can offer to prepare a template for their review. Moreover, you can ensure they have access to everything they will need to test your product.
3. Connect Your Business to Third-Party Review Sites
We’ve already explored why commerce reviews on your website are good for business. Still, there are also some perks to accumulating reviews on other sites.
Purpose-built review sites have tons of users and make leaving reviews easy. Utilizing these websites is a great way to increase the total number of testimonials associated with your brand.
A great first step is to set up a Google Business Profile for free. It can make your company easier to discover online and help you build a positive reputation on the world’s most used search engine.
To get started on another famous review site, you can also set up a Yelp Business Profile for free:
Yelp is a trusted review site that many potential customers consult before making purchase decisions. Maintaining a good reputation on a platform like this can be invaluable.
You might also consider creating profiles on review sites specific to your industry. For example, travel-related businesses can register on TripAdvisor, and a company catered toward homeowners may want to consider Angi.
4. Reduce Friction for Reviewers
To increase the number of customer reviews on your e-commerce site, you’ll want to streamline the process as much as possible. It’s also essential that consumers don’t have to go hunting for the review section.
To increase the visibility of your review process, it’s a good idea to include a dedicated section with an easy-to-find review button on every product page. You can also add direct links to the page for writing testimonials wherever you communicate with your customers.
To make writing a review even more accessible, you can consider implementing a star system:
Visualizing the impact of a review can make leaving one more appealing. This is a system used by Amazon, Google, Yelp, and countless other successful businesses.
Conclusion
Customer reviews are here to stay. They’re important parts of any e-commerce business, and harnessing their power comes with serious perks. Customer feedback can improve SEO, create social proof, and ultimately boost sales. By following the tips in this post, you can increase the number of customer reviews on your e-commerce site and help your business thrive.
Do you have any questions about increasing customer reviews on your e-commerce site? Let us know in the comments section below!
Image source: Pixabay