When you buy a product online, do you check reviews from existing customers? Odds are, you do, and you’re not alone. The rapid growth of the internet has put consumers and business owners in a unique position. Instead of relying on verbal feedback or in-store surveys, many online businesses have embraced the power of online reviews.
People can now check and see what others are saying about a company in literally seconds. Couple that with the addition of on-site reviews for most big eCommerce websites, and it’s easy to see the power of customer feedback.
You can make changes to your business model, improve customer satisfaction, and learn about your target audience based on what they say during this pivotal moment. But gathering feedback from users isn’t always easy.
In the spirit of making life easier for owners and marketers, we are going to explore several incredibly effective and easy ways you can get more customer reviews for your company.
Send Email Surveys
The first thing you should do is create a survey that you can send to people who already bought your product. At this point, 61% of businesses use email marketing, so it’s a safe bet that you have a list of customers that signed up and bought something from your storefront.
Email marketing has a higher engagement rate when compared to other strategies. If you’re sending out a short, targeted survey, you’re likely to get plenty of responses from existing users.
Adding elements of personalization can also boost your open rate by 26%! So it’s vital that you include details like the customer’s name, products purchased, and any other relevant information you gathered at the point of sale.
Ask for honest feedback about your product, their experience on your site, and how you can improve. After you send out the first chain of emails, it’s a good idea to schedule an email to go out to new customers a week after they receive their product or start using your service.
This strategy will help you gather quick, actionable feedback. The best part is you already have an existing audience that would happily leave you a review through email or on your website. All you have to do is ask.
Reward Customers for Their Opinion
Next, let’s talk about rewarding loyal customers for their opinion. You can choose what to give users for leaving feedback on your website, social media, or email. In most cases, you’ll want to offer a small-ticket item or an exclusive discount.
If someone genuinely enjoyed their experience with your business, they will happily leave you a review in exchange for a gift. The key here is to make sure you’re gathering honest feedback. It’s worth noting that if someone didn’t like your product or service, they likely wouldn’t leave a review in exchange for a discount.
There are ways to capture the attention of these customers and make things right, and we will touch on that soon enough. This tip is primarily geared towards people who found value in your business and want to make repeat purchases in the future.
Interact with Users Leaving Reviews
Did you know that 53% of people say they expect a response to their review within an hour? In other words, you’re missing out on a significant opportunity to improve satisfaction and loyalty by not engaging with users that leave you feedback.
There are several platforms where customers can talk about their experience with a specific brand or product. The obvious place is on your website. If a customer leaves feedback under a product from your store, you can thank them for their kind words and offer them an additional incentive through email.
Similarly, users are bound to leave reviews on social media. Consumers spend a whopping 2 hours and 29 minutes on social platforms every day. During this time, they are talking to friends, checking out companies, and leaving reviews.
If someone mentions your brand and leave an informal review, use this as an opportunity to engage with them in the comments section. You’ll find that the people who care enough to write reviews through this method are also the ones most likely to give you advice about how to improve.
As a general rule, you should handle negative reviews out of the public eye and start a direct message conversation to resolve the issue. Most people are willing to talk through their problems if it ultimately leads to a solution. Spend time getting to know your customers through their reviews across multiple platforms, and you’ll find areas where you can improve, as well as what you’re doing right.
Make Feedback a Part of Customer Service
The last tip we have for gathering reviews revolves around your customer service team. Most businesses have an online and phone support that they use to guide prospects through their journey and help existing customers.
Your support team can include a survey at the end of the chat session or send it through email if a user calls in. Including a customer service survey can help you fine-tune your customer support and business as a whole.
When people reach out to you, it’s because they have questions and concerns. If your team can resolve these issues and encourage the users to talk about their experience, it’s truly a win-win situation.
It’s vital that you teach your support staff the importance of feedback and find a way to ask customers to fill out this form in a conversational and friendly manner. You may have to experiment with different scripts to find a tactic that works with your business, but it’s possible.
Back to You
There’s no question that customer reviews are essential to your success. Visible reviews help build consumer trust while validating the opinions of people who have already bought something from your online store.
Feedback through surveys can be leveraged for your testimonial page and double as a tool you can use to fuel your business’s success. Understanding how consumers perceive their experience on your site compared to your intent can help you make smart decisions where both parties meet in the middle.
Before you start sending out surveys and asking for reviews, we suggest you take time to reflect on your business model. Think about what you would like to learn from your audience and make it easy for them to share their opinion.