One aspect of e-commerce that is often neglected is that of customer reviews.
They can be a powerful tool to increase your conversion rate and make your website more visible.
Think about it: when you order a product online, don’t you read lots of reviews before purchasing? Don’t you step away from products that have just one or two reviews?
What are the benefits of product reviews for e-commerce?
- Encouraging the purchase
Customers are encouraged to make the final step to purchase a product thanks to product reviews. They are of course more likely to trust people who have purchased a product previously instead of trusting who’s selling it. - Providing further information
Reviews often provide information that hasn’t been included in the product description. - Increasing trust
Needless to say, the more positive reviews a product has, the more credibility your business has. Customers will then be more likely to make a purchase. - Improving visibility
Reviews can contribute to make your website more visible in search results. Of course this leads to more clicks through to your site and therefore more sales.
Unfortunately, it’s not easy to get as many reviews as you’d like, especially positive ones! It’s up to you to push them to do so.
How to encourage product reviews?
- Asking your customers
We are stating the obvious. This can be done through emails after a purchase or a customised card in their delivery, which can be even better as it’s more personal. Of course, try to be as polite as possible, since they have no obligation to do that. - Keeping it simple
The review process must be kept as simple as possible. Try to use clickable questions, yes/no questions and star ratings, in order to let your customers have an effortless review.
If they have to register first, provide additional information before even starting the process, they can abandon it in seconds. - Offering discounts
Another great way to encourage reviews is that of offering discounts, proposing giveaways or early previews. Remember to give such incentives also to customers who leave negative reviews! - Responding to reviews
You should try to respond to every review you receive. A kind “Thank you very much [NAME] for your review” could just be the way.
By responding to reviews, it shows you are willing to listen to your customers.
