The easiest way to gather reviews and testimonials is to ask your customers for them!
"But wait..." you say, "that is easier said than done."
We agree because before you ask...
You need a tool (or an app) that makes it easy to gather your reviews and testimonials
The tool/app you use should give you the ability to
- request different types of reviews and testimonials
- collect and manage all that content
- display the content beautifully on your online store
- verify the authenticity of your reviews and testimonials
So then the real question becomes, what is the best tool to gather reviews and testimonials, and the answer is Fera Reviews.
Now you have the answer, let's talk about
- why you need to be gathering reviews (especially if you are on Shopify or Wix)
- why building trust with reviews and testimonials is so important
- how Fera can help
Why is it important to gather reviews for your store?
Gathering reviews and testimonials for Shopify or Wix is essential to your eCommerce store because they build trust between your business or brand and your potential customers.
How do reviews build trust?
Seeing reviews can build trust because the potential shopper can see that real people have purchased the item and that they enjoyed it enough (or not) to take their time and post their thoughts about it.
Not only that, but reviews are often browsed by potential shoppers to see what the pros (and even cons) of your product(s) are.
Reading reviews is often the way shoppers will make their final decision.
Why is earning trust so important?
Earning the trust of your customers is such a vital part of the sales process for all eCommerce businesses.
To make an initial sale, you need to show visitors why they should buy from you and not someone else.
When you establish trust in your eCommerce store, you show visitors why you are worth buying from.
Trust improves conversion rates
Once you've earned the trust of potential customers, they will believe in the products or services that you're selling!
This initial trust should lead to first time sales which will then increase your conversion rate.
Trust encourages repeat purchases
With a trustable brand, your initial customers will turn into repeat and return customers!
The critical thing to remember about this is that a repeat customer is exponentially more valuable to your business than a one-time customer, so building a loyal customer base is essential to growing your business.
Now you know how vital building trust with your reviews and testimonials is! Here are a few key ways to gather:
- written reviews/testimonials
- photo and video reviews
Gathering Reviews and testimonials
Reviews and testimonials can be an easy and quick way to build trust if they're gathered correctly.
You'll want to reach out early to customers to ask for reviews.
You can do this with a follow-up email after they make a purchase.
For example, ask customers to leave a review and offer a 5%-15% discount for their next purchase in exchange.
This is a great way to gather some reviews on your products and services and also to potentially get some repeat purchases!
Add Testimonials To Your Store Today!
Don't be scared of 3-star reviews
Often people think that only 5-star reviews are essential to get.
That's not true.
If you only see positive reviews on a product, you may not entirely trust it.
Like you, customers want to see a healthy mix of 3, 4, and 5-star reviews.
You should try and avoid the 1 and 2 stars if possible, but remember, not everyone will love your product or have a good experience with your brand, but if you're not exclusively receiving 1 and 2 stars, you'll be okay!
Include all your reviews
Including all reviews will help to build the trust you need to make sales. Reviews like your customer-generated reviews and Google reviews can be displayed on your product pages .
Reviews can also be displayed on your catalog pages (like how Amazon displays them). You can showcase 1-5 star reviews and show the number of reviews in brackets.
Gathering Photo and Video Reviews
As mentioned above, the easiest way to gather reviews is to ask for them through a purchase follow-up system.
For example, Fera offers you the ability to send emails/messages to customers after purchase so that you can gather reviews and testimonials!
Use high-quality images
If you use products from a drop shipper (think Aliexpress) or a supplier, you can sometimes import the reviews from the items that they have gathered, as long as they're legitimate!
Remember, Shopify does not allow fake reviews on its platform, so read up on how Shopify feels about fake reviews here .
You can also import any high-quality pictures of the product(s) that your supplier may have for use on your site.
User-generated content is king
We've also mentioned user-generated content (UGC) in some previous blog posts. This can be a great way to add photo 'reviews' to your online business.
This content is often pictures from your shoppers wearing/using/owning your products that they've posted to their social media accounts.
Typically your shoppers will share items they trust, like and believe in with their followers.
The great thing about this social sharing is that their audience is usually your core target audience!
By having your product shared by one customer you are reaching many other people who would align with your brand - for free!
You can usually display these 'photo testimonials' on your own site, and social media accounts as well as show them on the product page(s).
This is especially helpful for building trust because when a shopper sees that a real person is praising your product without prompting, they know your product is excellent!
Get out there and gather reviews
We've given you a few ways to gather reviews for your eCommerce business, but many other ways work as well.
Try the ones we mentioned and let us know in the comments what worked for you and what didn't!
