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Customer reviews are a great way to engage users, drive conversions, optimise for search, and build loyalty

Online selling is a complex business, with multiple layers of processes. Selling is done through a virtual store, where reaching out to potential customers is not easy. While being visible online is one part of the job, engaging them and interacting with them are equally challenging.

Email campaigns, newsletters, content, and social networking form important aspects of online marketing. On the other hand, product reviews by customers make another crucial part of the marketing strategy as these stand for one-to-one interaction between the buyer and the seller.

For this reason, customer reviews are seen as an indispensable part of e-commerce websites today. Online sellers who avail magento e-commerce development can get this advantage for their businesses with the extensions that this platform offers.

Here is a closer look at how product reviews can add value to your online store:

Drive conversion

A majority of online buyers look for recommendations before buying a product from an e-commerce store. Positive product reviews from other buyers are as good as having a friend vouch for a product. Therefore, product reviews are instrumental in driving conversions and boosting online sales for an e-commerce store.

Also read: 3 ways to bounce back from negative app reviews

Build consumer loyalty

You can invest huge sums of money on advertising and promotion, but nothing works as well as genuine positive product reviews. When potential buyers come across positive comments regarding quality and services you are offering, they start trusting your brand. It builds long-term loyalty and credibility for your business and retains customers, too.

Unbiased insight

Customer feedback is user-generated content rather than something that you say about yourself. It is, therefore, seen as an unbiased insight offered by existing users to potential ones. People find it more reliable, as it comes from others who have actually used the products. This is all the more crucial for online businesses, where shoppers cannot physically examine the products before purchasing them but rely only on what they see onscreen.

Scope for self-improvement

Not only do product reviews have a positive influence on buyers, but they give the business an opportunity for self-improvement, too. Reviews, negative or positive, can be taken as a feedback, and the business should use them to redress the issues, if any. The overall performance and reputation of the business can be improved with such steps. Negative reviews, in fact, can be useful too as these give an impression that the business is not faking them.

SEO benefits

The benefits that product reviews bring for an online business do not end here. These bring fresh content for the website, taking it up on Google search rankings. The trend of review searches is on an increase, with more and more buyers keying in product name along with “reviews” to go through them. Product reviews on your business website improve your visibility on the basis of these keywords.

Since product reviews bundle up so many advantages for an online store, customers should be encouraged to post them. A few simple tricks can be used for this purpose:

Make it easy

The process of review posting should be uncomplicated and easy. An expert Magento developer ensures that the customer need not undertake tedious form filling and verification for posting a review.

Also read: How should you deal with bad reviews online?

Offer a reward

Make the process rewarding too, by offering something to the customer who makes the effort. A discount coupon on the next purchase can be a good deal to encourage product reviews.

Send emailers

An email campaign can be a great idea to get customers to put up a review on a product they have bought recently. You can use shopping history data to hand out personalized emails to shoppers. Address them as a community and motivate them to write reviews about the products they like. Be willing to take negative feedback too and assure them about setting things right in that case.

A final word

Product reviews are much more than opinions. These can serve as powerful marketing tools if used in the right way. From getting the SEO edge for your online store to building long term reputation, the benefits they can fetch are immense. Customer reviews can boost the sales effortlessly and guide the business on the road to success.

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The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your post here.

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