User Reviews in 2017 – Benefits, Collection Methods and Best Practices

User Reviews in 2017 – Benefits, Collection Methods and Best Practices

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Brands are no longer concerned with just promoting & selling their products/services. For a sustainable future, a brand must give undivided attention to post-sale activities as well.

Collecting feedback from customers through user reviews & testimonials is a key post-sale activity that helps brand in continuously improving their strategy and keep the business running profitably year after year.

A lot has changed about user reviews since they first began to get brands’ attention. Through this post, you will get to understand the concept of user reviews better, and will also learn different ways it is being used today for business growth.

Benefits of user reviews

Conversion

According to Marketing Land, 90% shoppers consider checking reviews before making a purchase decision. A lot of product related queries can arise in potential buyer’s mind and user reviews serve as the perfect content type to answer those queries. The product description present on the website is important, but in most cases it fails to gain the trust of the buyer. It is only the reviews left by previous buyers that improve the chances of making a sale.

Search engine optimization

Usually, customer reviews naturally consist of important keywords associated with the product. Thus, having such reviews on website also help in rank better on search engines.

For example, a buyer, who recently bought an iPhone 7 from your website, may write something like “This website offers the best price for iPhone 7”. Such a review help you easily rank better in search engines for queries like ‘Best price for iPhone 7’.

Brand Awareness

User reviews can be left on third party websites like social media, forums, etc. Such websites receive tons of traffic; thus, can improve the visibility of your brand.

Users who come across such reviews will not only become aware of your brand but will also get to know the value your products offer through others’ experiences. User reviews on social media sites can act as long-term source for generating good quality leads.

Product/Service Improvement

Once collected, analyzing user reviews will help you improve your product and make necessary changes to tune it to satisfy customers’ expectations. Furthermore, it will also help you make better pricing plans.

Methods of generating user reviews

Email

Email based method of collecting user reviews is perhaps the oldest & most used way, for it is highly effective and can be used by businesses of all sizes. Email is traditional medium that customers use to interact with brands. And this familiarity also makes it more effective.

In-App Popups

After making a purchase, most ecommerce mobile apps will display a pop-up asking the user to give a rating to the product and leave a short review. A good design practice is to include an ignore option as well, so that the buying experience is not hampered.

Feedback Prompt

After a sale is made, a prompt can be displayed to enable the user to leave a review. Since most buyers tend not to type too much, therefore, it is advised to use prewritten templates, which buyers can use to fill and complete the review.

User Reviews: Monitoring & Management

Social Media

Most products generate social chatter, which can be tagged as either positive or negative. Using tools like TweetDeck, one can set filters to improve the social listening process and easily address queries that people are discussing. Furthermore, third party tools like Buffer, HubSpot, etc., can be used for an in-depth analysis of various social media platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. Also remember, positive or negative, you must reply to feedback on social sites.

Also ReadSocial Media Trends That Will be a Game Changer in 2017

Forum websites

Forum websites like Quora, StackExchange, etc., are among the platforms, where people discuss products and services by asking questions. Apart from consumers, several industry professionals & experts also participate in these online debates. So, by keeping an eye on these websites, you not only get in touch with customers but also get ideas to improve the quality of your offerings.

Business Website

Displaying user reviews on your own website will help improve the buyer’s trust. Make sure these testimonials are easily visible to visitors, as well as are coupled with a call to action.

Best Practices in regard to User Review:

    • Ask customers to provide feedback after a sale is made
    • Feedback can be asked with each delivery or while handing the bill
    • Offer incentive for giving feedback
    • Use social media to collect user feedback and know your customer’s intent
    • Always reply to negative feedback and be thankful for constructive criticism
    • Landing pages can also be used for collecting reviews
    • Provide an email address or link to your website where buyers can drop their complaints  (to prevent negative feedback on social platforms)

Generating enough traffic but still having lower conversion rate?

User reviews play an important role in building long lasting trust. To harness the power of user reviews for the benefit of your business, above-mentioned tips should be followed religiously. Feel free to share any unanswered query of yours and we will surely get back to you with a solution.

Disclaimer: The Blog has been created with consideration and care. We strive to ensure that all information is as complete, correct, comprehensible, accurate and up-to-date as possible. Despite our continuing efforts, we cannot guarantee that the information made available is complete, correct, accurate or up-to-date. We advise - the readers should not take decisions completely based on the information and views shared by FATbit on its blog, readers should do their own research to further assure themselves before taking any commercial decision. The 3rd party trademarks, logos and screenshots of the websites and mobile applications are property of their respective owners, we are not directly associated with most of them.


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Comments (4)
Jagdish Mepani

Tushar

Thanks for elaborate best strategy for review.

I just went to know in detail about how to collect product reviews by email marketing.

Tushar Kumar

Hello Jagdish,

Thank you for going through the post.

Keep visiting for in-depth information.

Regards,
Tushar