Customer reviews are the best sellers. They are people’s most important buying impulse. In this article we show you how you can utilize this for your WooCommerce shop.
According to PeopleClaim Blog, 70% of customers prefer to look at reviews and ratings before they make a purchase online and 71% agree that consumer reviews make them more comfortable that they are buying the right product.
These statistics make one thing clear: reviews have a direct influence on your sales success.
Inhalt
- 1 Why Product Reviews Are so Useful For WooCommerce Shops
- 2 Social Proof From Buyers or Organizations?
- 3 WooCommerce Plugins for Product Reviews
- 4 The Two types of Evaluations
- 5 How Do You Get Detailed Reviews?
- 6 Why Do These Questions Work?
- 7 Insert Coupon Codes
- 8 Template For a Review Request For Readers
Why Product Reviews Are so Useful For WooCommerce Shops
63% of those surveyed also said they were more likely to buy from an online store which displays reviews. And it makes sense – who would like to entrust their hard-earned money to a complete stranger?
And there we have the key expression: trust.
Trust is the be-all and end-all for every online shop. Without trust, no potential buyer will give his money to you.
Customer reviews create this trust because the potential buyer does not have to rely exclusively on the statements of the seller. You create social proof and credibility. This is also the reason why, according to Amazon, ratings are read more than product descriptions.
Potential buyers believe product descriptions from unknown shops only to a certain point, and prefer to know the experiences of previous buyers in order to make a well-founded decision. They can then decide for themselves whether they can overlook a product’s quirks or are deterred from buying it.
An interesting fact is also that even mediocre or negative ratings are better than none at all. In the case of no reviews, a potential buyer quickly assumes that there is something wrong with the product. No ratings are a greater deterrent than mediocre or even bad ones.
Reviews can be given by previous customers of a shop or by experts, for example organizations and brands such as Stiftung Warentest. But which of these social proof types has more influence on buyers?
Does it make more sense for you as a shop operator to obtain reviews from customers or experts?
A study conducted by Forrester Consulting in the US found that customer ratings influence the purchase a little more (71%) than expert ratings (68%).
The difference in influence is too minimal to determine which type of social proof you as a shop operator should choose in order to win the trust of your potential customers. You can of course never go wrong with a combination of reviews from existing customers and experts.
Receiving reviews from experts, however, involves a lot more effort than mobilizing your own existing customers. Evaluation requests to existing customers can be automated more easily than to experts.
WooCommerce Plugins for Product Reviews
There are several plugins to allow customers to leave product reviews in their WooCommerce shop.
Standard Review Feature
WooCommerce automatically offers a rating system for your customers. From a technical point of view, this feature is equivalent to the standard comment function of WordPress.
Depending on the settings of your WordPress system, you may have to activate the reviews before they can be displayed publicly. To do this, activate the checkbox “Activate ratings” under WooCommerce → Settings. With this activation, your customers can rate and comment on the products according to the asterisk principle. Five stars represent the highest rating.
WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro
This plugin extends the basic features of the WooCommerce standard review feature. It allows Amazon-style rating and filtering, offers additional discussion options and adds even more review functions. With this plugin, you offer your customers the review options they’ve come to know from major online merchants like Amazon.
Additional features include uploading photos and videos, asking questions, as well as query criteria in a dropdown feature (how did the product fit, was it convenient, and many more). You can also filter and set the most helpful or current ratings.
The cost of the plugin for one license is at least $79 a year.
The Yotpo Social Reviews plugin offers some additional great features. It simplifies reviewing for your customers, and facilitates and rewards the sharing of reviews on social media channels – for free.
- You and your customers can share 5‑star ratings on all social media platforms.
- You can automatically send buyers questions about your product to make it easier for the customer to evaluate the product.
- As an incentive, you can offer vouchers for split reviews at the same time.
- Yotpo also allows you to turn reviews into paid ads on Facebook and Instagram.
- With the Smart Promotion function you can select certain products for upselling to suitable customers or for promotions.
In general we can highly recommend Yotpo as a plugin for reviews in WooCommerce shops.
