"Did you hear? Taco Bell just launched a new food item, and it's a hit. People are loving it. The reviews are everywhere!"
Product reviews and testimonials are crucial for any business's success. Reviews about your product will let customers know more about it before they buy it. And this makes it easier for them to decide whether to buy the product.
According to a survey, 38% of U.S. online users state that online reviews are very important before deciding to purchase a product. And 17% of respondents always check online reviews before buying a product, while 41% check online reviews most of the time.
Product reviews make a great impact on potential customers. So, how can you increase product reviews after a purchase? Keep reading to learn more!
1. Utilise Social Media Platforms
Reviews and testimonials via social media platforms have gained ample popularity. Some of the most popular social media platforms where people search for online reviews are Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor. Also, U.S. online users feel that online reviews are a good source of specific information for products they want to buy.
Here is a set of steps you can follow to gain product reviews by using social media platforms:
- Make your presence known on popular social media platforms i.e., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.
- From time to time share customer reviews on your social media. It will encourage others to share their thoughts.
- Ensure activity on these platforms by posting on a daily basis. The posts can be about a new product or any new updates, facts about your product, etc.
- Don’t be shy, throw in a “please leave a review” story in your social media plan. People do forget, and they don’t mind being reminded.
- Run giveaway campaigns for people who have left you a review on social media.
Key takeaway: Be active on social media and don’t be shy to ask for reviews or run a promotion (like a giveaway) to encourage people to leave a review.
2. Send Emails After Purchase
Setting up an automated email campaign can be a good idea. Well-established review systems automatically send emails. These emails are crafted mainly to encourage shoppers to review their recently bought products.
These automated emails should be sent as early as after a week of purchase and as late as after a month. But what's the difference between the two?
Source: Unsplash | Picture by Justin Morgan
If the order was placed in the locality of your business, i.e., your City/State, your Country, then a post-purchase email after a week will do the trick. By then, the customers must have already used the product and are ready to give a review!
But if the order was placed by an international customer, the delivery estimate is much longer. That's why sending an email after a month to such a customer will likely prove fruitful since they had enough time to test the product and become eligible for an amazing review.
Key-takeaway: Let the customers know that you care about how the product felt to them and that you'd appreciate their valuable insight.
3. Use Incentives – Reward for Review
We all love hefty incentives and rewards for our purchases. Incentives quickly add up to your brand's image from the buyer's point of view (in short, they love it).
Discount codes, coupons, free-delivery/free shipment, redeemable points etc. are a set of rewards that are tempting for shoppers. Setting up an automated email for this purpose is also a fantastic idea.
Send an email to your customers after a few weeks of the purchase. Make sure to include a polite message expressing your gratitude and that you would love to hear what was their experience with the product. Feel free to add one of the incentives mentioned above as a “prize” for them taking time out of their day to review your product.
However, you might consider using the incentives for reviews as a campaign thing or a rare opportunity. People actually love to leave reviews (at least certain types of people) and sometimes it is enough to just ask them. And that way you can save some good money in the process!
But nevertheless, if the reviews are just not coming in, incentives are an option to try.
Key-takeaway: Rewards and incentives are a great option to boost your review count. Just remember to use it wisely!
4. Contact Gold Reviewers and Negative Reviewers
What kind of business doesn't love good reviews? And if you'd compare, good reviews are equivalent to gold for your business. Yes, that's right! And to make sure that the good reviewers remain consistent customers, make an effort to connect with them.
Actively mention gold reviewers in your posts, stories, and statuses to give recognition to that reviewer as well as provide active social proof.
Doing this will encourage:
- The gold reviewer to shop again with you.
- Your audience to shop with you.
- Your previous shopper's to write a review for you.
Hey but, what about the negative reviewers? There's a trick for them too! Every single business has to face negative reviews at some point. And these occur more often than one can expect.
