Companies spend a lot of time and money trying to get better online reviews, but they don’t always work. Here are the techniques you can use right now that will help your business land 5-star reviews on Google. There are reviews all over the place. If it’s worth talking about (in good or poor ways), it has reviews, whether it’s a physical or digital product. Some of this criticism comes in the form of blog and forum comments. However, most evaluations may be found on substantial e-commerce sites where businesses sell their wares. The most crucial aspect of reviews is that they are valuable to individuals. For example, around 30% of Internet users read Amazon reviews before purchasing a product. This is simply Amazon.
Another 13% will go to Google. People used to inquire about things from their friends. They increasingly depend on internet evaluations, though. People rely on reviews to help them make judgments, and thoughts play a significant part in purchasing decisions. Although there’s no way to determine whether or not reviews are beneficial to the company, almost every research and anecdotal instance shows that they are. Capterra, for example, studied the impact of adding reviews to software items and discovered that when more reviews were added, conversion rates climbed dramatically.
Furthermore, more general research discovered that your conversion rate might more than double if you have a high enough quantity of reviews.
Although there is a brief dip after 20 reviews, the conversion rate quickly rises. You don’t have to be a large e-commerce business to add reviews to your internet shop. Adding reviews raised conversion rates by 35 percent for Figleaves.com and 14.2 percent for eSpares.co.uk. Massive gains in conversion rates may result in tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.
Potential customers trust reviews for a variety of reasons:
- They depict a real-life scenario.
- They are less inclined to be influenced by others (than a sales page)
- They instill trust in guests by demonstrating that there will be no problems with their purchase.
It’s difficult to get positive feedback: If you’ve ever tried to sell anything online, you’ve observed how tough it is to persuade consumers to write feedback. People want their things, but they don’t want to more effort. As a result, a decent review might take 5 to 15 minutes to write and provide little value to the reviewer.
One of three factors motivates people to post a review:
- They despise the item.
- They adore the thing.
- They’re in the middle, but they’d want to clear up any misunderstandings about the product for other possible purchasers (essentially just doing something nice)
The first two arguments should be self-evident. You don’t want individuals who dislike the product to leave reviews. That’s how you end up with negative and one-star reviews, lowering your conversion rates. So, what can you do to avoid it? Simply said, you need a fantastic product and excellent customer service. You’ll receive a lot of positive feedback if you design a product that everyone enjoys. Most items, in actuality, have buyers who fall into all three categories. What you need to do is concentrate on the folks who already appreciate and adore your product. Even if you have a strong three- or four-star rating, it may boost your conversion rate. That is the focus of the remainder of this article.
Great techniques to increase the number of customer reviews:
1. You may not like it, but you have no choice.
The majority of company owners like developing new items. However, just a few company owners like selling such items. Selling might make you feel like you’re doing something wrong or intruding on those you care about. It’s tough to ask for anything. However, it must be completed. You should begin by recognizing that selling does not have to be shady. Sales are merely letting others know about a genuinely valuable product if you make one. People will purchase your stuff and appreciate you for the opportunity if it is good. However, after making the sale, you should ask your consumers for feedback. If you don’t ask, most people will never consider doing it, even if they don’t mind. Although it may seem that you’re intruding on them by asking for something without reciprocating, you aren’t. Most satisfied customers are willing to assist you in spreading the word about your product so that others would try it as well. So, instead of believing that you’re exploiting your clients, recognize that you’re assisting one another. You should ask for evaluations as soon as possible after the transaction has been completed and your customer has had the opportunity to acquire and try the goods. Customers won’t evaluate a product they haven’t had a chance to experience if you ask too soon. They’ll have forgotten about it if you ask too late, and they’ll be less inclined to evaluate it (although late is better than early). A few days after you get a recent purchase, Amazon sends you an email reminder requesting you to evaluate it:
2. Customers don’t mind submitting evaluations if you ask the right questions.
It’s critical to handle the topic of customer reviews with caution. First and foremost, you want them to get and enjoy the goods. They are more likely not just to submit a review but to leave a favorable one if they are pleased. Second, I suggest calling consumers and asking if they had any issues with their purchase before asking for a review. If they have problems, they will inform you, and you will have the opportunity to resolve them. Some may let you know if they haven’t had any issues, while others will just ignore you. You may safely ask any of these consumers for feedback. Finally, how you request reviews is critical. Being convincing with your request may increase the number of reviews you get by a factor of two or three. To be honest, reviewers don’t get much out of the process.