The Two types of Evaluations
There are two types of reviews from buyers. First, there are the short, crisp reviews:
- “Super satisfied.”
- “Sent right back. No recommendation to buy”.
- “Fast delivery – great.”
Any of these are nice to hear – but unfortunately, these ratings are too short and meaningless to convince potential buyers. They do not explain why the buyer was satisfied, why the product was returned, or how quickly the delivery actually arrived.
A much better way to build trust in potential buyers are more detailed ratings that explain why a good or bad rating was given. Some of these reviews are so long, they’re almost stories. These stories are the most helpful reviews for your customers.
Here is an example of a longer, more meaningful rating for Schwungvoll:
Our new website is great. It is clear and easy to find everything you are looking for. Its structure is clear. The design is contemporary and fits well with the overall parent advisory board in Constance. The handling was uncomplicated and convenient! The first members of the GEB are already working together with Franz Sauerstein. We are totally satisfied!
~ Alexandra Bek, Chairwoman of the Parents’ Advisory Council Constance
This type of review helps a potential customer, who is not yet convinced whether he should use your service or not, to come to a decision.
How Do You Get Detailed Reviews?
The best and easiest way to get such detailed reviews is to send automated follow-up emails with questions for the customer to answer about ten days after he placed his order. Ten days gives the customer enough time to get to know the product, but it is still new enough not to be taken for granted. It is still present enough for the customer to tell others about his experiences.
In his Brain Audit, Sean D’Souza suggests six questions to send to clients for better reviews. Each question has a specific motive and helps the customer write a review that helps potential buyers make their purchase decision.
- What was the obstacle or hesitation that would have prevented you from buying this product/service?
Here, customers express concrete doubts. The reader recognizes himself in them. - What did you find as a result of buying this product/service?
In answering this question, customers explain the benefits they experienced from buying the product. - What specific feature did you like most about this product/service?
Customers become very concrete and share experiences and stories. - What are three other benefits about this product/service?
Here, customers describe other points of view and perspectives. - Would you recommend this product/service? If so, why?
With their answer, customers give a clear recommendation. - Is there anything you’d like to add?
This gives customers the chance to add anything unsaid.
The follow-up emails with these questions can be sent easily and automatically via Yotpo, for example. Alternatives are Follow-Up emails via automation software like Drip or Mailchimp.
Why Do These Questions Work?
Very few customers are writing professionals. Some may want to give a review but don’t know where to start or how to describe their thoughts, so don’t even start. These are missed opportunities for you to get reviews.
If you give the above-mentioned questions to your customer, you give him a structure to follow. This almost automatically creates a meaningful review with all important aspects of the product.
Insert Coupon Codes
As an incentive to share a review, for example on Facebook, you can offer coupon codes; if he writes a review for a purchased product and shares it on social media, he can redeem this coupon for the next purchase.
This not only gives you a split rating but also increases the likelihood that the customer will buy from you again. Yotpo offers a simple function to offer coupon codes in exchange for shared reviews on Facebook.
Be aware: Please observe the legal framework conditions and inform yourself about them. In this context, it is not permitted to set a reward for the direct submission of a review.
Template For a Review Request For Readers
As an extra treat, we have here a template for you on how such a follow-up email to your customers could be designed.
Subject: Are you satisfied with [Product XY]? Give us your feedback!
Hi!
We are pleased that you have chosen [Product XY] and hope that we have fully met your expectations.
Please let us know if you are satisfied with the product and consider writing a review. Your review will help other customers understand how awesome [Product XY] is.
To make writing the review easier for you, simply answer these questions:
- What was your biggest doubt about our product before you bought it?
- What did you find after purchasing the product?
- What did you like most about the product?
- What three other advantages did you have by buying the product?
- Would you recommend this product? If so, why?
- Would you like to add anything else?
Click here to submit your review:
[BUTTON/LINK TO REVIEW FUNCTION]
We are looking forward to your feedback.
With best regards
Your XY GmbH
Use this template to generate your reviews. Send it out right now to your top-spending customers and let us know how it went. If you want to learn more about increasing your store’s revenue, contact us for a free consultation.