Managing Your Reputation
Your customers today are a lot more switched on than before. Consumer generated content is the new way to build confidence and reputation for your online business - and your customers now expect it.
However, risks can be associated with this new factor in purchasing behavior for the merchant and the consumer. When a consumer is searching for the best and most trusted supplier for a particular product, user-reviews can be misleading. The very nature of this type of content on the Web suggests that in many circumstances, merchants are at an enormous disadvantage.
Non-authentic reviews can be misleading for your customers, who can be swayed by a positive review and choose a vendor based on that alone, potentially overlooking a trusted, reputable one.
While your customers often are careful about how and where they make online purchases, most simply don't know which merchants are the most trustworthy. This can be a risk for the consumer - which can put them at risk for dodgy merchants taking orders without the intent to fulfil them. Also, there are untrustworthy vendors who set up shop specifically to steal from unaware consumers who offer their personal and credit or debit card information, thinking they are making a simple purchase. Much of today's online fraud is directly attributable to the uninformed consumer.
Informed and experienced consumers know where and when to make purchases on the Internet. Experience can be anything from regularly making purchases on a certain website to paying bills online. Your customers can make their choices regarding where to spend their money online through reviews. Those who post online reviews are often helping other consumers find reputable merchants.
Best Practices
Today's savvy consumers are looking for:-
Reviews and Feedback
Consumers are looking for reviews and feedback on merchants. More than 80 percent of consumers who read reviews said that their purchasing decisions have been directly influenced by those reviews, according to Deloitte & Touche. Some reviews can be verified by a third party, further increasing consumer confidence and belief in the product.
We all know review content has many benefits – customer trust, long tail search engine benefits, reduced product returns and so on. Customer reviews are a sensible entry into social shopping – the review thread is like an online forum. But populating your site with review content is a challenge for most if not all online retailers. Most customers are annoyed by entering credit card information. How can you motivate them to take time contribute product reviews?
Ask For It
We offer this simple advice: ask for it. But dangling a financial incentive - a % or £ discount on the next order isn't recommended. The manufacturing industry has a long history of paying people to write canned reviews and testimonials. The ecommerce industry is sensitive to this issue, and really should shy away from these tactics as they might draw criticism or hurt the perceived authenticity of the reviews. Remember that if you offer these incentives to all your customers, they may not trust their peers as much. (On the other hand, it does encourage repeat sales which is good).
Another idea might be to design a "contest with gift card" incentive. Sent with a subject line: “Win £50 By Reviewing Our Sports Gear,” customers could be presented with a chance to win, but not a direct kickback for content contribution.
People Are Motivated To Help Other People
When writing your review request copy, remember that many customers are motivated by goodwill when contributing reviews. According to a recent survey, of 90% of 1,300 surveyed said they write reviews to help others make better buying decisions, and more than 70% want to help companies improve the products they build and carry. Communicating the feel-good benefits of adding your voice to help others can be as effective a motivator as discounts and contests.
Make It Easy
Ask for a simple star rating, and make it a 3-second process. Think about it, and check the radio button for the star rating you would like to give your purchase.
Using 3rd Party Review Engines
It's getting much easier for merchants to get listed in places that already have a review platform in place and thousands of willing participants ready to fill in detailed rating and review for your items sold online. The following sites are for merchants who wish to get listed on consumer review sites and gain additional exposure for the products they sell and the brand they are promoting. Many of the sites listed below are affiliated with the top comparison shopping engines, so you may already be listed in some places if you have added your product to the popular CSE's. Consider adding products to the rest of the rating and review sites for more exposure and feedback about the products you sell.
ciao.co.uk Ciao is a multi-million-strong online community that critically reviews and rates millions of products and services for the benefit of other consumers. Available free of charge to consumers in local-language versions in major western European markets, Ciao combines unbiased consumer reviews and up-to-date price information from hundreds of online merchants to make it the most comprehensive source of shopping intelligence on the web. Testimony to Ciao's success, more than 38 million consumers visit the site every month, making it one of the largest shopping portals in Europe.
ePinions.com (Shopping.com affiliate) - A service by Shopping.com, allows your consumers to make informed buying decisions, browse reviews or user insights, read unbiased advice and gather in-depth product evaluations or personalised recommendations. Merchants can read or review items they sell. Free to sign up and use. Items get listed through Shopping.com affiliate.
PriceTool.com (ePinions.com affiliate) - A service by Shopping.com and ePinions, allows users tor read unbiased reviews from real consumers, compare prices and buy products online. Merchants can include items to be reviewed or write reviews on the items they sell. Free to use and sign up. Get listed through Shopping.com or ePinions affiliates.
ViewScore.com (Free) - Allows users to search and read ranked product review, consumer opinions and compare with other similar products. Utilises crawler technology for new and existing product updates. Merchants do not need to submit individual sites or data feed files, however they should make sure that they are allowing crawler access within robots.txt. Free to register, use and list products.
Security
The web is huge - a minefield for consumers. Today's savvy consumers understand website security and this now plays a role in confidence and conversion. Studies by Pew Internet & American Life reported that 75 percent of participants do not like sending personal or credit card information over the Internet. Despite this, almost 70 percent of the respondents feel that shopping online saves time, and almost 80 percent feel it is convenient. Secure sites need trust seals McAfee [hacker safe] or Verisign, which ensure that a Web site is safe and that a consumer's personal information will be protected.
Policies and Contact Information
If a merchant promises an item to arrive on a given date and then it doesn't get there in time or isn't the right item ordered, customers are put off for life. A good merchant needs to display contact information clearly (ideally on every page), and prominently display their physical address and phone number. Also required is a good return and refund policy, and provide a mechanism in which to collect feedback and resolve any disputes that may arise. Newer concepts, such as those employed by BuySafe, operate a "bond" system which guarantees the authenticity of merchant and effectively insures the consumer against fraud.
Conclusion
Your customers don't always arrive at your site directly or with previous knowledge of the site. So providing security information, online reviews and displaying clear policies, your customers will have a much better handle on the business itself, feel more confident, and can make more informed shopping decisions.