By: IrisCX • 19 September 2022

The importance of online product reviews [+3 ways to get more]

Online consumers consult reviews for almost everything. They search Google and social media for reviews on the products and services they’re considering purchasing. They let the reviews on Yelp and Google dictate which restaurant they choose for date night.Online reviews are especially impactful because they reach people with purchasing intent – a total of 93% of new customers consult reviews before purchasing a product or service.

Recent reviews > top reviews

It’s important to continue collecting reviews throughout the lifespan of your product. 97% of consumers consider the recency of product reviews at least somewhat important when making a purchasing decision. Nearly half want to be able to find reviews that were written within the last month.Recent consumer reviews on a website positively impacts their SEO ranking, making it easier for your prospects to find you on a Google search when they have purchasing intent.

3 ways to get better quality reviews

Ask at the right time

There are two optimal times to get impactful reviews from your customers. First, immediately after service. After you’ve completed a virtual consultation, install, or troubleshooting session, you can immediately ask the customer for feedback while the experience is fresh in their mind.Second, 21 days after installation. Customers with products they expect to last a long time (ie, smart home products or appliances) will be hesitant to give a review too quickly, as they want to see the product perform as expected first. Three weeks seems to be the sweet spot where the experience is still fresh in their mind, but they’ve had enough time to use the product too.

Make it easy

You can make the review process even easier for customers by adding it seamlessly to their journey. Enable reviews from within the session or email so they don’t need to open a new window. Automate the process, add suggested questions to answer, and keep it to about 4-6 key questions.Photos and video reviews are the most compelling, so give your customers the opportunity to submit photos or videos directly from your review prompt.

Seek conversion driving information

Your customers don’t want to answer irrelevant questions about their experience. Ask questions that they would want answered, too. Make sure your review questions address known customer concerns. Ask them for demographic information that can help you provide personalization for future customers.Don’t shy away from negative reviews, either. Customers don’t expect a perfect 10/10 average score for any product – there are always going to be variations in experience. In order to come across as authentic, own your customer experiences (both positive and negative) and address your reviewers with honest responses.

Leverage your reviews for maximum impact

Create personalized experiences. When you gather feedback specific to the individual customer experience, you can begin to share more personalized recommendations with your prospects. For example, you could let them know how others in their area are using your product, or how others in similar homes have set it up.Identify relevant keywords. Reviews give you an insight into the actual keywords your customers use. Then, you can begin to track and gather insights about those keywords using data insights from a CX platform like IrisCX.Improve product development. Collecting the experiences and opinions of your customers allows you to implement their feedback to improve your products or your customer experience.

Smart video can help you increase reviews and referrals

Automate your review collection process with a CX platform, and start implementing customer feedback faster.Our smart video platform allows consumers to either self-assess their issue, schedule a time to talk to a service expert or show a service expert what their concern is to receive help in real-time.With IrisCX, you can apply the feedback generated from video sessions to create a more cohesive understanding of your customers and start delivering the service they want to receive.