Driving Sales via User Reviews
There’s no question that customers like to shop online. Recent studies indicate that a majority of consumers also prefer to research products and services online through user reviews and comments. Would you prefer that consumers research products on your site where they can readily make a purchase or elsewhere where you risk losing the business?
If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon.com you have experienced one of the most extensive and successful user reviewing systems on the Internet. There is little doubt that this ability has been a major contributing factor in their success.
If you’re considering a user review system for your site, here are some of the ways you can drive sales from this feature:
Keep Customers on Your Site
Since research indicates most users are interested in user reviews you can assume that your potential customers are going to search for this information. If they have to look for it elsewhere, you can also assume they will purchase elsewhere.
Building Loyalty Through Community
When users enter reviews on your site they begin to build a sense of ownership. As ownership increases, so does loyalty which ensures they will return to your site the next time they intend to purchase.
Indulge the Need for the Best
Customers don’t want to buy just any product. They want to buy “the best”. By allowing users to rank products you are automatically elevating the appeal of well ranked items, even if those items have a higher price point. You can also incorporate this information into search results allowing users to easily locate the top rated products.
Connecting Similar Customers
You can learn a great deal about your current customers by tracking their reviews on products. There is even greater potential when these reviews are used to connect customers with similar interests. For example, if Bob has indicated that he enjoys gardening on his reviewer profile then you could highlight his top reviewed items to Jim, who has also indicated he enjoys gardening. This is an excellent way to present Jim with relevant items that he may not have realized were available. And since these products are already ranked well, there is an increased likelihood of generating a sale.
