Dropshipping is one of the easiest ways to start building a profitable business in today’s competitive landscape.
With dropshipping, you can find a supplier and start shipping items out to customers at the pace that suits you, without having to invest in a lot of initial inventory or storage.
Dropshipping suppliers handle the "fulfillment" part of your online business for you — storing, shipping, and packaging the items when your customers add them to their basket on your website. This means you can focus more of your time on developing a brand your clients will fall in love with.
Dropshipping is competitive
The only problem? Dropshipping is such an appealing option for business leaders that it’s also extremely competitive. There are bound to be other business leaders similar to you offering products and services that are almost exactly the same as yours, so you need to find a way to stand out.Benefitting from Product Photo Reviews
Customer photo reviews on your product pages are an excellent way to make your brand shine. Photo reviews are some of the most credible forms of social proof a business can have. They show that real people have fallen in love with your products, and they make it easy to visualize owning your product too.So, how do you get photo reviews for your dropshipping store?
Ask Your Customers Through Email
One of the easiest ways to generate reviews and testimonials from your customers is to simply ask for them. Right after your clients make a purchase, email them, asking if they would mind sharing how they felt about the item. Ideally, you’ll send the email when the purchase is still fresh but give your customer enough time to receive and try out the product too. Rather than contacting buyers just to ask for a review, you might find that it’s more effective to send an email that confirms the transaction, with the request for a review at the bottom.
Send an email
Your customers are more likely to check their confirmation emails, as they’ll be using them as receipts or check details in them. Remember, your emails should echo your unique brand personality, with terms and phrases that make your customers feel at ease. A reminder of what the customer purchased in the form of a photo can be helpful, too.Create a Social Media Contest
Today’s consumers want a simple transactional experience. Your clients don’t want to spend money on your product if it means that they have to deal with lagging website pages and annoying customer forms. Even asking them to spend extra time on a rating and review at the end of their buying journey can be enough to send them running in the opposite direction.Offer something of value
If you’re struggling to convince your audience to spend their precious time creating testimonials for you, then consider offering them something of value in return. For instance, run a social media contest where everyone who leaves a product review accompanied by a photograph enters a prize draw.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
Choose the right social platform
Customers generally go to social media to share pictures of themselves using their favorite products or post opinions anyway, so the option to leave feedback on a social platform will feel natural.
Make sure that you choose the platform that your customers already feel comfortable with for this competition. For instance, if you know that most of your clients are already active on Instagram, try hosting an Instagram contest with a branded #hashtag.Customers can share their pictures and their thoughts about your product and add the hashtag for a chance to win.
Incentivize Customers to Share Reviews
Speaking of making the testimonial process worth it for your customers, you can also go one step further than running a social media campaign and simply offer your clients a reward for their feedback.
During the initial stages of your company’s growth, there are few things more valuable than social proof from your target audience.
Although it might seem like you’re losing money by offering things like free shipping and exclusive discounts in exchange for reviews, the results you get will be well worth the investment.
Reviews boost sales
The majority of customers already admit to reading several reviews online before they’ll even consider buying a product from a company. Indeed, 56% of shoppers admit to reading around 4 reviews before buying an item. You don’t have to give something huge away to incentivize the review process, either. Something as simple as free shipping or a 5% discount could be all it takes to generate more helpful feedback.Make It Easy to Upload Photo Reviews
Photo by Lisa Fotios
Since any extra work required to interact with your company can be a massive headache for today’s online buyers, it’s important that you make it as easy as possible to review your products and services.
Make sure that you include a button or form that your customers can click within your emails to leave a review instantly, rather than making them look for the product page again.
Consider a mobile app
Having your own digital app is another way to simplify reviews. You can send push notifications to your customers through the app that reminds them to leave a review in exchange for a free gift or discount on their next order.
This means they’re much more likely to remember to review you.
A good mobile app will also allow your customers to upload photos of them using the product straight from the camera roll, which is where most people store their photos these days anyway. In short, the quicker and simpler it is to leave feedback, the better.Respond to the Feedback
Finally, make sure that you actually show your customers that you’re paying attention to the feedback that they offer.Your clients are going to quickly lose interest in leaving reviews with you if it seems like you never say “thank you” for the positive comments or if you just sweep negative testimonials under the rug.
Respond to both positive and negative reviews
Whether they’re positive or negative, you should always be responding to the feedback your customers give.
This is your chance to show your customers that you’re really listening to them.
If someone leaves a bad review, show them that you’re going to make the issue better.For instance, you might get a review saying that your delivery speeds are too slow. From there, you can respond by saying that you’re looking at working with a new shipping group to speed things up.
Engaging with your audience shows that you’re actively committed to making the experience as positive as possible for them, rather than just investing in your own success.Make the Most of Photo Feedback
Any kind of social proof or feedback on your website is a fantastic way to strengthen your credibility and unlock new opportunities to make a sale.
However, photo feedback is sometimes the most credible choice as it shows real human beings interacting with your items and benefiting from them. With the five tips listed above, collecting photo feedback will be an easier and more effective experience for your brand. From there, you just need to keep leveraging that feedback on your store, product pages, and anywhere else it can improve your brand reputation. — Lisa Michaels is a freelance writer, editor, and a thriving content marketing consultant from Portland. Being self-employed, she does her best to stay on top of the current trends in business and tech. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter @LisaBMichaels.
