If you’re getting a healthy influx of positive customer reviews, consider yourself extremely lucky. But then again, you’re probably keenly aware that getting reviews from your customers or clients has nothing to do with luck. You know that obtaining positive feedback from your audience takes savvy SEO online marketing, superior customer service, tons of time, and loads of effort. So, give yourself a pat on the back for putting in the hard work and landing those hard-earned reviews.
So, now that you’ve got them, have you ever wondered how you can utilize your reviews to their maximum potential? Read further about how to leverage and repurpose customer reviews in ways that can improve your online presence and increase sales.
Why are customer reviews so crucial for online success?
Before delving deeper into taking advantage of customer reviews, let’s talk a bit about why they are so important. The obvious answer to this question is that people are more encouraged to buy when they see customers sharing positive experiences about your product or service.
It’s universally understood that reviews increase consumer trust in your online brand or business. In fact, recent online review statistics show that a high percentage of online shoppers say they pay attention to ratings and base their decision to buy according to customer feedback.
Not only do reviews boost your credibility in the eyes of your customer, they can also increase website traffic and improve click-through rates. Most importantly, feedback from your audience gives you invaluable insights into why and what people love about your product or service.
Furthermore, paying attention and replying to customer reactions allows you to stay on-trend, relevant, and connected to current and future consumers. That’s why it’s imperative to manage online reviews with an online customer service tool and make it as easy as possible for patrons to leave feedback on your website.
Ways to take advantage of online reviews
Now you know how reviews are vital for customer experience, marketing and sales, the question remains; how do you take full advantage of the power of positive reviews? Here are a few tips to feature, repurpose and fully utilize reviews for boosting business and ramping up your online reputation.
1. Convert a negative into a positive
If you’re familiar with the polarizing power of testimonials, then you know one bad review can be crushing. Turn a negative customer experience into a positive by quickly and effectively responding to the issue. Do everything possible to replace, repair, and honestly address your disgruntled customer. Additionally, be sure to respond to a negative review immediately. Phrase your response in terms of assuring they will receive 100% satisfaction.
Make your reaction clear by stating how concerned you are about the customer’s displeasure and publish a speedy response that shows you will go the extra mile to make things right. By doing this, you prove to other visitors (and potential buyers) that you want the best for your clients or customers. Bad reviews happen, but you can turn them around to your advantage by making things right.
2. Spread the love
When you get glowing reviews, don’t be shy about it. Share your positive feedback on your social media streams such as Twitter or Facebook. If you’re offering a product or service, you’re naturally proud of your offerings. It just makes sense that you should spread the good news and share what others are saying about your work.
Consider including a positive review the next time you make a marketing advertisement, promo video, or social network post. People pay attention when there is positive momentum behind products and services. That’s why socially sharing your online reviews can leverage your traffic and sales for the better.
3. Showcase your best reviews
The homepage and highest-ranking pages on your website need to make great and grand impressions. Why? Because studies show the average user stays 10-20 seconds on a webpage before they decide to click out. That’s not a lot of time to capture your website viewers’ attention and keep them engaged long enough to think about buying your service or product.
Get them hooked by showcasing the best reviews on your highly-trafficked pages. What better way to engage, welcome, and assure your visitors to trust you than by featuring some of your most stellar reviews? It can (and does) make a huge difference in sales conversions and retaining audience attention.
4. Make it easier
One of the best-kept secrets to take advantage of online reviews is about making it easy for your audience to leave feedback on your site. Studies show that the more cartwheels a customer goes through to leave a review, the less they are likely to leave a review.
Make it easier for them to leave a review by adding a third-party feedback plugin on your product pages, sales emails, footers, and side menus of your website. The idea here is to make it as convenient as possible for your audience to praise your product or service.
You may also want to consider enticing your audience to leave honest reviews by offering an incentive on their next purchase. If they love what they received from you, odds are they’re on board with leaving you a review. Take advantage of that high note by encouraging them with a discount or coupon code for their next purchase when they leave a testimonial.
5. Promoting influencers
If you’re graced by a celebrity reviewing your service or product, then that’s a huge feather in your cap. However, many online entrepreneurs don’t always have that kind of advantage. Nonetheless, the realm of influencers is a burgeoning field of potential these days. Think about approaching popular influencers in your genre to promote or write a review about your offerings.
You might even consider sending a free trial or sample to get their influential vibe on your website. Today’s celebrities and influencers have a lot of pull in the marketing world. It might behoove you to woo a few to leave honest reviews for your products or services. In short, your brand gains prominence and attention when you have reviews from influential people who love (and review) your offerings.
The last word on capitalizing user reviews online
Whether you’re trying to increase your customer reviews online or working to increase trusted consumers, one simple fact remains. Reviews are polarizing. If you follow these simple steps to take advantage of online customer reviews it might be the defining point to the growth and expansion of your online business. At the end of the day, those shining reviews are your golden path to success and increased sales. So keep on managing and attending to your audience for your best online outcomes.
