If you’re reading this blog, we’re pretty sure it’s only for one reason – you want to increase your eCommerce reviews. Well, consider it done.
Today, the eCommerce industry has grown so huge. There are more than 12 million eCommerce stores across the globe, which only means that the competition is huge. And if there’s one thing that can help you stand out from the crowd, it’s going to be reviews!
Whether you’re ordering food online or downloading an application from the App Store, the first thing you’ll be looking at is the reviews. And the eCommerce sector is no different.
Statistics say that approximately 89% of people read reviews before buying a product. And 79% of shoppers have agreed that they trust online reviews as personal recommendations. So, if you’re running an eCommerce store, it’s time you start growing your reviews.
In this blog, we’ll be looking at the ways that can help grow your eCommerce reviews with ease.
But before we talk about that, why don’t we look at the benefits you get out of eCommerce reviews? Sounds great, right?
Okay, let’s get started.
Why Are Product Reviews Crucial for Your eCommerce Store?
It’s just not for the users! eCommerce product reviews can help shape your business as a whole. Let’s look at some of the most important benefits you get out of eCommerce reviews.
Use Reviews to Make Your Products Better
Most of the time, the product reviews that come with a 2 or a 3 or 4-star rating have feedback in them. And that’s what is going to help make your products better.
Customers tend to leave honest reviews when they are not satisfied. All you have to do is, take a look at the reviews, note down the feedback, see what you can do about it and start implementing them.
And yes. Having a couple of negative reviews isn’t bad at all (we know how that sounds)! Because when all your eCommerce reviews shine bright with 5-stars, it isn’t going to look genuine. Both positive and negative reviews are necessary to make your brand look authentic.
Your eCommerce Review Numbers Directly Reflects Sales
You know how this works. The more product reviews you have, the more impact it will create on your sales figures.
Higher Number of Product Reviews = Higher Sales Figures
When potential customers take a look at the number of reviews, they get an understanding that your products have been purchased by a large audience. This gives them a sense of trust and motivates them to make the purchase.
Use eCommerce Product Reviews As Social Proof
Another great benefit you get out of product reviews is that you can use them as social proof. Displaying product reviews on your website and social media channels can help increase sales and improve the overall perception of your brand.
A couple of super cool reviews is all you need to make social proof work.
Product Reviews Can Boost Ranking & Visibility
When it comes to eCommerce sites, product reviews can help boost SEO rankings.
A study by Moz stated that reviews are the third most important factor for local search rankings.
The logic behind this is, the reviews written by your customers are natural with keywords related to your products and they are unique as well. Also, every time a customer writes a review, there’s going to be new content on your website.
All these factors are why reviews help improve your ranking and visibility.
The above-mentioned are the major benefits you get with eCommerce reviews. That being said, let’s look at the ways to help you get more eCommerce product reviews.
How to Get More eCommerce Reviews
There’s been enough talk! We’ll get straight to the points!
1. Ask Reviews From Family & Friends
Getting the initial reviews can be hard because your business will have very little exposure and there’ll be hardly any sales.
Asking your family and friends to leave a couple of good reviews can be a great idea if you’re just starting out.
But make sure these reviews aren’t completely fake! What they write should resonate with your products and brand. Ask them to try using your products and leave a review then. Since it’s coming from people you know, you don’t have to worry much about how the review is going to be. But you can always personally ask for their feedback.
Once you have a couple of reviews onboard, you don’t have to worry about getting more sales and eCommerce reviews.
2. Post-Purchase Emails Do the Trick
There’s no better opportunity to generate eCommerce reviews than this! When your customers purchase a product from you, chances are high that they will leave a review provided you ask them right. And sending a review request email is the best way to do the job.
But keep in mind that you have to give them space to use your product. When you ask for reviews too soon, you might look too pushy which could turn out bad for you. Giving them the space they need will make their reviews more genuine.
Here’s a sample eCommerce email review template for you,
Subject Line: [Name], How’s Your New [Product Name]? We’re Thrilled to Hear!
Hi [Name],
Before we get started, we’d like to thank you for shopping with us! We hope you truly enjoyed the experience!
We are reaching out to know how much you liked your new [Product Name]. It would be great if you could take a minute of your time to leave an honest review here >> Link
This would help us make our product better and improve the experience for our customers like you. We’d really appreciate it!
Thanks a ton!
– – –
It’s best if you automate the process of sending emails. Have a template in place, set a schedule and you’ll see reviews coming in automatically.
Also, consider sending a follow-up email to those who didn’t respond the first time. Chances are they could have missed it or could have been too busy. The second time is no harm – you might actually be surprised by the number of reviews you get after the follow-up campaign. But don’t go beyond the second email – you might annoy them.
3. Make Your Support Team Generate eCommerce Reviews
This method is equally effective as the one we saw above. Wait. It’s even better!
When your support agent personally asks customers to leave a review for your product, they will find it hard to say NO. But remember, the request should happen only after a happy interaction with the customer. This type of personal 1-1 approach will definitely increase the number of eCommerce product reviews.
