If you’re not overly familiar with the review space, here’s the basics. The tools available typically fall into one of two categories. Those specialising in company reviews, and those specialising in product reviews:
Company reviews: here we’re talking about platforms like Trustpilot and Trusted Shops. These allow you to grow your reputation as a brand based on how you operate, and your level of customer service.
As a byproduct of company reviews, you’ll gain greater online visibility and, on meeting certain criteria, qualify for a Google Seller Rating (providing your review platform is a Google Licensed Partner).
Product reviews: here we’re talking about platforms like Judgeme and Loox. These allow you to collect and publish consumer opinion on your products and are proven to drive sales. Brands that display product reviews have an 18% higher conversion rate and an 11% higher AOV which is why every eCommerce store should collect product reviews.
Again, if your review platform is Google Licensed, you can sync these reviews with Google Shopping, boosting visibility and click through rates with stars on product listings.
Sometimes you’ll find a crossover, with a platform primarily focused on one review type, but offering some features that support the other. The problem is these features are generally an afterthought with only basic functionality. Underdeveloped and under-supported, they also limit your growth potential.
“In my opinion, the main advantage is basically, that customers are looking for company reviews, to understand if a company is trustworthy and product reviews if a product is cool and fits their needs.”
Kevin Urbaum, Chief of Staff, VAAY
That’s why so many brands end up using two separate providers. Which has major limitations in itself.
We see so many brands caught in the trap of running two review platforms simultaneously. Understandably so, as it’s an easy trap to fall into.
Company reviews typically come first, with retailers looking to build a strong all round reputation. Rightly wanting to show potential customers that they’re credible and trustworthy, they sign up with a company review specialist and roll out an automated collection process.
They then branch out into product reviews, understanding just how influential consumer opinion is to a purchase decision. For this, they sign up to a second provider that offers product review specific tools.
At this point, they have three options available for their overall review strategy:
Option 1: Send each customer two separate review invites.
Here they risk bombarding shoppers with emails, particularly if the requests go unanswered and follow up emails are generated. This leads to a poor customer experience.
Option 2: Proactively push product reviews and leave company reviews to chance.
This is a risky approach. When unsolicited company reviews come in, it’s usually because a customer has a complaint to make, leaving a brand’s reputation vulnerable to negativity.
Option 3: Use a third party tool like Klaviyo to run a 50:50 split.
Probably the most sensible solution, but one that ultimately leads to fewer reviews, and missed opportunities to leverage the voice of the happiest customers.
All of these options are lacking, but there is a fourth. And that’s where an centralised review solution comes in.
With a kind of all-in-one solution, to put it simply, you can collect both company and product reviews with one single request (and one single reminder if required). This is far more effective than clogging up a customer’s inbox with multiple emails, which is likely to cause more resistance than it is to strengthen the relationship.
A better user experience leads to more review submissions. In fact, we’ve had clients see as much as a 7x increase in their review collection on switching over to our centralised platform.
When you use two separate platforms, review data is siloed, making it difficult to measure results across the entire customer lifecycle.
With REVIEWS.io all your data points are accessible in a single view, giving you a much more insightful picture of the customer experience.
“An platform like REVIEWS.io helps us, to reduce the effort of working with multiple platforms, can reduce costs heavily, and in the same time is way better for the customer experience and data privacy”
Kevin Urbaum, Chief of Staff, VAAY
Paying for two solutions that perform to a substandard degree hits your marketing budget hard. Not only that, you have to invest twice as much time into navigating two user interfaces, managing integrations, and dealing with technical issues.
With one single solution you lower your investment, and increase your return with better functionality and higher conversion rates.
Why deal with multiple service providers when you can team up with a single supporting partner?
At REVIEWS.io we invest in our customers to ensure they get the most out of our solution, working with them to build a strategy that best supports their business goals. And we’re constantly pushing the boundaries with the features we develop, giving you the tools you need for effective and complete reputation management.
Contact our customer support team to combine your company and product review collection processes today. And don’t worry if you’re switching from other providers - we’ll take care of the whole migration process and make sure you maintain the reputation you’ve already built.
