The Ultimate Guide To Customer Reviews (2023)

Reading customer reviews before purchasing is essential for someone who regularly spends time shopping online.

That’s why customer reviews are among the most powerful tools for any merchants to build trust, increase conversions, and improve their brand awareness. But how do they get more reviews from your customers and leverage the reviews to build trust for their stores?

In this ultimate guide, we will show you how critical customer reviews are to any business, tips to improve reviews for your store, and ways to collect, manage, and show reviews like a pro!

What Are Customer Reviews?

Customer reviews are a form of customer feedback on a product or service that the customer has purchased or used. It involves a comment and a rating. 

Email, texts, social media, and even in-person interactions are just among the methods that can be applied to collect customer feedback.

Customer reviews are always helpful sources of information for both businesses and consumers:

• Help companies improve their products, services, and reputation.
• Motivate customers to research before purchasing.
• Build credibility and trust, etc.

Let’s learn more about the importance of customer feedback to any business.

Why Are Customer Reviews Important To Your Business?

With reliable numbers from reliable customer reviews surveys, we cannot again deny the importance of reviews to business. And here’s what customer feedback brings to any business:

1. Build trust and credibility with potential customers

Customer reviews significantly impact a business’s level of trust and credibility because they can show how transparent, honest, and reliable a business is.

Potential customers can also make purchase decisions after reading these positive reviews.

2. Increase social proof and word-of-mouth marketing

Customers may be interested in your products or service but unsure about purchasing.

This is why consumers tend to use reviews throughout the research phase of the purchase process to understand more about the product and choose if it fits their needs.

What’s more, the desire of customers to buy a product can greatly improve if they discover several positive reviews or highly ranked products.

3. Provide insights and feedback for improvement

After getting the customer reviews, it’s time to find out what your new customers thought about their experience with your business.

Reviews will open a new door to your customers’ insights, needs, references, and pain points. By understanding them, your business will identify the SWOT to improve your products, services, and customer satisfaction.

4. Encourage repeat purchases and loyalty

Customer reviews can help your business retain existing customers and increase their lifetime value. They can also help you reward your loyal customers and turn them into advocates for your brand.

5. Boost SEO and organic rankings

Google always prioritizes the user when conducting search engine optimization since Google is guided by its users’ needs, opinions, and convictions.

So that’s why Google considers reviews (both positive and negative) to determine where to place your website in search results.

If you’re not convinced yet, take a look at some mind-blowing customer review statistics.

How To Improve Customer Reviews For Your Store?

Overall, customer reviews are a powerful way to build your business’s success and help you improve your products, services, and customer experience.

So next, we will assist you with helpful tips for improving customer feedback for your business:

1. Consistently maintain high-quality performance and desired reviews

• Deliver your products or services as promised, on time, and with quality. 

It’s best to meet or exceed your customers’ expectations and provide them with a positive experience. Customers will be more likely to give you positive feedback if they find your products or services excellent.

• Ask for reviews that match your business goals and objectives. 

To collect reviews that support your business goals and objectives, you need to choose the right format and focus for your review requests.

For example, you can ask for text, photos, video, ratings, or question-and-answer reviews that emphasize your products’ features, benefits, quality, or value.

Example of photo customer reviews

2. Choose the right time to ask and encourage customers to leave reviews

Consider the customer’s journey and identify the moments when they are most likely to be satisfied, delighted, or impressed by your product or service.

You can ask for reviews after purchase, delivery, usage, or renewal. Or it’d be best to ask after resolving a customer issue or providing exceptional service

To make your customer feel comfortable, consider using email, SMS, social media, or a website to ask customers to leave a review or do it in the way that suits your business best.

3. Use third-party apps for customer reviews

Speaking of third-party apps, Shopify is well-known for offering a great number of apps. You can compare their features, pricing, and reviews on the Shopify App Store.

Our recommendation for all Shopify merchant out there is Ali Reviews – a top-notch product reviews solution that provides easy set-up and visually captivating customer reviews that help build unbreakable trust and supercharge sales.

Trusted by nearly 1,000,000 eCommerce brands, it is the must-have product reviews app for online stores to effortlessly collect, showcase, and strengthen customer reviews – harnessing the full potential of your social proof and turning visitors into lifetime customers.

Here are 5 simple steps to get onboard with Ali Reviews:

Step 1: Download Ali Reviews from Shopify App Store.

Download the Ali reviews app for customer reviews

Step 2: Go to the Apps section of your Shopify admin, and select Ali Reviews – Product Reviews to access the dashboard.

Select Ali Reviews to access the dashboard

Step 3: Access the Show reviews tab. In this dashboard, you can:

• Customize and design review widgets like Review Box, Review Pop, or Carousel Slider.
• Choose where to display your reviews, such as on your home page, product page, or cart page.
• Enable Google Rich Snippet and Google Shopping Integration to increase your SEO and traffic.

