How to Generate More Product Reviews

If you want to improve your buyer’s confidence and conversion rates, according to Power Reviews, an astounding 86% of consumers say reviews are an essential resource when making purchase decisions. This means that product reviews are more important than ever. You’ve probably seen plenty of reviews on other ecommerce sites and noticed that they all seem to have similar components, including:

Google’s search engine indexes product reviews, and since product reviews add more quality and unique content to your pages, it can help increase your search results ranking. Additionally, you’ll want to ensure that any and all product reviews are published to your own website instead of third-party sites like Google reviews, Yelp, TrustPilot, Facebook, etc. If traffic is being sent to anything other than your site, then you are losing quality and valuable traffic. Yotpo data shows that review traffic is the most engaged, with shoppers staying longer and navigating further into the site.

Now that we’ve covered some of the basics to why reviews are so important, let’s dive into how to generate more reviews from your customers. Here are 7 tips:

1. Make it easy to leave a review

Include a visible, easy to use review form at the bottom of every product page. Don’t ask too many questions or make them complete too many form fields. The harder or longer the form, the less likely a customer is to leave a review.

2. Optimize review forms for mobile

Since website traffic is starting to shift more to mobile, it should seem obvious that your website needs to be mobile-friendly. That means all of your forms too. By making sure your website or marketing campaigns are mobile-friendly and easy to use, you will increase the chances of someone leaving a review since it won’t feel like a burden.

3. Follow up with customers with post-purchase emails

The easiest way to get reviews is probably the most obvious — just ask! If you’re able to capture the customer’s email during the checkout process (either online or in-store), then you can add it to your email list and send a follow-up email asking them to submit feedback on the product(s) they purchase.

4. Offer rewards or discounts

Unfortunately, most sites have restrictions and rules against offering an incentive for a review or to encourage your customers to take the time to submit a review. Although you can offer rewards such as contest entries, coupons, discounts, or even gift certificates for answering a survey, according to Grade​.us, reviews are a completely different animal.

5. Share and reply to your reviews

Customers who take the time to write reviews will appreciate a response in return. If you take the time to respond to their review (whether it’s a good or bad one), you show that you care by taking an equal amount of time to write back. Another way to show your appreciation for their contribution is to share their review on social media. It’s a nice way to showcase the great feedback you’re getting and possibly even motivate other customers to submit reviews as well.

6. Ask for photos

With image sharing through social media on the rise (Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), it’s easy to see that people love to take and share photos. Product reviews accompanied by photos or video tell a better and more compelling story than those without.

7. Ask the right questions

While most people don’t want to waste too much of their time answering or writing reviews, you still want to ensure you’re asking questions that matter to you and your future customers. Know when enough is enough and don’t ask too many lengthy questions. Make sure to ask important questions that will have the most value. For example, you could ask them if the item arrived on time, or if they feel it was accurately described on the site compared to how it is in person.

Lastly, while positive reviews are great, negative reviews aren’t all that bad either. You’re likely to have a few customers that get frustrated or upset. While visitors may read positive reviews first, publishing negative reviews shows that you have nothing to hide. As we mentioned before, make sure you’re responding to your reviews, even if they’re negative. Not only will the reviewer appreciate it, other visitors will be able to see that you are attentive and willing to fix problems when they arise.

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