Don't worry, though. Negative reviewers can be turned into gold reviewers and returning customers. How? It's simple. Make an effort to connect with negative reviewers too. If not convinced yet, believe Bill Gates, as he has said: “You most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
Here's a set of advice on how to turn a negative review into a positive review:
- Respond to the negative comments politely and courteously.
- Ask them the right questions.
- Take note of the pain points of this customer.
- Make ample effort to resolve their issue as soon as possible
- Last but not least, remember to be patient with the customer.
And if all goes well, you just got yourself a returning customer and a negative reviewer turned into a potential gold reviewer. Cheers!
Want to know more about how to respond to negative reviews? Read our article “8 tips on dealing with bad reviews”.
Key-takeaway: Both gold reviewers and negative reviewers are valuable assets to leverage your brand if you follow the correct plan.
5. Showcase Previous Reviews on Your Site
One of the most important aspects of increasing product reviews after purchase is to showcase previous reviews on your site.
Showcasing previous reviewer's remarks regarding your products adds to the credibility of not only that product but also the brand itself. According to an online survey, about 93.4% of respondents said that they read customer reviews prior to purchasing from an unfamiliar digital retailer.
This further proves that having reviews on your site is sure to change many visitors to potential customers. Although, make sure you don't show only 5-star reviews (because that lowers the credibility of the product). Instead, leave there some 4-star reviews as well to maintain the authenticity of the reviews in the eyes of visitors.
It is also wise to add an option for Facebook, Google, or TrustPilot reviews to stream on your website. That way your potential customers can be sure that the reviews have been left by real people.
Key-takeaway: Visible reviews on the website ranging from 4 to 5 stars are the ultimate catch to increase product reviews.
6. Provide Great Customer Service
Ah! A courteous customer service provided with a quick response rate is an amazing asset. Customer service that responds to queries and problems in a short amount of time impacts the customers greatly.
Say, there's this t-shirt design you just loved and you placed an order for it. All processes went smoothly, and the order arrived at the right time. But there's been a mistake in packing. It is the design you ordered, but the size isn't right. What do you do?
Of course, you contact customer service and report this issue as soon as possible. It is easy to get in contact with customer service and the customer service representative is very nice and polite. They immediately took your concern to notice and deployed the actions needed as per your request.
Now, you have the design you ordered, exactly in the size you ordered because of the business's return/exchange policy within 15 days. This will surely tempt you to write a very positive review for this brand.
And that's how great customer service can stack a high number of reviews.
Key-takeaway: Make them feel so good that they can't resist leaving your brand without a review.
7. Ease the Process of Reviewing
Here's one piece of advice that you will never regret acting upon – and that is, make the process of reviewing easy and hassle-free.
Your customers are also humans just like you. This means, they are also living in a fast-paced world and are equally restless. They don't have time to waste.
In this era, no one likes to wait and read long questionnaires and regards. The people of today need quick solutions. So, it is a great idea to give them a quick and easy reviewing experience!
What to include in a short and easy review form:
- A very short and concise review question(s). (Maximum three, ideally one)
- A quick review scale (This could be a set of three or five different emojis representing the level of satisfaction or could just be a simple scale from 1–5 or 1–10)
- A blank space for the customer if they would like to add a more specific review.
- A short "Thank You" note
If you are looking for inspiration, you can take a note out of Google Playbook. They have definitely nailed the way to ask for a review – it is easy, simple, and done in 15 seconds.
Google review includes:
- Overall rate (with clickable 5 stars)
- 3 different positions to rate (with clickable 5 stars)
- Box where a customer can share their experience if they want to.
- Option to add pictures.
Google creates an extremely quick, but information-filled review schema!
Key-takeaway: When you make reviewing your product an easy for the customer, the customer will more likely leave a review!
Endnote
As many as 19% of U.S. online users trust online customer reviews as much as personal recommendations. Product reviews and testimonials are the true face of your business. The more, the merrier. The more positive, the better. But most of all, they should be honest and truthful. Those are the ones that provide the best value!
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