Customer reviews and testimonials remain critical for eCommerce companies for several reasons.
The Pew Research Center reported that 82% of American adults read customer ratings or reviews at least sometimes before making their first purchase.
Reviews and testimonials from buyers can also help influence customer decisions and increase interactions with your eCommerce site. Aside from search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, more interaction with your current and potential customers can help increase sales. Click here for more information.
Your online shop can take various steps to leverage testimonials and reviews from customers. An example is unifying device management, which can help increase your productivity.
If you’re sharing reviews and testimonials with visitors to your online store, then you’re on the right track. However, these resources should also provide a snapshot of what potential customers should expect if they purchase items from platforms like Magento.
A clear comprehension of the differences between customer reviews and testimonials and knowing which one to highlight are also critical. They are ideal practices for reviews.
As an online retailer, you can leverage customer reviews and testimonials as effectively as possible by using tried-and-true practices.
What’s the Difference Between Customer Reviews and Testimonials?
Online resources often refer to “customer reviews” and “testimonials” interchangeably to mean the same thing. However, knowing the difference can help your online store use customers’ ideas and insights more effectively.
Before discussing why online reviews are important, it’s critical to know how reviews and testimonials differ.
What Exactly Are Customer Reviews?
Customer reviews differ from customer testimonials in critical ways. Compared to testimonials, reviews tend to be shorter, usually a few sentences or short paragraphs.
The best customer reviews can be positive or negative. However, online retailers tend to provide positive feedback on their homepages.
By writing reviews, customers share their general feelings about a company or a particular interaction with it.
Customers may share reviews to various third-party websites, such as Yelp, Facebook, and Google reviews. So, they’re technically the intellectual property (IP) of those websites and the customer.
What Exactly Are Customer Testimonials?
Testimonials possess some unique features compared to customer reviews. One key element of testimonials is where they appear. A customer usually gives testimonials directly to the company. The company may provide a commission to publish the testimonial.
Testimonials also are usually more in-depth. Buyers explain their online shopping experience with your store. They also explain why they selected it and how it improved their life.
Finally, since companies usually ask customers directly to provide testimonials, they’re nearly always positive. An online retailer probably wouldn’t ask for feedback from an unhappy customer.
Reviews and Testimonials: Tips for Your Online Store
Here are some methods to improve your eCommerce site’s usage of testimonials and reviews.
Offer Review Incentives to Customers
Happy customers may not give reviews for various reasons. For instance, they may not feel it’s worth their time or effort.
The solution is to offer incentives such as vouchers or discounts to encourage customers to review the site or write more reviews.
Such incentives can provide win-win situations by encouraging past buyers to make another purchase.
Another way you can incentivize customer reviews is through promotions and motivation.
Use a Variety of Online Channels
Focus on your Magento store’s placement of testimonials and reviews using these options:
Paid Ads
Google’s AdWords is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform. In this advertising model, advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. Adding a customer review extension to AdWords may help increase click-through rates (CTRs).
CTRs are the number of clicks your online ad receives, divided by the number of times the ad is shown, or “impressions.”. The formula is: (clicks ÷ impressions).
Social Media
Research implemented by the Pew Research Center indicated that 72% of Americans use social media today.
So, it’s worth using social platforms to help make your reviews and testimonials more visible.
Such feedback provides customer-generated insights to potential customers. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are some popular options for online retailers.
A blurb from one customer’s feedback can help spark interest and encourage people to visit your website.
Search Engine Optimization
Customer testimonials may provide various benefits for search engines:
- Reviews may include keywords that people are searching
- You can customize reviews and testimonials for SEO
- Fresh and relevant content may boost customer interaction with your brand
Homepage
Testimonials, in particular, can be effective in increasing the rankings of your website’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
This factor can make your online store more visible on Google and other search engines. People can find testimonials after visiting your site through different landing pages.
A landing page can technically be any web page on which a visitor “lands.” However, websites’ landing pages are often standalone pages for advertising or marketing campaigns.
Another benefit is increased customer engagement, including the best review comments.
Such engagement can help move customers faster through the “sales funnel.” This process is the journey that potential customers go through before making a purchase.
Make It Easy to Leave Reviews
Customers may be hesitant to provide reviews if these evaluations take much time and effort. One alternative is to give customers the option to leave after supplying an overall review score. Make text boxes optional so they can provide more details if necessary.
This feature can provide various benefits for your online store. For instance, it can boost website effectiveness with customer reviews & testimonials.
Post Positive and Negative Reviews
Positive reviews can provide “social proof” for potential customers. Social proof is a psychological phenomenon. People follow others’ actions to show correct behavior in a given situation.
Suppose someone liked your product and gave a positive review. Other people may then feel motivated to try it also.
Removing all negative reviews from your homepage may seem like an ideal marketing strategy. Well, it’s more complicated. It’s an unwise choice to leave only positive reviews, such as excellent customer service reviews.
