Shoppers visit your store because,
- They are casually browsing through your products as a past time
- They happened to see your ad and were attracted by it
- They have plans of buying what you have to offer
- They’ve heard good reviews and are curious to know more about your products
- They are looking at different options before making the final buying decision
All these scenarios have one thing in common. An interested potential customer! You have directly or indirectly managed to attract them towards your products. In other words, you have managed to overcome the first hurdle in acquiring new customers by rousing their curiosity. From here you have to lead them on toward an actual purchase. With the right sort of customer service, you can even turn them into your loyal customers.
Brands usually offer discount coupons, referral bonuses, sign-up offers, etc to encourage potential buyers into making a purchase decision. Another very effective technique to hook up casual visitors is through customer reviews.
What are customer reviews?
Customer reviews are unbiased opinions from people who have actually used the products. While most of them will be positive comments from buyers who are very happy with the purchase, the opposite is also possible. Some buyers may find the products not meeting their expectations and some might even be totally unhappy with the purchase. These people will send negative reviews which, if not handled tactfully, will have a negative impact.
Customer reviews are generally viewed as authentic and trustworthy information regarding a product. Online shoppers trust reviews as much as word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family. They have more impact than influencer content in prompting customers into action. Using text reviews, photos, and videos from customers, you can turn casual visitors to your store into buyers.
Let’s see how!
Customer reviews attract the window shoppers
The way a business deals with customer reviews tells a lot about how much it values its customers. The very gesture of collecting reviews endears a brand to the customers. When businesses display the reviews on their storefront, it shows the importance it gives to customers’ opinions.
The entire act of collecting and displaying reviews gives out an impression of a customer-centric business. By strategically placing your customer reviews on your homepage, product page or collection page, you can lure the window shoppers casually browsing through your store.
Product reviews make customers feel secure
One thing that prevents potential buyers from taking that next step is the fear that your products might not turn out to be as good as portrayed by you. In order to take the next step, they need to feel secure first.
Giving discount coupons or sign-up offers can’t do much here. But customer reviews can. The fact that so many customers have had good experiences with a brand will make the new ones feel secure.
User reviews help gain trust
Online shoppers these days tend to depend on customer reviews to help them make a purchase decision. The sheer number of positive reviews a product has, speaks volumes about the quality of the product.
Both positive and negative reviews can help a brand create trust in the eyes of casual visitors. Positive reviews act as social proof that validates the claims of the brand. It is proof that the products are of good quality.
Empathetic and timely handling of negative reviews is also regarded highly by customers. It’s only natural that things go wrong once in a while- there might be a delayed delivery, a product broken in transit, a dress that doesn’t fit properly, etc. Customers are often willing to forgive such mistakes provided they are duly compensated.
Brands have to be very patient and empathetic while dealing with negative reviews. A timely response to negative comments which reassures the customers is the first thing to do here. These responses will not only pacify unhappy customers but also help you gain the trust of casual visitors.
Customer reviews can answer shoppers’ concerns that your product descriptions overlook
Reviews come from a wide public with different requirements and preferences. So, it is possible that they have answers to customer concerns that brands missed out on in their product descriptions.
Product reviews thus offer valuable insights to the sellers and at the same time persuades hesitant casual visitors to make a purchase by giving answers to their concerns.
Customer reviews provide free-of-cost marketing
Reviews act as free-of-cost marketing for a business. Through the reviews, your loyal customers tell their peers how your brand is different from your competitors. Hearing about the unique qualities of your business from buyers who have had first-hand experience with the products instills trust in the potential buyers. Customer recommendations are more powerful than any kind of content uploaded by the brands themselves.
Customer reviews are an indirect persuasion for the customers. Without being too forceful, you are giving the buyers the reasons why they should purchase your products.
Photo and video reviews carry this persuasion to the next level. By displaying photos and videos, brands show their products in actual use. Brand engagement rises by 28% with user-generated products videos and photos
Product reviews showcase how you interact with customers
Displaying customer reviews also opens up another opportunity. Brands can now publicly interact with buyers by replying to reviews. The manner in which the brands interact with its customers can be viewed by all those who visit the store. Using a warm and friendly tone in your interactions with customers will help build a positive image of your brand.
Final thoughts
Product reviews in the form of text reviews, photos, and videos are all examples of user-generated content which is the ultimate form of social proof for your store. These are generated organically over a period of time provided you consistently offer good-quality products. They can be used in advertisements, product recommendations, abandoned cart recovery emails, etc as proof of the quality of your products. Displaying user-generated content on your homepage, collection page or product page will act as bait to hook up casual visitors to your store.
Rather than waiting for organically generated UGC which is a slow process, you can speed up the process by sending customer review requests to buyers. While doing so, you can actually direct them into creating the kind of content you are looking for. This way you can collect specific content that can be more useful to you.
Shopify has many interesting tools that let you collect customer reviews and display them on your storefront.
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