Why Customer Reviews Are Crucial to eCommerce

Oftentimes, when people are researching a particular brand online, they’ll check each brand’s online reviews to see what past customers have to say. This is particularly important when people can’t sample physical products before buying online, making previous customers’ experiences among the only ways to gauge the quality of an eCommerce brand and its offerings. This is particularly crucial for food brands that need to prove the quality of their products prior to consumption.

Online shoppers place a lot of trust in online reviews. In fact, 85% of consumers trust them as much as recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues. The same source reports that 60% of consumers have stated that negative reviews deterred them from using a business. These and many other stats reveal the importance of getting great reviews for your eCommerce business.

If you want to give your company the boost it needs to thrive online, there are some specific advantages to getting as many positive reviews as possible for your brand.

The Benefits of Online Reviews for eCommerce Stores

Online eCommerce reviews offer numerous benefits for businesses across a wide range of industries, from food and beverage to a variety of consumer goods. These potential benefits include the following.

Increased Trust

One of the main advantages of having a lot of positive online reviews for your brand is the ability to increase people’s trust in your brand. As mentioned, people trust online reviews from strangers as much as personal recommendations, especially if they come across as genuine and unsolicited.

Not only do potential customers want to know what your products will be like prior to ordering, but they’ll also want to find out what the overall experience is like with your business. For example, people may want to ensure that their orders will arrive on time and that customers experience minimal delays. In addition, they may want to determine how frequently people returned products and if the return process is simple.

More Engagement

In some cases, online reviews for eCommerce stores could help bring online communities together, leading social media users and others to share their experiences with specific brands and products. Prospective customers may see these communities and responses, giving them a deeper understanding of what your brand experience is based on what different groups of people have to share.

Improved SEO Rankings

Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for any budding eCommerce business. If your website doesn’t rank well for important industry keywords, people won’t be as likely to find you over competitors. When customers leave reviews on Google, many of these reviews are likely to naturally include certain relevant search terms that people enter into search engines. In turn, this will help rank your business higher in search results to help maximize your visibility.

Unbiased and Voluntary Reviews

Online reviews aren’t biased and reviewers provide them voluntarily, often choosing not to filter anything when discussing their experience. As more people leave reviews, you might discover that there are certain features or aspects of your products that people value more than initially thought.

For example, someone may enjoy the flavor of a particular frozen food product, but something about the texture and mouthfeel doesn’t appeal to them. Other customers may find the packaging design to be unappealing. As other customers curious about these elements learn about previous customers’ experiences, you may have a better idea of how to optimize your product accordingly.

The Opportunity to Communicate with Customers

On platforms like Google, business owners have the chance to respond to reviews. This helps create a dialog between customers and eCommerce stores that can boost the brand’s reputation.

Even if a customer leaves a scathing review of your business, taking the time to respond to certain concerns or even contest the review in a detailed, honest way can go a long way in boosting your brand’s reputation.

The same can be said for TrustPilot.com, which is a popular review platform used by a plethora of ecommerce brands. If you can establish yourself as a responsible business owner looking out for their customers, future customers will see your responses and be more inclined to trust you in spite of negative reviews.

How to Get More Online eCommerce Reviews for Your Business

With a better idea of the benefits of online eCommerce reviews, you can begin attracting them. Here are some ideas to help increase the number of reviews for your eCommerce brand.

Create Email Campaigns

Businesses often ask customers if they need any additional assistance or simply confirm orders via email. This gives you the perfect opportunity to use email to request online reviews from customers. You may even create automated campaigns that send periodic requests for reviews if customers don’t initially do so.

Use Promotions

Sometimes, giving people an incentive to leave a review is effective in getting them to take the desired action. You can offer a free item or a discount on a future in exchange for a review. One of the best rewards that tends to drive reviews is a coupon code, which you can send to customers as soon as they complete their review.

Request Reviews on Social Media

While brands may not always ask customers to leave reviews on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms, this is a good way to stand out. You can use these platforms combined with email to get as many reviews as possible. Once people leave reviews, respond to them appropriately, which will further paint a picture of your brand identity and personality.

Learn More About How to Boost Your eCommerce Business

Reviews are among the most important aspects of any online business’s success. By getting and responding to these reviews, potential customers will become more trustworthy of your brand, find it more easily, and be more inclined to turn to you over competitors.

If you would like additional help with growing your eCommerce brand, connect with the experts at Gray Growth Logistics. We offer consulting that can cover every aspect of your business to help you flourish in your industry.A growing number of people are shopping for food products online, especially as direct-to-consumer food & beverage shopping has become more convenient than ever. Many of these food items are perishable goods that only last for a limited period.