If you aren't asking customers to share their opinions of your products and services, you are disappointing many of your site visitors and driving away many potential customers. User reviews are one of the most effective yet underutilised ways to attract new customers. Here are some tips to help you utilise user reviews on your website.

What Are User Reviews?

User reviews are comments from customers who have already purchased the product or service that you offer. User reviews can be glowingly positive or even negative, highlighting areas that your company could improve.

Why Are User Reviews Important to Your E-Commerce Site?

65% of shoppers frequently read reviews before making a purchase, and 34% actively seek out reviews on independent sites when they can't find what they need on the manufacturer's website. When you send your most engaged shoppers off-site, you risk the chance of losing them. By providing user reviews in prominent locations on your site, you answer your potential customers' questions as they arise. Furthermore, user reviews provide more content for search engine optimisation purposes, as well as improving customer loyalty and engagement. The effect can be dramatic - Brett Hurt from Bazaarvoice estimates that user reviews can boost conversion rates by 20% while simultaneously driving up the average value of each sale.

User Reviews Make Your Site Stand Out

Despite many shoppers saying reviews are a critical part of their buying decision, not even a third of online retailers surveyed in a 2007 social commerce report said they displayed customer reviews on their sites. This means that there is a huge window of opportunity for your company to outshine your competitors by providing customer reviews to your site visitors as part of their purchasing process.

How Can You Obtain User Reviews?

The good news is that people love to share their opinions. Many people will jump into a discussion to rate and review a product, even if the current product rating is similar to their own opinion. Some tips for encouraging reviews include:

• Offer Prominent Opportunities to Review. People won't participate if they don't know you offer the opportunity to leave reviews.
• Make Reviewing Easy. People want to write their reviews quickly. Remove any barriers or complications that would slow their ability to write and post their reviews.
• Give an Incentive to Review. Incentives could range from contests that award prizes for great reviews to acknowledgement for top reviewers.
• Remind People to Review. When you thank your customers for their purchase, remind them to return to the site and let others know about their experience.

Adding user reviews is an easy and low-cost way to improve customer engagement and satisfaction while driving up conversions and profits. Give us a call on 08452 579606 to see how you can make user reviews work for you.