You know that online reviews are important for your campus store, but how do you get them? And how do you get frequent, good reviews? Here are some tips for getting the most out of your customer reviews.
Asking for Reviews
It may feel intimidating to ask customers for reviews, but according to a study done by Bright Local, of the 74% of customers who were asked to provide feedback, 68% were willing to do it. That means that most customers are more than happy to help you out.
While most customers will be willing to leave a review, it is still important to ask at strategic moments. Here are some examples from Hubspot:
- After they experience or demonstrate success with your product or service
- When they re-purchase or re-order
- After they tag your brand in a post on social media
- If they are spending time on your website browsing other products or services
- If they refer another customer to you
Another great tip when asking for reviews is to use the open-ended questions. This prompts the customer to be ready to reply or leave a review. Here’s an example:
Give Suggestions for Content
Obviously, we don’t mean telling your customers what to say in their reviews. You want reviews to be genuine. However, it can help customers give better reviews if they have suggestions for what they can write. You can ask customers to include a photo, call out customer service, or other details that will help your reviews be more specific. A customer may also feel more motivated to leave a review if they have prompts instead of staring at a blank page.
How to Handle Negative Reviews
Negative reviews can be scary, disheartening, and many other things, but the good news is that they are also an opportunity! Customers like seeing resolved negative reviews so it is important to respond to bad reviews along with good ones. Here are some tips for handling negative reviews from Hubspot:
- Take the time to respond thoughtfully, without being defensive, to come to a resolution.
- Thank the customer for their feedback.
- Apologize and reiterate your understanding of the issue.
- Clearly outline your plan to remedy the situation.
Encouraging More Reviews
Getting more reviews from customers is a constant goal. Here are some tips for encouraging reviews from customers.
For in-store purchases: Employees should ask for reviews after every successful sale. For online purchases: Include review links after checkout or in confirmation/thank you emails.
You can also consider offering incentives for writing reviews such as discount codes, gift cards, or other prizes.
According to Harvard Business Review, a great way to continuously encourage more positive customer reviews is to respond to your reviews. Even a simple response of gratitude from you to the customer for the review is viewed positively by other customers.
Which of these tips will you start to implement in your store this upcoming semester?
Want more insight on how to get online reviews? Check out this video.
retailconnection 