Posting negative reviews shows that your online store is a “work in progress.” If your company is only getting 5-star reviews, it may seem like a red flag.
Customers may also be more likely to be entirely honest with their reviews if they think they’ll be published.
Other benefits of published negative reviews include:
- Shoppers can determine which product features may not be useful
- Potential buyers can see the pros and cons of items
- People are less likely to return products if they know the positive and negative features
- Customers see the downfalls of a product or service at your eCommerce store
Another way customers can determine if products are ideal for them is through comparative reviews.
Use Reviews Through Email Marketing
If your retail site sends emails with product recommendations, you can add another level of persuasion by including user reviews.
One example is cart abandonment emails. Cart abandonment refers to shoppers that filled their virtual shopping cart but did not complete the purchase.
Positive customer reviews may help persuade customers to buy your Magento store’s items.
Provide a Summary of Statistics
Review stats provide a snapshot of customers’ reviews by showing the average score in different categories. They include positive and negative reviews and average scores for aspects such as quality and features.
This information can make it easier for potential customers to make purchase decisions.
You can also use a reviews reminder for Magento to ensure that customer reviews appear at your eCommerce site.
Show Verified Buyers’ Reviews
In recent years, “fake reviews” have become a controversial issue. Your company can avoid potential problems by posting verified reviews from past customers.
This option can increase customer trust if you confirm that the reviews are from a verified purchaser.
Allow Customers to Add Images and Videos to Reviews
Photo and video-sharing social platforms like Facebook-owned Instagram and Google-owned YouTube have skyrocketed in popularity.
Allowing previous customers to add images and video to their reviews boosts the visual connection with potential customers.
Another factor is the old expression that “A picture is worth a thousand words.” A combination of text, photos, and videos tells a better story than words alone.
You can also permit customers to submit video testimonials.
Use Influencer Marketing in Reviews and Testimonials
An influencer has the power to affect people’s purchasing decisions based on their authority, position, knowledge, or relationship with their audience.
Influencer marketing may provide various benefits, including authentic content about a brand. It can also increase engagement, including best review comments and customer review quotes.
One option is to pay influencers outright, which can be pretty pricey. However, another option is to build relationships with influencers through your online store. This approach may be more affordable for startup stores in particular.
You can launch these influencer marketing campaigns in various online channels, such as social media or platforms where you can do blog posts. Facebook and Instagram are a few options.
Share Testimonials Through Case Studies
Case studies are intensive studies of a person or group of people, which provide a generalization.
Suppose your eCommerce store’s product worked for a particular person representing your target market.
It may then work for others who fit the customer profile. Customer profiles include groups of people with similar characteristics or goals.
The posting of case studies may encourage other customers to provide testimonials.
One option is to feature a case studies page on your homepage. Like testimonial pages, this page can share success stories of customers who used products from your Magento store.
You can quote testimonials and include other customer-derived information.
Call customers that have provided positive reviews and ask if they’d like to share their story through a testimonial. If they are, send them an online survey, such as Google Surveys.
Make Reviews More Visible Online
Customers may read several product reviews before buying. So it’s critical to make sure your customer reviews are visible to your target audience so they can consider your store’s items.
Make sure you have separate sections on your homepage for customer reviews. One option is right below product descriptions, so potential customers can read reviews while learning about a product’s details.
Make it Easier for Customers to Supply Reviews
Even satisfied customers may not leave positive reviews if the process is too complicated. So your internet store has to provide a reason for customers to leave positive feedback.
An effective way to do that is to leave a call to action (CTA) on your homepage. It encourages website visitors to take a particular action.
Another option is to send an auto email to customers who recently made a purchase. Ask them to share about their shopping experience.
FAQs
1. What makes a good customer testimonial?
Effective testimonials build trust through a third-party endorsement, create a “bandwagon effect,” and increase conversion rates. These rates refer to the percentage of people that take the store’s desired action, such as buying products.
2. Are testimonials and reviews the same?
Customer-based reviews and testimonials have distinct differences. Testimonials tend to be longer and more detailed than customer reviews. In addition, testimonials typically appear on a company’s homepage, while third-party sites often post customer reviews.
3. What should be included in a testimonial?
Some key features of a good testimonial include a credible source, original content, visual focus, product details, and the use of natural language.
4. What are customer testimonials?
Testimonials show potential customers that your online store’s products work as they should.
5. How do you write a testimonial review?
Customers, such as individuals shopping at eCommerce sites, write testimonials. Testimonials are typically found on a company’s homepage. They function like a paid advertisement. So you must carefully select what appears there.
Consider including testimonials from your top customers.
Wrapping Up
Customer testimonials and reviews share the overall experience past customers had with your products. Such feedback can improve the marketability of items at your eCommerce site.
Digital and content marketing may seem to be getting more complex and challenging constantly. There’s some good news! High-quality products supported by the right reviews and testimonials can encourage repeat customers who, hopefully, share your products with others.