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In any business, reputation is everything.
For eCommerce stores, that reputation is earned online through good (and the not so good) reviews of paying customers. But reviews don't just land in your lap. You need to actively ask your customers to tell you what they love about your products, and what they think should be improved.
That's where ratings and reviews platforms come into play.
These tools are specifically designed so eCommerce vendors can ask customers to review and rate products to help other shoppers make a buying decision. It's not rocket science—customers are more likely to buy something with a bunch of five star reviews over another product that doesn't have any positive feedback at all.
The key to getting these reviews all comes down to choosing the right ratings and reviews platform for your store's needs. In this piece, we will talk you through how to do just that.
Let's dive in 👇
What can an online reviews platform do?
A rating and reviews platform is a tool that vendors can use to send out requests to customers and ask them to leave a review for their store or product.
These platforms have a single goal: to build trust in your store in the hope it'll bring more customers to the yard. The reality is, customers want (ahem… need) to know your products are good before they hit the purchase button at the checkout. And positive reviews and ratings are arguably the quickest way to build trust and bring in new business. Research shows that 91% of consumers read online reviews before they buy something, and 84% trust online reviews just as much as recommendations made by a friend.
That's why investing in a rating and reviews platform can be a game-changer for eCommerce stores.
These platforms allow customers to give unbiased feedback about their experience with your store or products—the good the bad. Other customers can use this information to help them decide if they want to shop with you.
Think review sites like Yelp or TripAdvisor… for eCommerce.
But while more sales are the most obvious short-term win for using a review site, there's a whole list of other reasons why you should be looking at investing in one 👇
//[inject:ad-reviews]
The (Big) Benefits of Using a Rating and Reviews Platform
You don't need us to tell you how powerful reviews are for driving customers to your site.
Positive online reviews are (arguably) the biggest reason new customers will end up shopping at your store. And using the platform can help supercharge how many ratings and reviews your store gets. Basically, you can create a loop where positive reviews bring in more customers… that then post reviews… that bring in more customers.
Get the picture?
But there are a ton more reasons that you should use a rating and reviews platform for your store:
🗣️ Helps spread the word about your brand. When customers leave reviews on your platform, it helps to spread the word about your brand. Positive reviews can bring new customers to your store, while negative feedback helps you spot areas that need improvement.
🤝 Boost customer loyalty. When customers feel that their feedback is valued and listened to, it can go a long way to building loyalty and trust in your brand.
📈 Improved SEO rankings. Positive reviews can improve SEO rankings (how Google finds you) by increasing how many other sites link to your store. The more ratings you have, the more SEO juice your site gets. So when a customer searches for a product you stock, it won't just show higher on Google—your positive reviews will be front and center.
To get the most out of these benefits, you need the right toolkit. Let's take a closer look at the best ratings and review platforms on the market for eCommerce vendors right now 👇
5 Best Online Review Management Software in 2023
1. Sendlane
Sendlane is an email and SMS marketing platform for eCommerce stores, and it has recently added a ton of features to help vendors collect customer reviews—quickly and easily.
The fully integrated reviews integration allows vendors to collect, store and manage customer feedback under one roof. As Sendlane already has powerful email automation tools, all you need to do is add reviews and ratings to existing campaigns. From there. You can create custom audiences based on customer ratings to collect specific feedback and turn reviews into more sales.
The best part about using Sendlane to collect ratings and reviews is everything is done inside one tool, so your customer data from email and SMS campaigns can then feed your next review campaign. It makes it super simple to build out a feedback loop and continuously collect customer reviews on autopilot!
Did we mention Sendlane also integrates with stores like Shopify and BigCommerce Free? Talk about seamless.
Pros + Cons
✅ Easy to use and integrate reviews and ratings emails into existing campaigns
✅ Manage ratings and reply to reviews using a single dashboard
✅ Display dynamic UGC within Abandoned Cart emails and within product pages to drive sales
❌ Reviews and ratings feature is relatively new to Sendlane, but more features are being added all the time!
Pricing
Sendlane’s pricing is simple. No matter what plan you sign up for, it includes the ratings and review product for free! If you want to test it out first, you can access a 60-day free trial to make sure it’s the right fit, and then you can select what features you want (e.g., email or SMS) after the paid plan kicks in.
Want to try Sendlane? Sign up here.
2. Okendo
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The next tool on our list is Okendo, a reviews app that focuses heavily on customer data and intelligence.
Its features list is… long. It comes packed with tools like sending triggers, split conditions and a dashboard to monitor and manage every single customer review. It can also ask customers to add UGC, like photos and videos, to their reviews to make them more authentic.
A big bonus of using Okendo is its partnerships with Google Seller Ratings, Facebook Marketing and retail networks like Bazaarvoice. Once it's plugged in, it's easier to grab company reviews and ratings from a ton of places your customers hang out.
Pros + Cons
✅ Big selection of reviews and UGC display widgets that can be easily added to your site
✅ You can add mini-surveys to your site to get insight into customer satisfaction and NPS
✅ Built-in rewards engine that automatically offers customers something in exchange for reviews and ratings
❌ It's expensive. The basic plan is $19/month but if you have more than 200 customer purchases a month, you need to upgrade to the Growth plan. And its $119/month 😲
Pricing
Okendo has alllll the features to showcase customer reviews, but they come at a cost.
Even small eCommerce vendors will probably outgrow the Essential plan. The silver lining is the small discount if you pay for an annual plan upfront!
3. Yotpo
Yotpo is an online reputation management software that helps eCommerce brands collect and track reviews to draw in new customers.
