Online reviews are hugely important these days and can be highly influential when it comes to consumers’ purchase decisions. That makes them one of the best marketing tools you can leverage for your business to boost your reputation in consumers’ eyes.
This is true of services your business may provide as much as it is for physical products.
When was the last time you went to buy something on Amazon and weren’t even tempted to glance at the reviews of previous customers?
We’re willing to bet that you will take a look most of the time, as will most consumers looking to buy a new product.
So, if you’re looking to increase the number of reviews you receive for your product/s, what’s the best way of going about it?
Well, here are seven of the best tips you can use to get more product reviews from consumers:
1. Request Feedback
The best way to get more reviews is, perhaps unsurprisingly, to request them from your customers.
While requesting feedback can be tricky territory to traverse at times, it can be essential for the growth and success of your business.
Most customers (around 78%) who are asked to leave a review will comply, which really does prove the expression ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get.’
With that in mind, you should do your best to solicit feedback on your products at every opportunity.
In fact, you’d do well to spread the message to your employees, too, since they will be the ones dealing directly with the customers.
With the help of Trustindex, you can easily create campaigns that will help you send out review requests to your customers so you can maximize the power of reviews and boost your sales. Find out more!>>
2. Simplify the Process
Most of us as consumers are lazy, it’s true.
So why not make the process of leaving a review as simple as humanly possible?
If you generously provide the customer with a link taking them to the page where they can leave a review for the product they bought, then you’d made their life much more comfortable.
3. Use Questions
It’s also true that many of us when prompted for feedback about a product, simply don’t know what to say.
If given a blank form to fill out about a product, chances are the majority of people will pass on it.
However, if you ask several pertinent questions about the product and the customers’ experience with it, then you can solicit the response you’re looking for.
Ask open-ended questions as well as closed ones, such as whether the customer would recommend the product to a friend.
4. Highlight the Positive
If you already have a number of positive reviews for your product, then you should shout it from the rooftops.
Ok, don’t go that far, but still, you should make every effort to highlight the positive feedback.
If a new customer sees that others have left glowing reviews of your product, do you think they are less or more likely to want to give it a go?
The best way to share positive feedback is to do so through your company’s social media pages, and it can be anything from a widget or quote to a full-on video review.
5. Respond Consistently
When it comes to how often you should respond to reviews, the evidence is clear: 71% of customers claim to be more likely to buy from companies that respond to their reviews.
By replying consistently, you show prospective customers that you take feedback on board and are willing to engage and adapt according to the information given by existing customers.
It can also improve your star rating on various websites if you respond consistently.
6. Reach out to Existing Customers
If you have an existing customer base, those are the people you should target to get more product reviews.
These are the people that have bought your product and presumably enjoyed it, but for whatever reason, decided not to leave a review.
You need to convince them to do so by one of the methods already discussed.
And if you know that they are loyal repeat customers, and haven’t left a review, then there’s even more incentive to reach out to them and request one.
7. Perfect your Timing
Your best bet of eliciting a review from customers will largely depend on your timing.
You want to strike while the iron is hot, which in this context means requesting the review while the product is still fresh on the customer’s mind.
Interestingly, it seems that the best time to do this by a significant factor is over the weekend. During the weekend, specifically Saturday morning, customers are 143% more likely to respond than during the week.
This doesn’t mean you need to let work eat into your weekend, but it does mean you should implement a communication strategy that works while you’re not there.
That way, the customer can receive the review request at the perfect moment for them to respond.