eCommerce Content Tip #3: Use Product Reviews Effectively
Product reviews can assist an ecommerce site in building credibility, increasing customer confidence, and providing valuable information for the development of product descriptions.
Offer product reviews on your site
This January 2007 Marketing Sherpa study showed that the majority of consumers surveyed preferred sites with peer-written product reviews.
Work to increase the number of reviews on your site
A recent article in The Economist shows that products with ten or more reviews (in one instance) had a “drastically” higher conversion rate than products with fewer reviews. How can you get more product reviews? Consider sending an email to customers the day their shipment should arrive. Ask if they received the product and if they are happy with the product and with your company’s service. Invite the customer to reply and also invite them to share a review on your website.
Allow negative reviews of your products
The recent Economist article also shared that having some negative reviews on your products will give your site more credibility as if they are all positive it will be hard for users to trust. The key will be that hopefully, the negative reviews are a small proportion of your overall comments.
Use reviews to write better product descriptions
Look at what people are talking about in the reviews. This tells you what your customers find to be important. You can use information from the reviews to write better product descriptions. If customers give a product a top rating because of a specific quality or characteristic – make sure to include that in your product description. You may also consider using the same words or similar words to describe your products as your customers are using to describe the product in the review.
The lessons that guide Brilliance Business Solutions’ success began on a launching pad, when company founder Lori McDonald served as part of the team that put NASA’s Space Shuttle missions into orbit. McDonald leads Brilliance Business Solutions with over 20 years of computer engineering and software development experience.
While performing the technical task of managing the Shuttle’s in-flight data recorders at Mission Control in Houston, Lori also gained an invaluable personal insight from the dedicated NASA professionals working around her. It’s only natural that when McDonald transitioned from space science to web development and from Houston Texas to Milwaukee Wisconsin, a focus on creativity and reliability continued as a common thread. “Everybody loves an impressive, exciting web site,” she said, “but unless it achieves its practical business goals it’s like a rocket that never gets off the ground.”
Lori graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer-Electrical Engineering. She is a Microsoft Certified Professional. Her status as a recognized industry expert has resulted in regular speaking engagements at business conferences. Lori has been working with ACTION Business Coaching since December 2007 as she believes that improving herself, her leadership and her focus are critical for the ongoing success of Brilliance Business Solutions.
When Lori is not at work, she enjoys her family. She is married to David and has two boys. She enjoys living out her faith through service at her church, Transformation City Church, and in her community. She has a passion for making a difference in the lives of those in need and has worked with Milwaukee foster care as well as work on over 10 mission trips focused on home repair projects throughout the United States. Lori believes that those who lead best serve others first and she hopes this servant-based leadership is evident to every client of Brilliance Business Solutions.
Likes:
The Muppets, singing harmony, musical theater, Star Trek, The West Wing
Lori graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer-Electrical Engineering and leads Brilliance Business Solutions with over 20 years of computer engineering and software development experience. She is an Episerver EMVP, a Microsoft Certified Professional and a regular contributor on Practical eCommerce. Her status as a recognized industry expert has resulted in regular speaking engagements at business conferences.
Sam Kitzrow, a talented developer earned his B2B Commerce Cloud developer certification. Episerver certification exams are challenging and test a combination of skills-based on-platform experience, theoretical knowledge, design guidelines and aspects of recent software releases.
Sam Kitzrow, a talented developer earned his B2B Commerce Cloud developer certification. Episerver certification exams are challenging and test a combination of skills-based on-platform experience, theoretical knowledge, design guidelines and aspects of recent software releases.
