Have you ever thought of value? There are several ways to interpret the word. Value can be what you bring on the table. It can also be what you provide to others who work with you. Either way, value tends to be something useful and vital in business.
In e-commerce, value can come from both sides. It manifests from you – the seller – through your products and services. Customers, on the other hand, provide value to the business through feedback and reviews. That is why it pays to support and inquire into your customers’ psyche on how well they perceive your product or service.
Value is not free. It is also not easily obtained. Notice that companies pay a hefty sum for their online reputation management campaigns. Spending thousands of money is worth extinguishing the fire from a hate comment or an irate, unsatisfied customer. Damages can’t be undone, but positive and useful customer feedback and review can cover them up.
12 Strategies to Encourage Customers To Leave Impactful Reviews
There are things you can do to encourage and generate feedback that will benefit your business. Below are some tactics that will provide value to your company in the form of feedback.
1. Use third-party sites to get reviews
Online users are everywhere, so you have to be where they are to get and provide value. There are several third-party sites you can use to help your consumers know more about your products and services. Business pages like Yelp and Google My Business and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are places where you can lure users and turn them into potential customers. Marketplaces like Amazon is best for showcasing products and getting the feedback you deserve.
2. Hook customers by having the right content
To make curious visitors become loyal customers, you have to lead to them to your site. Use third-party sites as a gateway to provide value from unsatisfied users. You can do this by optimizing the content of your website, blog posts, and social profiles. You must provide the information users need in exchange for a glowing recommendation. You won’t get your review if your customer doesn’t have a first-hand experience of what you offer.
3. Create a reason to leave a review
Give incentives to customers who will fill out forms, participate in polls, and answer surveys. Discount or coupon codes won’t cost you as much as a negative review does. Hold contests and offer one-of-a-kind or hard-to-miss prizes such as gift cards, online shopping promos, and a wad of cash.
4. Use open-ended questions
People get what they want by asking the right question. The trick to getting the customer feedback you want and need is by starting a conversation. Asking open-ended questions help you navigate and get the most out of each interaction. Open-ended questions are not only useful for getting value for your business. They also make customers feel satisfied. They make people seem important and valued – two essential ingredients to foster a long-lasting relationship.
5. Respond to all types of reviews
Feedback is a source of value whether it’s positive or negative. Even if you get a one-star review, ensure that you make time to respond and resolve every issue surrounding your brand, product, and service. People will appreciate the time and empathy you put into addressing the issue. If you encounter a bad review, apologize and respond with respect. Rectify the situation and move the interaction off the platform.
6. Meet your customers
It pays to have a customer success manager or an account executive that will reach out to customers. If you do have one or if you are one, ensure that you keep a personal touch when reaching out to your clients. Invite them to your events or take them out for coffee or lunch. Use these opportunities to ask them about their experiences with the product or service. If they do respond positively, don’t forget to let them know that you appreciate their loyalty. It will help you solidify the ties that might help you earn several recommendations.
7. Don’t let customers abandon their cart
According to the Baymard Institute, abandonment rates of e-commerce sites are almost 68 percent. You can help customers assess their decision to abandon their cart by including a pop-up text box where they can type in the reason why did not check out. Multiple choices also work in this scenario.
8. Manage an online community
Creating a forum or being part of an online community on your website and social network is effectively generates feedback. Online communities require constant monitoring, so you need a full-time moderator. The moderator will be in charge of starting discussions, posting and sharing updates, and responding to feedback.
Online communities work because of their dual purpose. They also increase user engagement. They allow users to participate in the discussion and contribute ideas that can provide significant value to the business. Encouraging customers to share their experiences is one way of getting value and advertising without spending a fortune.
9. Track feedback on other sites
Your customers are likely to talk about you especially if they were highly unsatisfied with your product or service. You can use tools like Trackur, Yext, and Google Alerts to manage the reviews you receive on several platforms and listings. Using these tools makes it easy to put out fires or reach out to customers who gave out poor ratings and negative reviews.
10. Motivate customers to share reviews
Ever heard of the herd mentality? When someone does something, others are bound to do it, especially if several people have done it. Thus, posting feedback on your website or social profile encourages others to give you one.
Posting your customer reviews has several advantages. For one, it makes them feel confident. It also makes them feel appreciated. Feedbacks are powerful so don’t try to fake them. As much as possible, they should be genuine. Customers can tell which ones are real and which are made up. You can place your business in jeopardy once they find out you faked your reviews.
11. Play with Facebook reactions
Facebook went beyond the traditional Like button by introducing Reactions. The platform added several buttons to convey different emotions. There’s a button for button showing Haha, Love, Wow, Sad, Anger, and Unlike. You can use these to create a campaign that would inspire customers to leave feedback. You can create a character that would take the place of each emotion or emoticon.
12. Utilize your feedback email
Create a separate email account that receives customer complaints and queries. According to Optimonk, almost half of online shoppers prefer to respond and converse with customer service through email. If you will use this strategy, then you must include your feedback email address on a visible part of your website. You can also use your feedback email address to contact customers and send them personalized survey forms. You can create different forms for new buyers and returning customers.
If there’s one thing these strategies will teach you, it’s working hard to get the value you need. Getting impactful reviews requires a give-and-take relationship. You need to appreciate and care for your customers. Most of all, you must reach out to them. If not, you risk losing valuable insights and free advertisement brought by engagement and customer feedback.
