An Expert’s Guide to Gaining Customer Reviews
Written by Kellie Quain, Digital Media Manager
For companies seeking to grow their business, customer feedback in the form of online reviews is invaluable! From a business owner’s standpoint, this feedback can help bring about healthy changes, attract customers, boost conversion rates, and promote the brand in an organic way. From a consumer’s standpoint, reading the thoughts and opinions of previous customers provides them with genuine, honest perspectives from individuals who have dealt with the brand firsthand. As digital marketing experts, we implement strategies to promote your product, educate your consumer, and get your company to the right audience. Online reviews from real people, however, have the ability to give your brand credibility, authority, and further help you establish a positive digital footprint.
“According to a survey conducted by Dimensional Research, an overwhelming 90% of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced their buying decisions.”
How Can You Attain Online Customer Reviews?
Provide Customers with Incentives for Writing Reviews 
To get something, you often must give something in return. And if it’s reviews that you want for your online store, you should reward consumers accordingly. There are limitless possibilities when it comes to providing incentives but a good rule of thumb is, the better the rewards, the more reviews you can expect to get. A great place to start is by running a contest on your social media channels. For example, anyone who writes a review gets a chance to participate in the drawing for a coveted product like a gift card to your restaurant or a complimentary service your business offers.
Send Automated Emails Once a Purchase is Made
Email marketing is truly one of the most lucrative and effective tools a digital marketing expert possesses. Asking customers for reviews once they have made a purchase on your website (or in-store if you have retained their email address) is one of the best ways to approach buyers after they have made a purchase. Create an automated email message that explains how much you value their feedback and the importance reviews are to your business. With an honest and sincere approach, customers will be more likely to share their positive feedback. (Pro Tip: Don’t forget to include links to your social media channels so customers can easily access your accounts.)
Share Positive Reviews You’ve Already Received
When you start receiving positive reviews from your customers, keep the momentum going by highlighting and sharing them so other customers are inspired to do the same! Posting positive reviews on your company’s social channels will also open up the option to your followers there. You could reshare positive Facebook reviews in a post on your page, or design custom graphics for more visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. Social proof is a powerful marketing tactic that means that, if customers see other people like them sharing reviews, they are more likely to do the same and follow the crowd.
Make It as Easy as Possible for Customers
The easier you make it for customers to leave a review on your product or service, the more likely you are to receive them. If the journey to locate a review page or option to submit feedback is too complicated, customers will most likely not take the time to do so. A great tool to implement on your website is featuring reviews on specific product pages! Upon visiting the Levi’s website, for example, customers have the ability to read reviews based on the specific product they are viewing on the same page. This, in conjunction with your product descriptions and photos, will help act as a funnel of persuasion to get your customer to click “Add to Cart”.
Now That You’ve Received Review, It’s Time to Respond
Whether a review left online is positive or negative, a good habit to get into is responding to each one. As previously mentioned, those considering purchasing from your company seek out other customers’ thoughts and experiences. This means that potential customers may see if you choose to ignore customer reviews, giving the impression that you do not care about customer dissatisfaction or areas with room for improvement. Contrastingly, positive reviews should be acknowledged as well! When a customer leaves a great review about an experience they have had with your company, they are sharing it on a public forum and acting as a positive mouthpiece for your brand. This aids in establishing brand trust and loyalty, and can be exponentially helpful when it comes to growing your business. Expressing gratitude to these customers in a genuine manner shows you truly appreciate their business and feedback and will take only mere minutes of your time.
Gaining reviews from existing customers is one of the most effective ways to attract potential patrons. These reviews can be on your website, business listings such as Yelp or Tripadvisor, social media channels, and are invaluable when it comes to growing your business and increasing conversions. Brand trust and loyalty are two of the most powerful attributes of a successful company and the experts at MSM DesignZ are prepared to guide you toward achieving them!
With over 20 years in business, we have watched marketing evolve from traditional to digital. Whether you need a website refresh, more attractive email, or a quality online presence, we can do it all! We will always continue to place our clients’ needs at the heart of our operations. From web development to social media management, we’ll work directly with you to build a personalized strategy to not only retain but also gain business. We are assisting in all areas for our clients. Visit our contact page at https://www.msmdesignz.com/contact/, and we’ll work with you to devise a custom plan that will keep your brand alive and well. We look forward to working with you!
Sources:
https://databox.com/how-to-encourage-customers-to-write-reviews