How Reviews play an important role to Shopify merchants.

We often get asked if there is a must have app on the Shopify store or which apps merchants should install. While there are many great apps out there, the one app type we tell people to absolutely get is a review app. E-commerce store reviews are important because they can impact customer decision-making. If a customer is unsure whether or not to purchase a product, they might read a few reviews to determine whether or not it's worth their money. According to Brightlocal, 98% of customers read online reviews before buying a product.

(source: Brightlocal) 

These reviews play an integral role to the merchants which help them better their ecommerce business, especially for those operating on Shopify.
In this blog, we will cover the below points:
1. The importance of reviews and why we need to have a Review app.
2. How to choose a Review app?
3. What actions can Shopify merchants take to optimize reviews for their Shopify store?

1. The importance of reviews and why we need to have a Review app.

A review (even a bad one) is a valuable resource that can provide valuable insights into customer satisfaction, preferences, and behavior. By gathering and analyzing customer feedback, businesses can make informed decisions about their products, services, and marketing efforts, and ultimately, drive sales. Here are some of the ways reviews can help business.

a) Customer trust and social proof:  
Reviews can build trust among potential customers by showcasing the experiences of past customers. They provide social proof, demonstrating that other people have made purchases and were satisfied with the products and services. By actively seeking and acting on customer feedback, businesses can demonstrate their commitment to customer satisfaction and build trust and credibility with their customers.
b) Conversion rate benefit:
It has been consistently seen that positive reviews for a product directly increase the chances of customers buying that product and improving your conversion rate.
c) Improved Product Quality and Customer Service: 
Reviews allow customers to leave feedback and are one of the best ways to get the customer to talk. Monitoring and listening to this feedback can be invaluable in identifying and rectifying issues, leading to improved product quality and customer service. It may also give you insights into the mind of the customer and their needs.
d) Increased Customer Engagement: 
By allowing customers to leave reviews, you give them a voice, increasing their engagement with your brand. Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, further fosters this relationship. More than this, especially combined with social media reviews allow you to get your customers to market for you.
e) Driving innovation:
Customer feedback via reviews can provide important information about what customers want and need, helping businesses to identify new opportunities to drive new product development and marketing strategy.
f) Enhances SEO efforts:
When it comes to SEO, Google always puts the customer first. Your customer is Google’s user. Google’s algorithm gives pages with consumer reviews higher rankings on search engines, plus the added word count means there’s more opportunity for relevant keywords.
g) Minimize Returns:
By reading reviews, customers get a better idea of what they're buying. This can reduce the chances of customers returning products because they weren't what they expected.

2. How to choose a Review App?

On Shopify, the first step to get started is to choose a review app. There are a bunch of review apps out there so how do you get started? The answer depends on the mix between features and price. The price can vary from free apps to being expensive but offering many advanced features. Here are some features you may want in a review app:

a) Automated review collection: 
An effective reviews app should automate the review collection process for merchants. This can be done through automated requests sent to customers via email or SMS asking them for reviews after a purchase. Some apps allow you to incentivize reviews with discounts or other rewards which is a plus.
b) Customization:
While some review apps may automatically place reviews where they think it best, you may often want to have the ability to customize the look of the review widget with your brand aesthetic and the different templates or landing pages that you use.
c) Review Import and Export:
If you're transitioning from another platform or if you decide to change your review app in the future, you'll want an app that allows for easy import and export of your existing reviews.
d) Photo and Video Reviews:
Customers are more likely to trust reviews that include photos or videos. If this is important to you and you want the ability to collect reviews with pics or videos, you need to make sure your review app supports it.
e) Review Filtering and Moderation:
You should have control over which reviews are published on your site. Don’t get us wrong. We aren’t asking you to delete unflattering reviews – we believe that that done wrong review filtering erodes trust in your brand. However, you do want to remove abusive reviews with inappropriate content or false reviews (which competitors may leave) as well as remove spam from customers or bots that put up irrelevant content or links. The ability to moderate allows you to step in when customers leave sensitive information to ensure it does not become public. It also allows you to have some time to prepare a response or investigate an issue giving a chance to turn a negative review into an example of great customer service.
f) Integrations with other platforms:
Merchants should find apps that can integrate with their social media platforms as this helps in saving time, resources and help merchants automate their review collections.
g) Multi-lingual:
Depending on where you sell, multi-lingual options for reviews might be a must have for your store.

