Leverage the Power of Online Reviews: Build your E-Commerce Brand

Whether they are online or offline, opinions matter! And, for businesses, they become the difference between improving sales numbers and not getting enough sales.

Online reviews do the job of convincing customers by telling them more about the business, the brand, and merchandise. Gone are the days when reviews mattered only to those in the food and travel industry. Online shopping has put customer feedback in the limelight. So, if you are a part of the e-commerce industry, the opinions of your customers do matter.

Reviews on your website, other review websites such as Yelp, Angie’s List, Google Business Listing, and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, have the power to build your e-commerce brand and take it to the next level of success.

Here are some published statistics to tell you why online reputation management is essential for your e-commerce brand:

a. 82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses b. Review quantities, review velocity, and review diversity constitute 15% of the Google local pack rankings factors. c. 97% of consumers who read reviews also read businesses’ responses to reviews. d. Consumers don’t trust businesses with ratings lower than 4. e. Bad reputation costs a company at least 10% more per hire.

All the statistics go on to show that online reviews not only matter to your consumers but your employees as well. So, doesn’t it make sense to make online reviews work harder for your e-commerce website?

1. Attentive to Negative Feedback

Feedback won’t always be positive. Not everyone is going to enjoy your product/services, but it doesn’t mean you should delete negative reviews or argue with your customers online. A few negative comments, if addressed effectively and resolved efficiently, will display your sincerity to the general public.

Do not remove negative comments. Keeping them online will show that you value honesty and transparency above anything else. Focus on addressing the issue, understand the customer’s point of view, admit fault, and offer a solution.

Addressing negative online reviews will manifest that you value the opinion of every customer and you are willing to improve your product offering and services.

2. Appreciate Positive Reviews

Shoppers read businesses’ responses to online reviews. They ascertain your worthiness with how you deal with negative as well as positive feedback. Remember a happy customer can bring you more business with word-of-mouth promotion.

If you have received positive reviews, acknowledge the customer, show gratitude, and then, don’t forget to spread the word. Use the power of social media to promote positive feedback and sway potential buyers in making the purchase.

Remember positive online reviews are your goodwill in the world of the e-commerce business. Do appreciate the feedback and appreciate the customer for taking the time to write it.

3. Encourage More Reviews

From the statistics, you know how customers make their decisions based on reviews. The more recent reviews, the easier for your customers to ascertain the worthiness of your products.

According to a survey, more than 70 percent of customers say they are ready to write a review if they are asked to provide feedback by the business. This means you must encourage customers to leave reviews and provide them various opportunities to do so. Dissatisfied customers are more inclined to write a negative comment and if you don’t pursue all your customers to leave feedback, your online reputation will reflect negative reviews only.

How to get Real Customers to write Real Reviews?

In the age of the internet, there is no point in being passive and waiting for customers to leave a review. If you are intimidated by the thought of disturbing your customers for a review or you want to find effective ways to enjoy a glowing review, here are a few strategies that will make the task simple for you. Let’s learn how to get real reviews from real customers.

1. Before the Customer Visits your E-Commerce Store

Before a customer comes to your website to make the purchase, he may have learned about you from social media, third-party review websites, and local listings. Usually, customers look at a few different options before deciding to add products to the cart.

A majority of consumers trust reviews on Yelp and Facebook. So, make sure your business is available on popular platforms and the available information is accurate. Claim your business or create a business page so potential customers can find your profile, read reviews, and share their experience.

Do not forget to include Google Business Listing. The search-engine giant considers reviews on local business listings; both qualitatively and quantitatively. If you serve customers across the globe, they may not be able to leave a review on Google business listing. In such a situation, send them the Google Business Listing review link and help them provide honest feedback.

2. When the Customer is already on your Website

Even if customers have researched your business on Google or checked out your reviews on third-party websites, your website should provide enough opportunities for them to read reviews and leave feedback.

Set up review badges that direct visitors to your Facebook, Google Business Listing, Yelp, and other profiles. It will allow them to read the existing reviews and prompt them to write one as well.

Initiate conversations in blogs and reply to comments on every post to understand the customer’s expectations and experience. If your customers have shared their experiences in blog comments, address their feedback, and share their responses on social media.

Make use of a customer testimonial extension so that users can provide you feedback without logging in to the website. Allow them to upload pictures and videos which describe their experience in detail. Additionally, make sure each product page has a separate Reviews section. It will help existing customers to review specific products and allow potential customers to learn about the product in detail.

3. When the Customer has made the Purchase

It’s not a wise idea to ask for reviews directly. If the customer has purchased products from your website, learn more about his experience. Send an email, start a conversation, and understand his level of satisfaction.

Once you have identified the gaps in the shopping process and resolved issues, request your customers to leave reviews. This way you will improve your chances of getting positive reviews.

Customize email templates and encourage them to leave reviews for your business. Whether you want their review on the product page, Yelp, or Google Business Listing, provide accurate links in the email so that they do not have to go searching for the URL. It will improve the chances of getting more reviews on the platform that you want.

Build your Brand; Build a Successful E-Commerce Business

Building an e-commerce brand starts with building a robust relationship with your customers. Connect with your customers so that they can share views about your products, help you to improve your performance, and thus, enable you to grow your business exponentially.

Remember, reviews are not just the results of your efforts but they can also become an indicator for future business decisions. So, get pro-active to get more reviews from your audience.

Do you want to encourage customers to leave reviews on your e-commerce store? Install customer testimonial extension and allow them to write reviews and upload pictures and videos about their experience. Additionally, use the email template editor to send customized emails and get more reviews for your e-commerce brand.

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