5 Winning Strategies to Drive More Reviews to Your Online Store

Online reviews of your online store and the products you sell influence customers in a big way. More positive reviews mean more conversions and revenue. Whether you are a seasoned e-commerce seller or getting started newly, this article will help you drive much-needed positive reviews to your business.

The Basics

Managing online reputation for an e-commerce business can be challenging because you need to take care of your products and the business reviews.

Type of Review	Where It Appears	Review Effect
Product review	On the product pages	Positively or negatively influences the conversion rate of the specific product based on the review.
Business review	On Google My Business, social media pages, and marketplace trust platforms like BBB	Positively or negatively affect the overall reputation and trust.
Testimonial	On a website’s homepage	Encourages new website visitors to buy products on the website.

Ideally, it would be best to focus on improving the business reviews on the internet, especially on the platforms like Google My Business. For example, new visitors to your website tend to search your business name on Google to check reviews. However, if there are negative reviews or too few positive reviews, getting converted will reduce drastically.

Shift your focus to product reviews or testimonials on the website once you have many positive reviews on Google.

Now, let’s focus on the winning strategies you can use to get more reviews for your e-commerce business.

1. Use Coupons to Get More Reviews

Please make a list of your most loyal customers and reach out to them requesting business reviews. Offer them a reward, preferably a coupon that they can use to get a discount on your products.

Do’s:

Run an email campaign targeting your loyal customers.
Send instructions in the email on how they can write a review
Inform them about how positive reviews help your business grow and help them serve even better.
Offer them an exclusive reward in exchange for a review.
Create an end date for the campaign to create urgency.

Dont’s:

Don’t send generic discount coupons that customers can find on your website irrespective of a review.
Don’t send the emails to customers you know nothing about to prevent negative reviews.

2. Leverage Social Media

Use your e-commerce business’s social media profiles, especially Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to run some contests. Subtly ask your followers to leave a positive review and reward them for their participation.

Don’t make reviews the epicenter of the social competition. For example, if you own an e-commerce store that sells camera accessories, you can ask your followers to send their best photos. Ask them to leave a five-star rating for your business on Google, Facebook, etc. (based on your preference) as one of the contest’s terms and conditions.

Do’s:

Reward the contest winners with products that you sell instead of a coupon to create interest
Give yourself enough time to promote the contest on your website, social media pages, and newsletter.
Use graphics and text to explain the contest rules clearly.
Encourage your followers to share the competition extensively. For example, you can have social sharing as one of the game rules.
Use previous contest references such as winners, what they won, etc., to encourage participation.

Don’ts:

Don’t offer virtual items such as coupons as rewards
Don’t put too many terms and conditions
Use Customer Service Representatives

3. Engage Your Customer Service Team

Your customer service team knows your buyers better. Periodically follow up with your customer service representatives to understand if any happy customers are super excited about your products. Make a list of such patrons, reach out to them personally, and request reviews.

As a business owner, you can have your customer service or marketing team run the campaign on your behalf. A message from a CEO or a president usually has better engagement rates.

Do’s:

Run a personalized email campaign for happy customers, thanking them for being a part of your business.
Offer them rewards, preferably discount coupons that they can use for their next purchase.
Highlight the importance of their positive review and explain how it can help you serve them even better
Follow up with them gently until they respond to your review request.
Inform them about the steps involved in leaving a review.

Don’ts:

Don’t over-follow up for reviews
Don’t make rewards the core of your message.
Integrate Reviews Tightly With Your System

4. Integrate Reviews Tightly With Your System

Design your e-commerce website and its processes in a way that they drive maximum reviews and ratings. Allow customers to review products they buy on your website. Furthermore, create workflows that send automated emails to customers after purchasing a product. Finally, create a page on your website that displays all the testimonials in chronological order.

While this approach maximizes the number of reviews and ratings you get, it increases the risk of negative feedback.

Ensure that your products and customer service are top-notch to put reviews at the heart of your business.

Do’s:

Make it easy for customers to review products.
Create email workflows to reach out to buyers and request feedback.
Create a dedicated space on the website to highlight customer testimonials
Build a page to display all of your customer testimonials
Request your social media followers periodically for reviews.

Don’ts:

Don’t make the life of customers difficult.
Don’t over-engage customers for reviews or testimonials
Work With an Online Reputation Management Agency

5. Work With an Online Reputation Management Agency

Working with an online reputation management agency like FeedbackClarity is the way to go if you don’t have time or resources to focus on getting reviews. ORM agencies can not only help build a solid reputation online but also dispute and remove negative reviews. They are skilled at reviving businesses plagued by negative feedback.

A few agencies offer an easy-to-use ORM tool as a SaaS subscription. These tools provide incredible ROI, given reviews affect conversion and revenue directly.

Are you struggling lately to manage your online reputation, especially the negative reviews? Talk to our experts and find out how we can remove those reviews quickly.