In this week’s blog, we are focusing on one of the most powerful tools in the online marketing ordnance: the ratings and reviews. The verdict of the value of ratings and reviews on ecommerce and brand marketing websites is simple; today it’s a win-win situation for everyone. But not everyone seems to be doing it right.
Whether you are a consumer or the business itself, if the customer is satisfied, the business is successful. Despite all the young, ineffective ways of marketing tools, including ratings and reviews, in past years, the ‘community’ managed to overcome these weaknesses and directed themselves into a better world of business. How did they do it? We’re here to discuss that with you.
These strategies are focused on 3 main aspects of your online business – onsite conversion, customer satisfaction, and customer value. Isn’t that what each ecommerce business should be about? Generating more traffic. Taking excellent care of your current customers and value their thoughts and opinions. Always welcoming new ones with open arms. These components are essential. There are very few simple steps a business owner can follow to achieve every one of these aspects in a proper and successful manner.
Step 1 - Make sure, whatever it is you are selling or providing for your customers, that every single product is integrated with ratings and reviews. Most people make this mistake today, thinking that only their most popular or most efficient product should have these structures. That’s where they’re mistaken. ‘Covering’ your market with ratings and reviews for every product, significantly can alter and boost your customer relationship and conversion.
Step 2 – Think of the phrase; “The more, the better”. This is what this step is about. The more your product is being rated, reviewed and discussed, the more returning (and new) customers will buy. Let’s say you’re close to purchasing a TV online, which product are you going to trust more? The ‘7.8 out of 10 with 54 reviews’ or the ‘7.5 out of 10 with 305 reviews’? The choice is clear. The more reviews, the more relevance of the product. You must do whatever it takes to increase your review volume!
Step 3 - Now that we’ve established the first 2 steps, the 3rd is quite simple and straight forward. Mentioned in previous blogs, the next step would be to leverage and extend your review content. You must put yourself out there. How can you do that? Simple. Social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc) has proven to help businesses expand in the ecommerce world today. People talk, and people listen, especially if that person is your work colleague, your best friend, or some family across the seas. Integrating your products with ratings and reviews can boost your search rankings on Google or any major search engines’ result page. Having pre-purchase information and a post-purchase follow up e-mail can go a long way for your business! The solution is to find a review and social commerce partner who can get your review content in front of as many consumers as possible, aka Rating System!
Step 4 – The last step we’d like to mention is making sure that all your reviews are trusted. Having a website full of random and negative reviews isn’t going to help your business in any way. If you think your traffic, let alone your business, if going to grow and mature that way, think again. There are lots of different manipulators out there who seek to ruin your business by posting random reviews that are nowhere near relevant to the product, or only post negative and disrespectful reviews. Even some who try and think they are smarter than the system and its people to post fake reviews. Be smart. All of these do damage to your business and to everyone selling online. They undermine trust in reviews and social commerce. The idea here to have your solutions and reviews validated by a third party (which could be your review and social commerce partner – Rating System!) that is trusted and valued by consumers in its own way.
Take these few simple steps and suggestions in high consideration. 95% of all consumers sometimes or always check reviews before purchasing the product/service, and 60% of these consumers are more likely to purchase on a site that has valid and trusted reviews. What does that tell you? The power of these reviews shouldn’t be underestimated. They can either make a business, or break it.