We have summarized our recommended review apps on Shopify:

Consider the features, pricing, and integrations provided by a reviews app before selecting the best Shopify reviews app for your ecommerce business. Remember, that the right app depends on what your needs and budget are.

3. What Actions Can Merchants Take to Optimize Reviews for Their Shopify Store?

Managing product reviews is an essential part of a successful e-commerce business. Starting a dialogue with customers who have taken the time to share their experience not only build trust and credibility, but it also gives you a chance to win back shoppers who might have had a less-than-stellar experience. Positive reviews can boost sales and build trust with customers, while negative reviews can damage a business's reputation and deter potential customers. We have listed some tips that can be used by a Shopify merchant to maximize their online business.

a) Always Ask:
The first step to optimizing your reviews is to get them. Before asking for customer reviews, educate your audience about their importance to your business. You can use automated collection systems to ask your customers for reviews via SMS or email soon after the customer receives their order. Be sure to include a direct link to the review submission page to make it easy for customers to leave their feedback or encourage customers to leave reviews by including a call-to-action in post-purchase emails, on product pages.
b) Incentivize reviews:
Another thing you can do to get more reviews is to incentivize customers through discounts, loyalty points, entries to giveaways, etc.
c) Simplify the review submission process:
Make it as easy as possible for customers to leave reviews. Try a simple thumbs-up/thumbs-down option or a star rating system for quick feedback for those customers who don’t wish to write paragraphs.
d) Provide exceptional customer experience:
Focus on delivering outstanding products and exceptional customer service. When customers have a positive experience, they are more likely to leave positive reviews.
e) Highlight positive reviews and leverage social media:
Feature positive reviews prominently on your website, product pages and marketing materials. Don’t forget social media as well. Showcasing positive reviews and testimonials builds trust and credibility while getting you a larger audience.
f) Encourage user-generated content:
Encourage customers to share their experiences with your products by providing offerings like discounts, coupons, or benefits in the loyalty program. For example, you can run a social media contest where customers can submit photos or videos of themselves using your products along with a review.
g) Engage with customers:
Respond to reviews, both positive and negative. Show appreciation for positive feedback and address any concerns or issues raised in negative reviews. Engaging with customers demonstrates that you value their feedback and can help build a positive brand reputation.
h) Use reviews for SEO:
Customer reviews are fresh, user-generated content that can improve your site's SEO. Some review platforms allow you to add Schema Markup to your reviews, which can help search engines understand your content and potentially lead to higher visibility in search results.
i) Monitor and analyze reviews:
Regularly monitor and analyze customer reviews to gain insights into areas of improvement and identify trends. Use the feedback to refine your products, services, and customer experience.
j) Show Gratitude:
Responding to positive reviews with a simple "Thank you" or
your feedback is valuable to us”, messages can go a long way in building a relationship with your customers.
k) Deal with negative comments professionally:
Respond to negative reviews promptly and professionally to show that you care about your customers and are committed to addressing their concerns. Apologize for any negative experiences and offer a solution to the customer's issue. This shows that you care about your customers' satisfaction and are willing to make things right.
l) Abandoned cart emails:
Adding reviews to abandoned cart emails can lure them back and remind them why they added an item to their cart in the first place. It can also help them compare products with competitors.
m) Surveys:
You can also get creative and look to gather not just written reviews but also data points from surveys. This will allow you to write web copy you can use to set alongside customer reviews, while still making it easy to leave feedback on mobile. for example, you send out a questionnaire OR a yes-or-no answer survey like “Are you satisfied with your product?” OR “Will you recommend this to your friend?”

Conclusion. 

Reviews are a critical aspect of any e-commerce business. Shopify merchants can maximize reviews for their ecommerce business, enhance their brand reputation, and increase customer trust, leading to improved sales and growth. Positive reviews can help build trust and credibility, increase conversion rates, better SEO, drive customer loyalty, and provide valuable feedback to merchants and suppliers. Negative reviews, while not ideal, can also provide valuable feedback that merchants can use to improve their products and services. Remember, providing excellent products and customer service should be the foundation of your review generation efforts. We hope you liked this. If you have any comments or feel that we missed something or are interested in what we do and would like to find out more, please reach out to us.