How to get stellar reviews
Modern customers are doing their due diligence before making a purchase online. They want to know how authentic the brand promise is, its value proposition, and the brand experience for other customers — and where is the first place they often look? Customer reviews.
According to Northwestern University’s Medill Spiegel Research Center, when a product has five or more reviews listed, the likelihood a consumer will purchase is 270% higher than if the product had no reviews at all.
But the make-it-or-break-it power of reviews is in the hands of a very small number of people—the customers who actually leave reviews.
Godard Abel, CEO & Co-founder of G2, noted that only 1% of customers leave reviews (and yet, these reviews can impact 92% of buyers!).
With more customer reviews you are able to build credibility, provide information for buyers in the decision-making process, and (one would hope) have a more balanced amount of positive reviews—not just the few one-star folks who complain.
Abel is firm that customer reviews are necessary for business growth. “Even negative reviews build more trust than no reviews,” he said.
The data about customer reviews is overwhelmingly unanimous—they help your potential buyers trust your products and the brand, and lead to more conversions and higher revenue.
Here’s why your business needs reviews:
Provide validation: In an age when we have countless brands to choose from for any given product, reviews confirm the good or service will serve its intended purpose. They provide social proof, or the tendency for humans to mirror the actions of others when making a decision. This social proof gives us validation that we’re making the right choice.
Boost word of mouth: A 2021 study by Salsify found that nearly 90% of consumers will pay more for a product when it’s from a brand they trust. As a consumer considers a new brand, word-of-mouth recommendations are critical in the online space, especially DTC commerce.
Good for SEO: Reviews provide search engines with something fresh and relevant, help your business rank for top keywords, and provide proof of legitimacy for your company site. SearchEngine Journal analyzed more than 500 sites that implemented customer reviews and found that these sites’ organic page views increased over a nine-month span. The reason? Customers look for validation of their purchasing decisions, and reviews provide the social proof they need.
Useful for product innovation: With customer reviews, a company can find out exactly where their product is lacking and work to improve it. Reviews provide an insider look into a product’s features—the good, the bad, and the ugly
Like it or not, it’s clear reviews play a major part in the DTC customer journey. But sourcing reviews comes with its own set of problems:
It’s hard to get reviews
There’s a reason only 1% of customers leave reviews—getting customers to leave a review is difficult. In a noisy world that’s constantly demanding our attention through social media and digital advertisements, customers aren’t inclined to leave a review unless there is a strong incentive
Some people can get passive-aggressive
If consumers don’t want to league a direct review, they might turn to third-party sites, open forums, or social media to slam your brand. Because they’re not talking directly to the company, consumers feel safer speaking openly in these forums. It can be hard to track these down and manage these complaints.
Fake reviews are a real problem
Potential buyers may question if the reviews on your site are genuine. Fake reviews cost $152 billion annually to global online spending. That’s a huge hit. Brands need to filter out fake reviews, and take action (delete or report them) immediately if they suspect one.
Everyone is skeptical
Review authenticity is a concern for most brands—but DTC customers are particularly wary of rigged reviews. In a study from Baymard Institute, 62% of DTC users stated that they would engage in their own research and seek third-party or external reviews before being confident enough to purchase products from an unfamiliar brand—and 29% of users actually went off-site during the test session to find reviews.Instead, they will go to third-party sites to find authentic reviews.
Following and responding to the way customers speak about your brand is tricky, but it’s worth the effort. All the numbers show that seeing positive, authentic reviews is a crucial step in the prospect’s journey to becoming a customer.
Cultivating reviews is not something that DTC owners should cross their fingers and hope happens—it must be an intentional part of your marketing strategy. The good news is, it’s easier than it looks.
With the right strategies, you’ll be on your way to getting more customer reviews that really mean something. Taking an authentic, customer-led approach means you won’t risk sounding sales-y, which could sour your audience on your brand or product.
Here are seven tried-and-true ways to get stellar customer reviews:
Many brands offer points-based loyalty programs: customers earn points for each dollar they spend—or each review they leave. Knowing that these points lead to cash back, gifts or discounts entices customers to return and leave more reviews.
Customers love to feel like they’re connecting with actual human beings behind the brand. Great email or SMS campaigns do just that through empathetic, warm, and personalized tones—like this email from Graza below.
Magic Spoon’s laugh-worthy email that highlights their “funniest reviews” (asking customers to leave a review without outwardly asking):
The best time to ask for a review is right after the customer has received the product or service. That way, the customer is more likely to clearly recall useful details.
Reach out to customers via email, asking them to share photos of themselves with the product on social media. Or, invite them into the conversation with a branded hashtag.
Chances are that your customers might want to leave a review from their phones while they’re on the go. Well-timed in-app popups can keep the ask top of mind without being pushy.
Customers may check out insider reviews on popular online communities. Leverage these customer forums by creating company-backed threads answering questions about your products or services. These interactions will encourage your customers to post a review.
Keep an active presence on at least one third-party review site. Expressing your appreciation for positive reviews helps create customer delight, and responding helpfully to negative reviews shows you care. Once you have established a brand presence on the site, direct customers to leave reviews there via a note on the checkout page or a link in an automated email.
At this stage in the game, you’re ready for some actionable, ready-to-use templates for customer reviews. We’ve got them. Here are three templates for SMS, email, and social media campaigns.
"Quantity," says Abel, "Because consumers really want recent peer feedback, so the more you have, the more likely they are to find it.”
Try building a loyalty program, designing email or SMS campaigns, encouraging user-generated content, and participating in customer forums. Start taking steps to generate and respond to reviews, and watch how that builds trust with your customers.
With 92% of buyers more likely to hit ‘purchase’ after reading positive reviews, your increase in authentic customer reviews will lead to increased revenue and higher customer lifetime value. In short, working reviews into your sales and marketing strategies is 100% worth the effort.
Looking to accelerate your revenue through context-driven sales? With Freshmarketer’s e-commerce solution, you can seamlessly personalize engagement and manage reviews with one CRM storefront.
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