Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target’s websites aren’t only popular merchants; they’re also helpful tools. Thousands of individuals use these sites every day to study products based on customer feedback. In addition, many large establishments, such as these, are used as search sources when other sources do not provide enough information for shoppers to form an opinion.

Product reviews are an essential component of the branding and marketing of an online store. They aid in developing trust and loyalty by describing what distinguishes your items from the competition.

Today, we’ll look at how reviews can help your store boost sales and make customers write reviews on purchased products.

What motivates customers to submit online reviews?

Customers can convey their side of the buying store through online reviews. Other potential buyers will see this as social proof.

The level of credibility that the public accords to a service or product are referred to as social proof. The more people who use or love a product, the more likely others will follow. A celebrity’s positive public endorsement of a company can give significant social proof, which can directly impact sales. A poor review, on the other hand, can drive customers away.

There is also evidence that internet reviews are the keyway people decide where to shop locally. When investigating products or services in their local area, nearly all consumers (97 percent) now use internet media.

How do reviews benefit your store in a variety of ways?

Buyers rarely buy a thing without first determining how it will work for them. Instead, they read the good, the bad, and the downright ugly to make the all-important decision: should I whip out my wallet and take the risk?

The immediate benefit of reviews is that they might boost the confidence of your future customers. The more reviews you have, the more specific a customer will be to make the right choice.

Reviews can also assist a store’s internet presence. Because consumer feedback shows on each product’s page, reviews can assist pages in being found on search engines through unique keywords.

Furthermore, if customers share things they’ve reviewed on social media, it increases exposure for those products and your business.

Reviews can also help you understand your items better. You can spend hours using a product, but the chances are that customers will notice things that you would never notice. That means your customers can provide you with valuable comments, suggestions for development, and even fantastic marketing ideas!

Let’s get started.

Some best practices to make customers write reviews

Proactively Ask Your Customers 

Customers will not know you want feedback unless you ask for it. As a result, please make it a part of your engagement strategy to solicit feedback from repeat customers openly. Most people will not object, and if you aren’t already, asking will immediately increase the number of reviews you receive. Although this does not guarantee only positive reviews, most customers trust reviews more when positive and negative ratings are included.

Simply asking customers to review products they own or have purchased is the most effective way to obtain feedback. Be direct – it’s not that your customers don’t want to post reviews; it’s just that they frequently forget!

Customers who have purchased from you should be asked for a review within a week after their order arrives (or later if your customers aren’t likely to use your products immediately).

Make it simple for customers to leave reviews

You want things to be simple for clients, just like you want everything else in the purchasing process to be simple for them. The more minor hurdles people confront, the less stopping them from leaving reviews. This can involve being clear about the questions they’ll be answering, and the time it will take.

Make your reviewing procedure as user-friendly as possible. For example, inbox submissions and checkout comments are excellent ways to provide quick and easy feedback possibilities to your customers. Instead of forcing your consumers to click to another page, ask them for feedback on the page they’re now on (such as your post-purchase messages or order confirmation page).

Collect Feedback From Various Channels

Your clients are likely to be present in multiple channels and seek reviews in multiple locations. Collecting feedback on social media, your website, in-store, over the phone, and on review, websites allow customers to post reviews whenever and wherever it is convenient for them.

Use Social Media to Get Feedback

Customers will post reviews through many sources, so you should solicit them through your company’s social media. Simple brand-related blogs that ask your audience a question might generate useful responses that your brand can later use as product reviews.

Inquire at Significant Points in Their Experience

A consumer is more likely to give an honest and accurate review at particular times in their experience. For example, this might be right after your customer service team has walked customers through the process of locating a product that is tailored to their needs.

This is also an excellent time to inquire about client satisfaction. The questions you ask will significantly impact the conclusion you reach based on your consumers’ responses. Therefore, it’s critical to ask the correct questions; see our customer satisfaction guide for more information.

Getting clients within a few days or even hours after purchase strengthens their ratings and emphasizes the connection they’ve recently built with you.

Engage in All Reviews

Good or bad, how a firm responds to a review is something that potential customers look for. This is especially important when responding to unfavorable reviews, as a calm and confident response may show your organization in the same positive light as any 5-star review. Thanking clients for their feedback and noticing what you can improve on is a terrific approach to appear modest and open to criticism. It also shows that you value your customers’ feedback.

Accept Different Review Formats

Don’t limit yourself to text-based or star-rating-based reviews. Visual reviews are highly effective endorsements because they allow potential purchasers to see the product in its natural setting. For example, someone similar to them purchased this product and liked it enough to snap and share a photo or video. This is far more convincing than brand-generated visuals, which shoppers regard as less trustworthy.

Final thoughts

Obtaining and publishing client reviews is a constant and necessary element of doing business online. Using the procedures outlined here can persuade customers that you are trustworthy and have high-quality products. They may also encourage other customers to express their opinions about the things you sell.

Do you currently accept product reviews in your store? What efforts have you made to encourage shoppers and customers to tell others what they think? Tell us in the comments.