Online reviews are critical for your brand’s ecommerce success - not just to help foster trust but also to help your products rank well within marketplace product search results. Further, customer service can be a profit-driving strategy for your company, as it costs 5 to 25 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.
Your review strategy should begin with a plan to collect feedback. Once you are receiving reviews, you must then respond to and manage those reviews. Managing reviews can unlock valuable information from your customers and allow you to create repeat business. Keep reading to learn some tips and tricks that your brand can implement for an effective review management strategy.
Start by setting expectations. Negative reviews are going to happen. Your goal should be to address any mentioned concerns so that the number of negative reviews (or ratings) declines over time. Getting to a 5 out of 5-star average rating is not a recommended goal, especially with the volume of reviews that you should be pulling in. In fact, 95% of customers become skeptical of brands that only have positive reviews.
Make a process that fits your schedule. Managing reviews can easily become something that slips through the cracks. Don’t let that happen. Instead, assign someone to take on the responsibility of review management and have them block time on their calendar each week to see the task through. We recommend responding to reviews at least two to three days per week so that any associated action can be taken in a timely fashion.
Listen. Reviews, positive or negative, typically happen because the customer feels that they genuinely have something to say. If the feedback is positive, great! Still take the time to acknowledge any specifics that the reviewer called out and thank them. If the feedback is negative, make sure you understand all details within the review before responding.
Give unhappy customers options. If a refund is on the table, offer it. However, you can also give the customer a direct number to call if there is a way to resolve the complaint. Maybe their product isn’t working correctly, and you can help them troubleshoot and save the sale. If customers have options, they have more control of their situation – that’s a win in most cases.
Get it offline. As mentioned above, some situations require further discussion. It is not recommended to comment back on forth on a review. Instead, give the customer a direct number to call if you believe a resolution is possible. If you do turn around a customer’s sentiment, don’t be afraid to ask for an updated or new review after the fact.
Acknowledge and apologize. If there is nothing that you can do to resolve the situation (which happens!), still apologize for the issue. Maybe there is feedback in the review that you are taking to work on – let the customer know such details to prove that their voice is not going unheard.
Improve. Unhappy customers are the most honest customers. Track the issue type that reviewers report and analyze it to find insight into systemic problems you can address before they worsen. Use customer feedback as a tool to make your products and service even better.
Reviews are a great tool for your brand to discover customer opinions and optimize your products based on that information. They allow brands to identify opportunities, learn what customers love about their products, and achieve trust that translates to return business and better marketplace visibility.
Spreetail is an ecommerce growth partner focused on accelerating brands and channels to compete for tomorrow’s ecommerce customer. Our ecommerce experts purchase products from world-class vendors, list these top brands on marketplace giants such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, and eBay, and fulfill orders with next-day speed. Our home-grown software helps us provide unmatched value to our vendor partners, channel partners, and the millions of customers we delight nationwide.
Growth Marketing Manager
