Growing a small business can be a significant challenge. One key aspect of your eCommerce business is customer feedback from ratings and reviews. Below are practical strategies for small businesses to earn more UGC and gain the most value from them.
Leverage UGC in your Marketing Campaigns
Get the most value out of your UGC by incorporating it throughout your marketing campaigns. Highlight glowing reviews on your social media profiles and at the top of your product pages. Weave customer feedback into your email marketing campaigns to highlight customers’ favorite aspects of your products.
Ask for Reviews the Right Way
When requesting reviews from your customers, send personalized, timely emails or SMS messages. Make it easy for them to complete a review by providing a direct link to the form. And, make sure they have had enough time to use the product before requesting a review – generally 1-2 weeks after delivery works best.
Respond to All Reviews
Every review is an opportunity for you to engage and build trust with your customers. 89% of consumers are likely to choose a business that replies to all reviews. And while negative feedback can seem like a detriment to your business, negative ratings and reviews actually lend credibility to the rave reviews on your site. Purchase likelihood typically peaks at ratings in the 4.0 – 4.7 range and then begins to decrease as ratings approach 5.0.
Respond to positive reviews with thanks to your customers and ask customers who leave negative reviews how you could do better in the future.
Reduce Friction
The best way to increase UGC on your site is to reduce friction that prevents customers from leaving feedback. One way to do this is with one-click feedback like Revere’s Heartbeat feature, which allows shoppers to “heart” items without signing into an account. When sending post-purchase emails to request reviews, link directly to the form for customers to fill out and auto-fill any known values based on customer purchase data.
Let Your UGC Platform Work for You
When you have a smaller team and limited resources, it is critical that your software platforms deliver as much value as possible. When evaluating a ratings and reviews platform, look for a solution that automates workflows and saves your team time. For example, Revere’s moderation feature automatically scans and removes profanity, alerts designated team members about specific review content, and even auto-publish reviews that meet your custom criteria. Built-in escalation also flags certain reviews and Q&A to your customer service team so they can address any potential issues as they arise.
Key Takeaways
Building a strong ratings and reviews strategy doesn’t require a large team or a big budget, just consistency and the right tools. Here’s what to keep in mind:
- Ask at the right time
- Make the process effortless
- Engage with every review
- Highlight UGC across channels
- Automate where you can
Start making the most of ratings and reviews on your eCommerce site by booking a demo of Revere today.