Tip 1 – Be appreciative: It’s simply something pleasant they can do in the future for other individuals reading reviews. Many reviewers, on the other hand, will write reviews if they realize how essential they are to you. After all, you’ve just given them a fantastic product. Many clients would feel that they should have paid more, even if they have already paid for it. They will feel obligated to you as a result of this. Many consumers will write a review if you tell them how important they are to you since they will see you as “equal.” RealSelf, for example, is an online database of medical professionals. It offers evaluations on various cosmetic physicians so you can pick someone you can trust. After you’ve discovered a doctor using the service, RealSelf requests that you leave a review on the website.
There are two components in particular in the email that make it so effective:
- “…would be delighted if you could share your experience…” – They aren’t asking you to post a review merely for the sake of leaving one. Instead, they’re expressing their gratitude and appreciation for it.
- “…will also assist others in making informed judgments” – Because the client was recently in the difficult position of attempting to make an intelligent decision, they are likely to empathize with others in similar circumstances. Some consumers post a review just to assist others.
Tip 2 – Keep things simple: So we’ve demonstrated that the majority of reviewers do so because it’s a pleasant thing to do. Most individuals, however, have a limit on how much they are ready to sacrifice to be polite. Customers will not post a review if you have them jump through hoops to do so. The answer is simple: make it as simple as possible to leave a review.
To begin, if you’re requesting a review on a third-party site, always link directly to the site’s review forms:
If you’re asking clients to post a review on your site, let them begin by clicking on a star rating inside an email. This is something that all of the significant websites do for a reason. It’s effective.
Another advantage is that it makes it apparent that you want the buyer to post a review (they know what stars represent).
Tip 3 – Do not provide a monetary incentive: Do you want every consumer to post a review for you? If they do, just offer them $100. It’s a murky area when it comes to incentivizing reviews. However, it has clear moral ramifications. You’re practically paying your consumer for a positive review in various ways. Even if your incentive isn’t intended to be a bribe, most people feel obligated to provide positive feedback if they’re being rewarded for it (without any other potential buyers being aware of it). A possible concern that may be much worse is that if you are caught by the FTC, you could be penalized a lot of money (if you do any business in the United States). Because these laws aren’t in place in every nation, it’s up to you to find out whether there’s a similar organization in yours and decide if you’re ethically alright with rewarding. If you’re going to give an incentive, make sure your reviewers know it in their reviews. If the motivation is disclosed in the study, there is no moral objection, and it is also not breaking any laws.
Tip 4 – Be specific about what you want: Customers could write about anything, including irrelevant things if you just have one textbox that reads “your review.”
Your reviewers will have a much better sense of what to mention if you split the review down into descriptive fields:
Adding a description into, above, or under the “review” box is one approach to enhance the above form. In addition, you may elicit information from the client about specific characteristics of the product that you feel impact purchasing choices (shipping, packaging quality, durability, etc.).
3. When it comes to raving ratings, here’s what you’ll find inside.
You may direct the content of a review by asking your consumers to consider specific themes. This is significant since most people are unaware of what constitutes a good review. As a result, they’ll often write things like “excellent product,” even if the product isn’t beneficial.
Instead, you should ask them any (or all) of the following questions:
- as well as their circumstances
- any unique characteristics of the goods or the purchasing procedure
- their general opinion
- Would they purchase from you again?
Simply remind your clients that they may add whatever information they want when submitting your review request. They should, however, think about topics like.. (pick from the above list).
Part 1: A little background: Not everyone buys a product for the same reason, and not everyone knows as much about a particular product as others. The most excellent reviews provide a brief explanation of why a consumer purchased a product. If a possible buyer is in a similar scenario, they will become more interested immediately (it resonates with them). Any statement of experience (e.g., “I have bought x kinds of goods”) also adds credibility to the review.
Here’s an illustration:
Part 2: A summary of the product and the purchasing process: Unless you’re selling your items via a well-known fulfillment provider like Amazon, online customers are still concerned about shipment speed and security.
They have an impact on practically every purchase:
On your sales pages, you should make your delivery information extremely apparent. People, however, are interested in how quick and safe your shipment is in practice, not just in principle. If prospective customer sees a lot of positive feedback about your delivery procedure, they’ll be more confident.
Part 3: The Final Product: The quality of the goods is the most crucial aspect of any transaction. That will be the main focus of any review.
Customers will have excellent things to say about your product if you’ve done a fantastic job on the product creation end:
However, you may still influence what they say. For example, you may ask questions such as, “How did you enjoy X feature of product Y?” in your email or on your review form. As a result, they’ll be more inclined to pause and consider that particular feature.
