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Customer reviews are a fantastic way of letting your existing customers express their opinions about your store. We know you might not be a fan of the whole concept of asking people to rate their experience with you and all.
But if you are confident with your services, those reviews will work wonders in your favor. Customer reviews on your e-Commerce website also help you gain more insight into your business.
Why Do You Need Customer Reviews?
Customer reviews have more of an impact on an e-Commerce website’s sales than anything else. When you have a new visitor on your website, you can bet a fortune on the fact that they will check the review section of the product they want to buy first.
In fact, research has shown that 9 out of every 10 shoppers like to read the customer reviews of a page or brand before they make their decision.
In some of the rare cases that they do not go through that section, it is probably because they already heard about how good/bad your products are from someone else. The case stays the same, though – your visitors will only become your customers if they hear or read good things about you.
You can see which aspects of your business are doing great from the good reviews and continue maintaining that streak. And from the bad ones, you can find out which parts of your business need fixing.
Moreover, having regularly updated reviews on your website – both good and bad – also play a major role in generating positive SEO feedback. This is because the reviews on your page often will have the same keywords as those needed to look up a service on your website.
What Kind of Information Should Be The Reviews?
Alright so, reviews are important. We got that part loud and clear. But what kind of information should your reviews have? Should they be all good or a mixture of positive and negative ones?
The Reviews Should Be Detailed
The reviews that customers leave on your page should be detailed enough to let others know what their exact experience was like. When asking for reviews, you should ask your customer to point out how your customer service was.
You should also ask them how you could do better in some areas (if they think you could use some improvements, that is), and what areas of your e-com business are perfect as is.
Moreover, try not to post one-word reviews on your page. They are not practical at all, and readers usually scroll right past them.
Your package for the BeautyLove has been delivered. Help us by leaving a review in our products and get a 5% discount on your next purchase. https://opu.sh/review
They Should Be From A Personal Perspective
To get useful reviews and help potential customers decide, ask your existing clientele to submit a review based on their personal experience.
Even if a customer leaves a negative review on your website, it will only work in your favor as long as you handle the situation with tact.
Having customers say only good stuff about your business might make your website look fake.
It will be better if they write it in a first-person narrative and more than just a few words long. Side by side, you should also ask them to maintain a friendly tone throughout.
To make sure it is seen as something legit and reliable, you should allow a combination of positive and negative reviews to be posted on your page. Make sure you reply to all kinds of reviews since it will give the reader the idea that you offer outstanding customer service.
If someone is talking about an issue they are facing with one of your products, tell them of ways it can be solved, or ask them if they wish to get a refund.
Provide A Visual Cue for The Ratings
Simply asking your customers to drop reviews on your ecommerce website will not be as effective. Your goal should be to make the whole process as easy as possible for them so that they do not have to spend too much of their precious time reviewing your site.
One sure-fire way of doing this is, by adding a visual cue on your website. Which will attract their attention and tell them where they should go if they wish to drop their ratings.
This could either be the number of ratings your website has already received, or an icon that they are bound to recognize.
More Reviews or Few Reviews With High Quality ?
When it comes to customer reviews on your e-Commerce website, less is NOT more. A higher number of product ratings will boost the reputation of your website and will make it seem more credible.
As mentioned before, a larger number of reviews posted on your page will also better impact your SEO. The best way to achieve this is to always keep the most recent reviews at the top of the review section.
If you keep old reviews on your page for too long, potential customers will think your website is inactive. As a result, they will not look much into your services before moving to some other website.
However, a larger number of reviews can also negatively impact your business if they are mostly negative. Of course, some clients might have had a bad experience with you, and it is acceptable that they talk about it.
Some customers might post dishonest negative reviews on your page in hopes of ruining your reputation. Conversely, dishonest positive reviews will also hurt your brand’s name.
The key is to find that balance between good quality and larger quantity.
How To Get More Customer Reviews On Your e-Commerce Website
1. Ask Through Text
When your customer makes a purchase from your website, you could ask them if they wish to receive promotional texts in the future. If yes, you can then ask them to input their phone number to always remain updated about promo offers and seasonal discounts.
Using the information they provide you with, you can send them a text asking them to rate your service after the product has been delivered to them.
Or it could also be right after they have made the payment if you do not want to wait that long.
Thank you for your recent purchase! Please let us know how we did by taking a one question survey by clicking in the link below: https://8pu.sh/survey
How to implement this strategy?
Octopush’s services include sending bulk texts and voice messages.
With SMS 2.0, you can create a simple and mobile-responsive landing page for your business and send it to your customers via SMS.
For instance, you could leave a link to the landing page of your reviews section on your SMS. This also makes the job easier for them since they do not have to visit your website all over again and look for where they can add their reviews. You could also personalize your texts before sending them.
As a result, this might motivate your visitors to engage with your business and leave a prompt customer review.
However, make sure you’re aware of the timing of your texts. Asking for a customer review in the middle of the night or at the start of dawn will only infuriate your customers. So, when should you do it then?
With automation and digitalisation in place, you can track almost everything. Hence, once you’re notified that your customer has received your product, you could politely ask them how they liked your service so far.
Follow up on that message 1-2 weeks later.
Hi Kathrina, your Women Sport Shoes Basics were delivered on 30th August 2021. Were they the right fit for you? Let us know by answering some simple questions. https://8pu.sh/womenshoes
By then, your customer probably might’ve used your product at least once. That is when you can ask them whether they’re happy with your product’s quality. And if yes, whether they’d like to leave positive feedback for your business.
2. Ask Through Email
If your customers are not comfortable sharing their phone numbers, ask them to provide you with their email addresses. Send them a follow-up email asking them for their customer reviews. This once they have successfully purchased a product from your e-Commerce website. However, this mainly depends on the type of products you are selling. If it’s a digital service, you will be able to send the follow-up email almost immediately.
But if you are selling physical items like apparel, you will have to wait until the delivery service gets your product to the buyer. Once you get notified of them having received your product, you can send them an automated email asking them to rate their experience with you.
The best part about emails is that you can attach a link to the customer review section of your website, and the character count is larger. You could either send the same email to all your customers in a single day or personalise it for a specific client.
The latter is more effective since it makes your customer feel valued. Moreover, your email has a 50% higher chance of being opened and read by the recipient if it is personalised.
If the workload becomes too much, you could always adopt a few of the many email personalization techniques on the internet.
3. Ask During Product Confirmation
When the customer’s purchase is still in the confirmation stage. Many businesses might think it is too soon for them to come up with a good review. But that is not the case.
Early in their journey with your e-Commerce website, you can get reviews on your customer service and the accessibility of your page.
They can also tell you how their experience was with you during the buying process.
Positive feedback on these three agendas is important. Since customers look into them first thing when they want to buy a product.
Yes, they could submit this review later too. But we think it would be better to ask them for their words when the whole experience is still fresh in their minds.
4. Ask Through A Chatbot or Thank You Cards
Having a chatbot integrated into your website is a great way of improving your customer service. But that is not the only benefit. Program the chatbot to ask the customer to leave a review. Do it when they have paid for a product on your website.
But if your website does not have a chatbot, you could use a manual alternative. Aside from sending emails or text messages, you could include a short, hand-written thank you card in the product’s box.
Start by thanking them for their cooperation. Then you could ask them to leave a customer review on your website or rate their experience with you. You could even add a scannable QR code via which they will be led to your customer reviews page.
Final Words
Regardless of what tone the reviews, always remember to address it in a friendly and professional manner. If you’re looking for a top-notch SMS platform for your business. You can always put your trust in Octopush and sign up with us for free!
