If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times: Selling online, you don’t have the luxury of speaking to people face-to-face, so you have to let your reviews do the talking for you. But getting to that comfy place where you can rest on a mountain of positive reviews can be tricky, so FeedbackExpress will show you how to generate positive reviews online.
Why Positive Reviews Matter So Much
Sometimes it’s good to see in black and white why positive reviews matter so much. Keep this little list handy for when you feel stuck and need motivation:
- They help to build trust and credibility between you and your brand and the shoppers visiting your page.
- Gives buyers an unbiased view of how well you perform and treat others.
- Can be the deciding factor between you and a competitor.
- Can boost conversions and sales.
- Improves your seller metrics so your chances of winning a Buy Box are increased.
- Has a direct effect on your seller ranking.
- Makes buyers feel more loyal toward you when considering future/repeat purchases.
Sounds pretty good, eh? But what concrete steps can you take to put yourself in a higher level? Let’s dive in.
Start Off with a Follow-Up Email
The first thing to do is to send an email once the buyer has received the product. Since the majority of shoppers don’t/forget to leave a review, you’ll have to give them a friendly nudge to do so.
Start your email by thanking them for the purchase, then ask them if they could review the product. Finish off by saying you’re available if they have any questions or concerns, and thank them once again.
How to make this easy on your buyers: Include a link to where they can leave a review so they don’t have to hunt around for it. The more work they have to do, the more likely they are to give up and not leave a review. It’s also important to note that you’ll have to send them a message through the Seller Central Buyer Message system instead of directly contacting them.
How to make this easy on yourself: Invest in a quality review app to do this for you. Sure, you could manually type out each message to each buyer, but why devote that kind of time when software will do it for you?
Use the Right Language
We briefly talked about being polite, friendly, and concise, but what exactly does that mean in terms of word choice and sentence structure?
Here’s what it doesn’t look like: a direct request asking them to leave a positive review. Amazon outright bans asking for positive reviews, so you’ll have to frame it a little differently. Here are some phrases you can use:
- Your insight is valuable and we’d love to hear what kind of feedback you have for us.
- Help other shoppers make the best choice by leaving a review.
- We’re always wanting to grow and offer the best service and products we can, and your opinion helps us get there.
- Once you’ve gotten your new product out of the box, we’d really value you leaving an honest review of it.
Practice Good Customer Support
’Good customer support’ can be such a vague phrase, so let’s break down what it actually means when trying to gather positive reviews online. It means:
- Having several shipping options available so consumers can decide for themselves what works best.
- Being straightforward, clear, and direct when it comes to what kinds of returns and exchanges you have in place.
- Anticipating questions buyers might have and answering them in an FAQ section.
- Having your contact information clearly and readily visible.
- Presenting mobile-accessible options so buyers can shop and review on the fly.
- Answering queries within 24 hours.
- Solving problems and resolutions also within 24 hours.
Do this, and you’ll solidify to buyers that you’re a decent, trustable seller and buyers will be much more ready to drop you a favourable line.
Bonus: Look for Reviews on Social Media
Don’t limit yourself just to using the Seller Central Buyer Message system. Instead, get creative about asking for reviews by branching out on social media platforms. You won’t be able to target buyers one-on-one, but you can cement the message of how important reviews are to you and how much you’d appreciate getting (a good) one.
Make a post that says something like, ‘We’re an independent retailer and rely on great word-of-mouth to keep offering awesome service. Your feedback means the world to us and helps us keep delivering quality products and services, so remember to leave a review so we can keep making you happy.’
Final Thoughts
There’s one program out there that can take a lot of the burden off your shoulders and that’s FeedbackExpress. We’ll compile templates you can store to send off to buyers at precisely the right moment, giving you as much leverage as possible to keep getting positive reviews online. To get your free 14-day trial, sign up now.
