In the ever-growing social media and digital world, consumer options are endless. Customers have a myriad of options to purchase a single product – a small brick and mortar store, large chain store, online retailer, etc. So how do they make this decision?

Many times, it has to do with reviews. A 2018 study indicated that 88% of consumers do research before they make a purchase either online or in-store. Reviews are a big piece of this research. For a lot of consumers, reviews are a way to try before you buy. Other people have used the product or service and have already given a report on it. This is especially important for people who buy online.

If you have an e-commerce store, allowing users to rate your product may sound daunting, but as long as you produce a quality product, this shouldn’t be a problem. Send out a follow up email about a week after the item was delivered to encourage the customer to review it.

If you are a service-related company, have your customers review you online – Google and Facebook are two great places to start.

If you are a brick and mortar store, capture your customers email during the transaction and send them a follow-up email to encourage a review on social media. Provide the links to make it easy.

Having digital reviews also allows you to view and respond to them. If someone leaves you a glowing review, thank them for being a loyal customer. If someone leaves a negative review, engage and see if there is something you can do to fix it. Not all negative reviews are bad. If consumers can see you trying to fix the problem, they will respect your brand.

If you have questions about reviews or how to encourage your consumers to engage, give us a call today!