Customize and design review widgets

Step 4: To gather reviews, go to the Collect reviews tab in the dashboard. Ali Reviews allows you to:

• Choose how to collect customer reviews via email, SMS, and social media.
• Import reviews from AliExpress, DSers, or CSV files.
• Create incentive programs and follow-up emails to encourage customers to share reviews.

Collect customer reviews

Moreover, you can select and offer incentives or rewards for leaving reviews, such as discounts, coupons, or freebies.

Step 5: Lastly, take control of reviews with the Manage reviews tab to:

• Filter, sort, or export your reviews.
• Moderate your reviews and approve or reject them.

Manage the reviews in Ali Reviews

And the best part? Ali Reviews is FREE for the first 7 days, you should definitely give it a try.

4. Respond regularly to customer reviews

Responding to customer reviewers simply shows your commitment and makes them happy with your products and services. Monitor your customer reviews regularly and set up alerts or notifications for new reviews.

Don’t let negative reviews bring you down. Respond with professionalism and offer a solution that makes the customer happy. This is an opportunity to showcase your excellent customer service skills and show how much you value their feedback.

Also, don’t forget to thank the customers who gave you positive reviews. This is a great way to earn their loyalty and appreciation.

6. Feature reviews on your online presence

Customer reviews are powerful tools to grow your business. Showcase them on your website and social media to attract more customers. Or ask your customers to spread the word on other platforms, such as review sites, forums, or communities.

Remember to make them visible on Google Shopping, Facebook, Instagram, or blogs to inspire potential buyers and stand out.

7. Keep in touch with your customers

Provide value and support to your customers and help them achieve their goals. You can use email, blogs, or podcasts to create and share valuable content and information with your customers and educate them about your products or services.

Always keep in touch with customers long after the purchase. It would be best if you had a long-term plan to ensure that the positive experiences your clients have had with your business are still alive in their minds.

This way, you can easily get more positive customer reviews from customers who already trust you.

Common Mistakes Using Customer Reviews

#1. Overlooking negative feedback

Negative reviews can hurt your business and drive away potential customers. But ignoring them is not a good strategy because they can backfire and damage your reputation and customer loyalty.

Instead, you should face them head-on and turn them into opportunities. Here’s how:

• Respond quickly and politely.
• Resolve the problem with a realistic solution.
• Learn from the feedback and improve your business.

#2. Turning your reply into a promotional opportunity

Customers leave reviews to share their opinions and experiences with your business and expect you to listen and respond to their feedback, not to pitch them your products or services.

Customers appreciate businesses that prioritize their satisfaction over general profit. If you use your review responses as a chance to advertise, you risk losing their trust and respect.

Rather than promoting your brand, take the time to understand the specific issues raised in the review and offer a solution or express gratitude for the positive feedback.

#3. Arguing with the customer

Realistically speaking, when you receive negative or unfair reviews, you may get angry to defend yourself or your business.

However, this can be a costly mistake that can damage your reputation and customer loyalty. Instead, businesses should remain solution-oriented and try to solve the customer’s problems:

• Take the customer’s side. Don’t get defensive or angry; try to understand the customer’s perspective and empathize with their situation.
• Be an active listener. Don’t interrupt or talk over the customer when they are venting or expressing their concerns.
• Give a realistic solution and satisfy the customer. Follow up with the customer until the issue is resolved and they are happy.

#4. Late reply

Customer reviews are a valuable source of communicating and engaging with your customers.

If your business takes too long to respond to reviews or does not answer, it can make them feel ignored, frustrated, or unappreciated.

On the other hand, how you respond to reviews can make a big difference in your customer satisfaction and loyalty. To stay in contact with customers if there are any problems, follow these tips below:

• Keep track of your reviews regularly and set up alerts or notifications for new reviews with helpful tools across different channels and platforms.
• Reply to customer feedback within 24 hours or less. You can also use templates or scripts to save time and ensure consistency.
• Reply to all reviews, positive, negative, or neutral.

#5. Lack of authenticity and transparency

When it comes to customer reviews, authenticity and transparency are key. Customers rely on honest, unbiased feedback to make informed decisions about products and services.

If a business is caught manipulating or fabricating reviews, it can quickly erode trust and lead to a loss of customers.

To avoid this, stay authentic, encourage genuine feedback, and address concerns straightforwardly and professionally.

Final Thoughts

Building customer trust and growing the online business is only possible with customer reviews.

While obtaining reviews can be challenging, building and managing a positive review system is essential for success. We hope our tips provide clear guidance on how to approach customers and request positive feedback.

Lastly, stay up-to-date with the latest news and insights on OneCommerce Blog!