What makes Yotpo different to some of the other customer review sites out there is AI. The reviews widget is powered by AI so feedback is automatically filtered to show online reviews that match the customer's needs. When a customer is shopping for a moisturizer to combat dry skin, Yotpo can highlight reviews showing other customers who have used a product with positive results.
The platform also integrates directly with eCommerce sites, vendors can use Yotpo to place buzzing reviews throughout the customer's shopping experience to win them over.
Pros + Cons
✅ Widgets are totally customizable to fit your eCommerce brand
✅ Supports UGC elements like photos and videos
✅ The platform links various review channels like Google Reviews, SMS, and social media to collect customer opinions at scale
❌ You can't send test emails to yourself before they go out to customers
Pricing
Yotpo has a free plan but it's (very limited). Once you reach 50 monthly orders, you need to upgrade to the Growth Plan at $15/month.
4. Shopify
If you have a Shopify store and just need the basics, the platform's Product Reviews app may be up your alley.
You can customize how customer reviews appear on your site by switching up the layout, colors and text. Better yet, because your store is already on Shopify, customer reviews will automatically match your branding and color palette.
But, and I stress this, Product Reviews has its downfalls. It's only a good way to collect customer feedback if you are already using other Shopify apps like Mail and Email. And, weirdly, it's not compatible with all Shopify themes and, according to users, can throw up 404 error messages.
Pros + Cons
✅ Customer reviews will add juice to your SEO results
✅ Publish customer reviews to your site in bulk from the platform
✅ CSV import and export o keep track of customer reviews on a separate spreadsheet
❌ It's buggy and isn't compatible unless you already use Shopify
Pricing
Ahh the best part about this platform—it's free!
5. BigCommerce Free
The final ratings and reviews platform on our list is for BigCommerce vendors.
The platform has a built-in dashboard so you can manage online reviews and publish them straight to your site. There aren't a ton of features, but you can do all the important stuff like approve reviews, send out requests to customers, and display product ratings directly to your site.
But let's state the obvious: the dashboard is a little clunky, you can't respond to reviews directly, and the email review request features are limited. This is a good choice for BigCommerce vendors who are just getting started with product reviews, but they may outgrow it as their store scales.
Pros + Cons
✅ Approve, disapprove and delete reviews from inside the dashboard
✅ Reduce spam reviews by limiting how many can be posted in a specific timeframe
✅ Toggle reviews on/off for specific items and product pages at any time
❌ You can't reply to reviews directly from the dashboard—you need a separate app from the BigCommerce marketplace
Pricing
BigCommerce Reviews is free for vendors.
Best practices for creating a ratings and reviews strategy that works
Customers trust other customers.
Without positive reviews and customers telling the world your products are worth it, you're fighting an uphill battle to attract new shoppers.
So, how do you do it?
Glad you asked 👇
1. Ask for different types of reviews depending on the purchase
Reviews about your store and brand are great. But what customers really want to know is how well that shirt fits, or what kind of quality the material is on those new jeans you're stocking.
And these reviews can only come from customers who have actually purchased the product. Just be aware that asking customers for website reviews will look completely different to a specific product review. Here's how Kate Spade asks customers for reviews:
These types of reviews are to help the store get a broad idea about how customers feel towards the brand. Kinda like a health check to see if customers are vibing with their products and purchases. But if you want more specific reviews for a product, you need to send out a request like this email from Mountain Hardware:
It focuses less on the brand and more on the product. These are reviews you can use directly on your site to prove to other shoppers that, hey… customers really love your products!
You should also stick to this advice when you ask newbie customers vs VIPs for a review. For example, if VIPs who have made repeat purchases may be able to give you more in-depth feedback about your store, like how easy it is to make a return or product quality. A new customer won't be as invested in your brand, so they will probably only leave surface-level feedback like a star rating,
Make sure the right review requests are hitting different customers' inboxes.
2. Offer incentives as a reward for feedback
Yes, it's the oldest trick in the book. But offering incentives like a big fat discount, loyalty points or even free shipping is the fastest way to get customers to leave a review.
Along with the incentive, do the hard work for the customer so it's easy for them to leave you a review. We're talking about adding in CTAs that link straight to your product review page. Or better yet, embed the review form in your email so they don't have to leave their inbox. This ratings and reviews email from Parade totally hits it out of the park:
Product placement front and center? Check ✅
Quick star product rating? Check ✅
Embedded reviews form for super easy feedback? Check ✅
Oh and did we mention the 15% discount? Talk about the cherry on top 🍒
//[inject:ad-demo]
3. Reply to every review so customers feel heard
Finally, never forget that customers are also human.
They love to feel heard and important, especially when you ask for their opinion. That's why it's (super) important to respond to every review. Yes—even when it's a negative one. It shows that you value their feedback and that you're committed to tweaking any products or parts of their customer experience that weren't so great.
We've designed our product reviews feature to make this step as easy as possible. Thanks to the reviews management dashboard, vendors can track reviews and will get a ping every time a customer leaves one. You can then jump in and reply to reviews straight away:
Sendlane also tracks ratings so you always have a general idea of how happy customers are with a product. And if you get a really great review, you can share it instantly with your target audience using the buttons on the dashboard.
Can building trust in your product and brand get any easier than that?
Want to generate more ratings and reviews for your eCommerce store and bring more customers to your yard? Use Sendlane Review Request Emails to reach more customers, collect reviews and build trust in your online products.
Sign up today for a free 60-day trial—no credit card required!
