Increase the Credibility
There are several surveys and numbers, anything from 70-85 % are said to review online reviews before they decide to order on the web. Most read 6 or less reviews. Most say that positive reviews affect their buying decision, more than negative. But no matter which survey you study, you can conclude that it is important for consumers to find out what others think.
It is more likely that you write a positive review, than a negative. But several rather read a negative review, rather than a positive, maybe because you have a hunch that a product is good, but you want to know if it is any problems connected to it. When you read a review the decision can be made pretty quickly, yes or no based on what you read. Lately I have read reviews on Amazon.co.uk, Lekmer.se, and Zalando.se.
An e-commerce site can be more personal if you find good ways to integrate the customers’ opinions and reviews. The more social it gets, it can also increase the credibility. We like to hear a voice and get an opinion before a decision is made.
Something for Everyone
Short product cycles can be a reason that is used to not present customer reviews in the web store, but it should be considered that you might increase your turnover and sell more products for the original price, rather than having it on sale. Especially fashion products, that often have a short product cycle, but where for example fitting and quality of fabrics can be hard to describe, and could be helped with reviews.
Search Engines like Reviews since the Customers do
Search engines like to consider online reviews since the customers like to read them. About 10 percent of the search result is said to be based on reviews of different kinds. Customer reviews means more content on the page, maybe they also use synonyms that improve the search result, and the page is updated with content.
There are different ways to collect reviews online, it can be directly on the product page, a question when the order has been processed, maybe connected to a lottery of a gift certificate every month to everyone who writes reviews, or an e-mail after the delivery with an appeal to help. This could also be possible with a discount for the next order or something like that as a compensation if a product hasn’t got any reviews yet, since it is a good idea to get started with the reviews.
Don’t be Intimidated by Negative Reviews
A negative review is less important if the product also has one or more positive reviews. The credibility can even increase if both negative and positive reviews are presented. It is also discussed if consumers who read negative reviews have come a longer way in the buying decision to becoming potential customers.
Remember that negative reviews should lead to internal discussions and investigations if something can be improved. If a product is smaller than the size intended, this could be mentioned already in the product description to inform the customers before the purchase. Treat reviews as a conversation where you as a company and customer service try to solve the situation, regret that something is negative, and try to light up the positive.
Your Customers Know Best
Trust your customers, engage them. Their rough truth is interesting for other consumers, and can be a valuable to increase the conversion for the entire business.