Part 4: Would you purchase this product again? Customers usually have a few positive things to say about a product. It’s as easy as that: lovely people post positive evaluations. The final measure of a great product is if it gains a customer’s loyalty. Anyone reading the review will realize that the reviewer is serious when they laud the product when they state they would indeed purchase from you again in the future:
4. With the use of technology, you may get automated reviews.
It’s not a good idea to attempt to get evaluations regularly. Instead, it should be something you do with every one of your customers.
You’ll need a surefire technique to increase the number of good evaluations you get.
We’ve previously examined Amazon’s system:
- You make a purchase.
- You obtain the item.
- A few days later, you receive a request to post an Amazon review.
They conducted their internal research and discovered that this specific period was most effective for the bulk of their clients. On the other hand, your clients may be different, so always test. The importance of timing cannot be overstated: Why are consumers so diverse in this regard? The majority of it is determined by the consumer you have and the product you provide. For starters, some consumers believe that internet shipment is speedier. Therefore, they want their goods as soon as possible to begin utilizing them. If you have a youthful population, this is usually the case.
Second, some items take longer to test thoroughly to provide a positive review than others. For example, a frying pan can be tested in a matter of minutes, yet reading a major book might take weeks. Give your consumers a little extra time if your product takes longer to stretch correctly. How to obtain consistent results: Using an autoresponder is the only method to assure that your consumer receives your review request “X days” after they’ve bought anything.
After they’ve purchased anything, add them to a new customer list:
Then, using your autoresponder, send an email inquiring whether everything went smoothly. Finally, email your review request when you’ve received that initial message. I propose experimenting with various time delays to see which one generates the most reviews.
5. Most excellent approach to acquiring fantastic evaluations if you’re beginning from scratch.
When it comes to acquiring internet reviews, each company confronts its own set of problems. The most challenging stage is when you don’t have any reviews. Potential purchasers are reluctant to be the first buyers if you have no (or few) reviews. They want to see that other individuals have purchased and enjoyed your goods. Many consumers are hesitant to post the first review to make matters worse. They don’t want to offer an opinion and appear silly if they’re incorrect unless they authority your product. Instead, they’d prefer to read other reviews first to get a sense of the overall consensus and then post a review if their thoughts align with everyone else’s. This is also why getting off to a strong start with a few positive reviews is critical. Do not purchase fake reviews: While incentivizing reviews is a murky area, buying fake reviews is unethical. You may find a lot of individuals eager to give you a five-star review without ever seeing your product if you go on Fiverr or Google terms like “buy 5-star review.”
Even if the ethics of doing so aren’t considered, it’s clear that these assessments will be useless. Sure, you’ll receive five-star reviews, but they’ll be devoid of any helpful information for future consumers. Furthermore, the majority of fake reviews are pretty simple to recognize. If a prospective customer notices many fake reviews, their alarm bells will go off, prompting them to purchase another product. So, although it is possible to buy checks, it is preferable to concentrate on earning them.
Follow these instructions to do so.
- Step 1: Decide on a focal site: Many third-party sites compile product or company reviews. Google and Yelp, for example, are both focused on local companies, but Amazon is focused on material things and e-books. To begin, concentrate on just one review site. Then, once you’ve gained some traction, you may always extend to other sites.
- Step 2: Provide a complimentary sample or product: As I previously said, you must earn your reviews, which includes obtaining them from actual consumers. Offering a discount, model, or even a free product in exchange for a study is an excellent idea here.
What’s going on here? “Didn’t you say you weren’t going to provide any incentives?” Well done if you recalled that. This indicates that you’re paying attention. Incentivizing reviews is a gray area, but only if you don’t reveal it. If you do, you’ll be in complete compliance with the law and almost anyone’s ethical code. When you need those initial few reviews to get things started, a few less-than-perfect thoughts are still beneficial. Furthermore, just because your consumer is required to declare that you provided them with anything does not guarantee that the study will be negative.
Here’s an example of how one may appear:
I was fortunate enough to be provided a free sample to test as one of the first customers to purchase (product name). After three days, I got the thing in fine condition. Since then, everything has gone according to plan. In particular, the (feature) outperforms any other (kind of product) I’ve tested. As a result, I’ll most likely purchase more in the future. It’s not a great review (given that I’m dealing with a non-existent product), but if you could start with 5-10 evaluations like this, you’d be ok. As long as the reviewer is honest, the disclosure flows organically and doesn’t detract from the remainder of the review.