Make your support team understand how important eCommerce reviews are. In fact, you can even go a step further and give rewards to agents who generate the most eCommerce reviews in a specified time. While doing so, check whether the reviews are genuine. The last thing your business needs is a couple of fake reviews that could bring down your reputation.
4. Offer Incentives In Exchange for Reviews
Everyone loves incentives. Whether it’s a flat 30% discount coupon or a Buy 1 Get 1 offer, your customers wouldn’t hesitate to make use of it. And in exchange, all you’re going to ask is a review.
What you’re going to offer is totally up to you. But make sure that the incentive is enticing enough to bag a review. You can also consider starting a loyalty points program. Every time a customer leaves a review, they should get loyalty points that can be redeemed during their next purchase.
Important: Offer only what you can. Promising too much and failing to meet them might make your business look bad.
5. Use Social Media to Drive More eCommerce Reviews
When you follow the above steps consistently, you should be able to generate a couple of eCommerce product reviews in a span of 2-3 months.
Now it’s time you leverage them and put them to use. Remember where we talked about using eCommerce reviews as social proof? This method is exactly that!
Social media has become quite the buzz place today. And flaunting your eCommerce reviews, especially to your customers and followers can create a big impact by acting as a motivating factor.
You can simply,
- Give a shoutout to your recent customers along with their reviews – get as creative as possible (stories, carousel posts, videos, etc)
- Create a post about your incentives and rewards program and pin it on your social profile.
- Start running retargeting ads to your customers – you can ask for reviews stating the incentive and give product recommendations to increase future sales.
Using social media to display your eCommerce reviews will not only drive more reviews but also increase sales – when the general audience takes a look at your brand, they’ll be thinking “Okay! I guess this product is great. Maybe I should get one for myself.”
And that’s how it works!
6. Make The Overall Process Super Easy
We mentioned this in one of our previous blogs as well. Only when your customer finds it easy to leave a review, they’re going to do it. Anything that makes them go out of their way, you can stop expecting one.
When you ask for reviews via email, add the review link within the body and highlight it. When your support agent is asking for a review over the call, ask them to clearly explain the process – if the agent is to send a mail after the call, it should be mentioned clearly.
Remember that your customer is doing a favor for you. Making the process super easy is the least you can do in return!
7. Make Your Products & Services Best In the Game
This is more like the Zen Mode! You don’t have to worry about getting eCommerce reviews. It happens on its own. What you have to do is, focus on making your products and customer service the best in the industry.
The best reviews are the ones that come without asking. These reviews are one hundred percent honest and are a clear reflection of your products and services. It’s more like a reward!
When you’re able to crack this, the “eCommerce reviews” topic isn’t going to be that difficult for you. You get it, right?
So, those are the top 7 ways to get more reviews for your eCommerce store. And here’s a little bonus for you!
How to Manage Your eCommerce Reviews?
Once your store has become popular, you start getting a lot of eCommerce product reviews. And you should have a solid plan to manage them.
Managing eCommerce reviews here means monitoring and responding to both positive and negative reviews. And with increased volume, your support team will find it hard to do it, especially if the reviews are spread across different sources.
What can be done here is, you can start using a review management platform. And SimplyReviews is an ideal choice to go with!
With SimplyReviews you can,
- Monitor, manage and respond to reviews across multiple eCommerce platforms and review platforms from one single dashboard. Sites include Amazon, Flipkart, custom eCommerce site, Facebook, Google My Business, Yelp, TripAdvisor and more.
- Automate responses to reviews – intelligent AI Embedded Review Assistant identifies and responds to reviews based on sentiment.
- Escalate high-priority reviews based on the sentiment and nature of the reviews. Also, set alerts via SMS & Email for the same.
- Trigger automatic customer surveys based on specific products, services and the customer experience factor.
With SimplyReviews, you can pretty much manage your reviews in autopilot mode. To know more, you can book a 1-1 personalized demo with one of our agents.
So far, we’ve covered the benefits of eCommerce reviews, ways to get more reviews for your eCommerce products and finally, how to manage your eCommerce reviews.
It’s time we wrap this read up!
The Bottom Line
eCommerce reviews play a major role in increasing your sales and building a positive brand reputation. And as a store owner, you should ensure that you have a solid eCommerce review generation strategy in place. Every single review you obtain and accumulate can make a huge difference in the long run.
You never know, you could be competing with top-tier brands in a span of time! That’s how powerful eCommerce reviews are.
Here are a couple of other blogs you might be interested in,
👉How to Create an Online Review Management Strategy for Your Business
👉15 Review Response Templates to Quickly Reply to Online Reviews
👉 8 Proven Ways to Get More Reviews for Your Business
👉5 Considerations for a Strong E-Commerce Product Strategy
So, that’s pretty much it – you have everything you need to generate more eCommerce reviews!
Get started now!😉