How to Get More Brand Reviews (5 Effective Strategies)

Before you make a purchase online, do you read reviews first? If you're like many shoppers, you do. People want to see what others think of a product, service, or brand before entering their payment information. There's nothing worse than blindly buying a product only to find out it wasn't what you were expecting.

As a marketer or business owner, you need reviews on your website to build trust with your audience. Research shows that a whopping 97% of consumers say reviews directly impact their purchasing decisions. The thing is, it's not always easy to gather feedback. You have to go out of your way to talk to your visitors and convince them to share their experiences with others.

If implemented properly, showing reviews on your site could lead to more sales, engagement, and traffic. So, today we will take a look at how you can start getting more reviews for your brand.

Let's get started!

Allow Reviews on Product Pages

The quickest way to get more feedback from your customers is to allow reviews on each product page. Shoppers are more willing to leave their thoughts if you make the process easy, and it doesn't get much easier than leaving a review where they made the purchase.

Adding a simple review form to the bottom of each page will lead to more customers offering their opinions to the community. You'll also get the added benefit of appealing to visitors who are on the fence about buying your product.

Imagine you want to buy a new laptop. On one storefront, you see 10,000 reviews from verified customers. On the other, they have zero reviews and no visible social proof. Where are you going to feel more comfortable shopping?

Virtually everyone would pick the first site. The reviews show that other people enjoyed their time with your brand, which can start a brand new cycle of reviews from new customers.

Reach Existing Customers Through Email

Another powerful way to get more customer reviews is by sending follow-up emails to people who recently made a purchase on your website. We recommend using your email marketing software of choice to create a drip campaign for new customers.

Your series should consist of 2-4 emails. Here's the blueprint we use to get more feedback:

1. Email 1 - Thank the customer for their purchase and set expectations for the future. Send this one out immediately after their order is complete.
2. Emails 2 & 3 - Next, we send two emails over the next week that have helpful tips and personalized content from our blog. This step helps build rapport and show our audience that we want to help them succeed.
3. Email 4 - Here's the big one. Send this email out after the user has had time to use our product, typically 1-2 weeks. We encourage people who like our products to follow a link to our website to leave a review.

Believe it or not, email marketing has a return on investment of 4,400%. If you use the strategy we outlined above, you'll have no problem boosting your conversions and on-site reviews.

Encourage User-Generated Content

You can also get more brand reviews by encouraging your audience to create user-generated content (UGC). UGC is essentially free media published by your audience that highlights the value of your product or service.

For instance, if a customer tags your brand on social media and shows how your product helped them, this is user-generated content. Not only does this type of content build trust with new subscribers, but it can also provide you with some much-needed social proof for your website and social media profile.,

It's worth noting that you don't have to wait for customers to talk about your company. You can encourage visitors to post UGC by hosting a relevant contest or simply asking your audience to share their experience on social media.

When you consider that over 3.96 billion people use social media, it's easy to see how this type of content can positively impact your reviews and marketing strategy as a whole.

Respond to Negative Reviews

Next, let's talk about why it's vital to respond to your reviews, especially the negative ones. Consumers expect brands to engage with them on multiple levels, and that includes under their reviews. You may be surprised to learn that 63% of consumers say a business has never responded to their review. Research also shows that failing to respond to reviews can lead to a 15% increase in customer churn.

There's a good chance you've been in this situation in the past. You find a product that wasn't quite what you were expecting. So, you decide to voice your opinion and leave a review. Instead of getting help with your problem, your feedback is ignored.

What happens next? Most of us would leave and never shop with that brand again. If you want to prevent your company from falling into this trap, you have to engage with your audience.

This tip is particularly important for negative reviews because you have a narrow window before the customer attitude shifts from concerned to frustrated. If you're not there to help them when there's a problem, you could push them away from your site for the foreseeable future.

Ask During the Support Process

The last topic we will cover today is the importance of asking for reviews during the customer service process. You're going to have people interacting with your chatbots and live support team when they have a question or concern.

Train your team to handle customer issues and overcome objections, and you'll have a much easier time meeting your customers' expectations.

When you can fix these problems in real-time, you're much more likely to create a positive experience for your audience. Once your support team is getting ready to end the call, have them ask the user to fill out a short survey about their experience and your company.

You can use this information to learn more about your audience while improving the usability of your website and adding to your value proposition. Users that are concerned enough to contact your support channel are also likely to leave feedback at the end of the chat session.

Back to You

There you have it! Now you know five effective ways to get more brand reviews. The strategies outlined today can help you forge stronger connections with your audience and grow your business. We recommend tracking engagement on your forms and running split tests to optimize the review process. Before long, you'll have a long list of customers that are more than happy to share their experience with the rest of the world.