- Step 3: Specify the instructions: It’s simple for you and me to figure out how to write a review. Leaving a review, on the other hand, might be a bit of a challenge for those who aren’t tech-savvy. Provide thorough instructions on how to write a check to ensure that clients have no trouble doing so:
Most individuals have never posted a review before, even if they purchase on a well-known site like Amazon. Therefore, you must lead them through the process.
- Step 4: Make sure they have a fantastic time: This is something we’ve previously said, but I’d want to emphasize it again. To get a good review, you need to provide a good service.
The purchase process is divided into many stages:
- the logo design
- the container
- the procedure for shipping
- the final product
- client service/follow-up
Too many companies create a fantastic product but overlook the rest of the purchasing process. Then they receive three-star reviews, claiming that the product was good, but the shipment was terrible, or that they couldn’t get quick responses from the firm when they needed assistance. It’s not difficult to ensure that the other aspects of the purchase experience are excellent, but it will take some time and work. If you do that, the review quality will improve on its own.
6. Another excellent source of reviews to consider.
Let’s pretend you’re beginning from scratch. I’m talking about no past clients. When you don’t have any consumers to start with, it’s challenging to convince them to submit reviews to inspire other people to purchase your goods. In this instance, paid advertising may be an option for attracting your initial consumers. This is an excellent option if you have a budget and some PPC experience. However, since not all consumers would post evaluations, it might be pricey. Otherwise, if you’re on a limited budget, you’ll most likely resort to content marketing, which might take months to generate any revenue. However, there is one more option for you to increase sales and increase reviews.
Here’s how to get started.
- Step 1: Look for rival reviews: Let’s imagine for the sake of this series of instances that I’ve just invented the finest keyword research tool ever. I need several studies to post on my sales website since there aren’t any places where you can sell this sort of gadget. To begin, I’ll need to compile a list of all of my current clients. This is a simple task. Simply Google “best (product kind).”
Ideally, you’ll come across a comprehensive expert collection that includes all of your rivals in one place. Alternatively, you may just look through the first few pages of search results and make a list of competitors. In my situation, I was able to locate the top ten most common keyword research tools quickly:
I will discover folks who have evaluated each of these tools and contact them to ask them to review my product. Simply Google “(product name) + review” to discover reviews:
Make a list of all the reviews you can locate after that (which can be up to 100 for each product).
- Step 2: Make contact with the bloggers and make an offer: You need to contact the reviewer now that you have a significant number of reviews. Important note: Bloggers get pitches through their “contact” forms all the time, and the vast majority of them are wrong and are simply ignored. Joining the blogger’s email list is the most excellent way to stand out. When you sign up for an email list, you will undoubtedly get emails from the blogger, which will include their email address. Then you may send them a customized greeting that will almost certainly get in their inbox. Go to the homepage if you can’t see an opt-in form on the review page:
An evident opt-in will usually be found either front and center on the homepage or towards the top of the sidebar:
When you get an email from them, reply with a request to review your product. This is an example of a template that will work:
Hello there (blogger name),
I stumbled across your (competing product) review today and was amazed by how thorough it was. I have launched my keyword research tool, dubbed (product name). I don’t know whether you’ve already heard about it. I was hoping to see if you’d be interested in trying out my product after reading your past positive reviews. (Of course, I’ll offer you a free license.) Because of feature X, I think (my product name) stands out from all others on the market: (describe feature). Please let me know if you’re interested. Thank you for your time and consideration.
(Your first and last name)
Again, you’re encouraging the blogger to write a review, but there’s no problem as long as they add a disclaimer somewhere on the website. Most blog readers are used to such contradictions and do not consider them while making decisions. You may then post the necessary sections of the review on your website and credit them to the blogger after you’ve received a review (let them know about it). The impact of various studies: Getting an appraisal from a well-known blogger may result in significant sales. On the other hand, famous bloggers are the most difficult to get reviews from since they are approached so regularly. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pursue them, but you should expect a lot of rejection. Conversely, lesser-known bloggers will be more responsive to your attempts. Start with these blogs if you want reviews (and aren’t concerned about sales).
Conclusion
If you sell anything online, keep in mind that customer evaluations are one of the most important aspects affecting your sales, so don’t overlook them. First, devise a strategy for determining the kind of evaluations you need. Next, improve your sales funnel to increase the number of consumers who submit reviews—and not just any reviews, but excellent reviews. Finally, if you’re starting from scratch, begin producing reviews for your new product using one of the ways I’ve outlined.
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