A 5-star guide for earning more customer reviews (with examples)
This post was last updated on December 12, 2022.
No product listing is ever really complete without customer reviews to back up its claims. After all, an astounding 99.9% of people consult reviews when shopping online, according to PowerReviews—and they’re not just eyeing the five-star reviews.
Turns out that even negative reviews generate business.
Nearly two-thirds (62.4%) of eCommerce shoppers filter for one-star reviews, seeking to understand the risks of buying from a brand prior to completing their purchase. These shoppers still convert at a rate 108.8% higher than the average visitor.
Needless to say, collecting customer reviews should be an integral part of your overall eCommerce marketing strategy. If you’re wondering how to earn more reviews, read on. Learn the growing benefits of reviews and best practices for collecting them from your customers.
Are customer reviews still relevant?
Customer reviews may be more important now than ever. Behind the scenes, customer reviews and testimonials help you to:
01. Boost sales
Positive reviews can be the deciding factor for shoppers who are on the fence, or even inspire impulse buying by helping customers discover products that others rave about. Retailers report a 120% lift in conversions when a shopper interacts with ratings and reviews on a product page, due in large part to the authentic nature of those reviews.
02. Enhance SEO and gain more organic website traffic
Reviews make good fodder for search engines like Google, which value unique, keyword-rich content. Not only this, but Google’s recent product reviews update gives even more weight to websites that feature detailed, highly useful customer reviews. So, by having high-quality reviews on your site, you could drive more organic traffic and potential buyers to your products.
03. Improve brand trust
If you’re a relatively new, small, or unknown brand, then positive customer reviews can help consumers feel more confident purchasing from your store. Reviews can be a testament to your brand’s ability to deliver on its promises and to put its customers first, raising overall brand trust.
04. Strengthen brand loyalty
Reviews give your customer journey a human touch. It helps consumers gather information, assess the value of your product, and validate their choices without feeling influenced by a brand’s own marketing-speak. This helps build the types of long-term relationships that fuel customer retention and increase customer lifetime value (LTV).
05. Enhance marketing
A thoughtful, detailed review can help you to hook more digital “word-of-mouth” referrals by generating buzz and positive sentiment around your brand. Good reviews, coupled with influencer marketing and other forms of UGC, can elevate your brand in the minds of other witnesses.
6 proven ways to get more customer reviews
There’s no time like the present to start generating more reviews, especially given how nearly half (43%) of consumers expect to see more than 100 reviews for any product that they consider buying. Try out these six proven ways for obtaining customer feedback.
01. Just ask
This may sound obvious, but far too many business owners forget to simply ask their customers for reviews.
Don’t hesitate to proactively reach out to your customers across multiple channels. Strive to make it convenient for your customers to leave reviews, whether they’re on your homepage, product pages, social media channels, SMS, and/or email.
A few tips:
Give customers a reason to review your product. Explain the importance of reviews, how your brand plans to use them to create a better experience, and how they’ll ultimately help out other shoppers. (And, of course, confirm that your product and service are truly worthy of a good review prior to asking.)
Time your requests well. It’s generally best to ask for a product review one to two weeks after customers have received their orders, giving them enough time with your product to understand its benefits. During this window, your brand should still be top-of-mind.
Leverage automation. Use automation to send review requests at scale. With a tool like Wix Automations, you can automatically send emails 10 days after a customer purchases a specific product (as an example) using custom triggers. Consider including a QR code or website link within these emails so that customers can leave a review with a single tap or click.
02. Make reviews easy to find on your site
You already know that consumers are hardwired to find reviews. So, give them what they want in an easy-to-find location: the homepage of your online store.
By embedding a stream of your most recent reviews in a prominent location, you can both encourage shoppers to read your reviews and leave their own review as well.
For example, Bonsie, which sells a line of babywear that encourages skin-to-skin contact, showcases reviews from satisfied parents right on its homepage. The brand also uses the Stamped Product Reviews app to display reviews on product pages—helping to boost add-to-cart rates and discourage customer leakage.
03. Showcase and collect feedback via social media
Highlight customer reviews on your brand’s Facebook page, Instagram account, or TikTok profile (among others) and introduce social media as another channel for customers to submit their reviews.
Cordina Hair, a women’s hair styling and hair care brand, takes this approach. The company celebrates influencers and customers who promote their products on social media by embedding their Instagram posts on their homepage. A button encourages customers to see more reviews on Instagram, putting visually-based reviews (e.g., videos and images) front and center.
04. Use a reviews app
There are tons of great review tools at your disposal, many of which are available in the Wix App Market. In fact, Wix sites that utilize review apps not only see a lift in sales, but a 10% increase in their average order value (AOV) within the first 60 days of installation.
The best review apps allow you to moderate reviews; accept reviews in various formats (e.g., star ratings or reviews with image attachments); and import existing reviews from Google, Yelp, and other channels.
As an example, paddleboard shop Surf Shack uses Kudobuzz Reviews to add a layer of social proof to its product pages. Perspective customers can see an aggregated star rating on each page or scroll down to see detailed product reviews by verified buyers. Each product page also features a prominent “write a review” button that’s auto-generated by the app.
05. Create a template
Some customers may not be sure about what types of information to include in a review and may simply need more prompts to get started. Help them along with a template that asks for specifics.
You can set up your template to ask about certain product attributes, such as the battery life, sound quality, and noise-canceling ability of a pair of headphones you sell. Or, you can ask customers to rate your product and their overall customer experience separately.
Home bedding company Alaskan King Bed uses a short, easy-to-fill-out template for collecting reviews. The template encourages shoppers to be thoughtful in their reviews—even prompting them to upload any helpful videos, photos, or audio files—while maintaining a consistent format for reviews. The company then embeds reviews on its homepage and on a Reviews page, which features entries submitted via their web form or their Facebook page.
06. Offer an incentive
Make reviews a win-win situation by offering incentives in exchange for feedback. However, keep in mind that you should not attempt to bribe customers for positive feedback. Rather, ask for honest feedback and offer perks for any kind of review, no matter how flattering or unflattering it is for your brand.
Incentives could include:
A gift card
Discount or promo code towards next purchase
Free shipping on next purchase
Free gift with next purchase
Additional points (via your brand’s customer loyalty program)
07. Keep the conversation going
Set aside time to respond to both positive and negative reviews. Aim to engage your customers in deeper conversations. This, in turn, can help you to develop an authentic brand presence, strengthen your relationships with your most valued customers, and even encourage more customers to write their own reviews.
It’s worth noting that nearly all (97%) consumers read both the reviews and replies around a product or brand. Moreover, 89% of consumers say they are “fairly” or “highly” likely to use a business that responds to all reviews.
When responding to positive reviews, thank your customer, ask them to come back soon, and consider sharing their feedback on your website or social channels. When responding to negative reviews, resist the urge to react defensively. Instead, pay attention to their feedback, thank them for their honesty, and explain how you’ll address their concerns.
Rev up your customer review game
Customer reviews act as powerful social proof. While your online customers may lack the ability to see or touch your product, they can read through reviews to still make well-informed purchase decisions. Start collecting more reviews today using a Wix App Market solution or Wix’s built-in marketing tools for eCommerce.
Bogar Alonso
Head of Outbound Marketing, Wix for eCommerce
Bogar leads thought leadership and outbound marketing for Wix eCommerce. He has an extremely soft spot for all things eCommerce, retail, tech, content, and marketing.
