NBF Boosts Sales, Customer Service with PowerReviews
In 2020 when more purchasing shifted online NBF’s digital transformation commenced, with a concentration on building out its website and social media presence. Teaming up with PowerReviews has enabled the company to integrate critical user-generated content and add authentic Voice of the Customer into their upgraded digital experience.
Product reviews are taking on ever-increasing importance for retail sales, particularly for durable goods like furniture that people purchase infrequently, meaning they may not be familiar with the quality and/or other aspects of products or brands.
“There is great value in displaying user generated content on the product pages so prospective customers can see what other customers think and feel about their purchases,” said Jennifer Pelt, NBF Senior Digital Merchandiser. “It also helps NBF manage what’s displayed on its website; top-rated items are pushed to the top of product pages,” Pelt said.
Questions Asked and Answered, in Less than 48 Hours
PowerReviews Questions & Answers enables NBF to quickly and easily answer customer questions – over 2,500 per year. NBF provides answers to questions submitted by both existing and prospective customers, with nearly 100% of those answered in under 48 hours. This effort pays off handsomely in sales. “We have found Q & A can increase conversion by 53%,” Pelt said.
PowerReviews enables NBF to publish answers to common questions to benefit others, and the platform is flexible enough to allow NBF to answer questions that are very customer-specific directly, without publishing the answers on the website. Q & A also gives NBF vital insights on information requested to guide its efforts to ensure the right content is on its product pages.
NBF Sees Growth Through Application of Best Practices
NBF has been very successful in growing its business by following the guidance and expertise PowerReviews provides. And each and every recommendation undertaken has helped to generate a big impact for the company’s review program.
NBF streamlined the questions on its review form, reducing the number of questions from 15 to 5. They also adjusted their post-purchase and follow-up emails to solicit reviews to deploy when orders shipped as opposed to when orders were placed.
Those changes resulted in a 23% increase in reviews year over year. Additionally, the percentage of buyers completing reviews increased by 40%.
NBF has also been proactive in syndicating review content – leveraging the sharing of authentic user-generated content from one client to another. This is a strength of the PowerReviews platform, which makes inbound and outbound review syndication a snap. Over the past 12 months, NBF increased its review content from 8 to 11 syndication furniture brand partners. Additionally, NBF product reviews are also pushed to its retailer network.
Today, the company is showcasing nearly 20,000 reviews on a total of 1,103 products on its website from 26 retail syndication partners; 87.1% of those products (961) would have zero reviews without syndication. The company’s average product rating is 4.6 stars, which is ahead of the industry average for the furniture industry of 4.5.
Another big boost in reviews came when NBF changed how it handled its long-running sweepstakes promotion. The retailer shifted from its own self-managed sweepstakes, with a $250 vendor credit prize, to the PowerReviews managed sweepstakes, which offers a $1,000 prize. Shifting to the PowerReviews sweepstakes resulted in a 43% increase in reviews month over month.
“We were blown away by the lift in product reviews after we took advantage of the PowerReviews managed sweepstakes,” Pelt said. “For years, we had been managing our own sweepstakes, but it took a lot of work. We were able to use all of the PowerReviews provided banners and emails to promote the sweepstakes, making the campaign look very polished.”
Transcending Digital and Physical Sales Models
NBF recently implemented PowerReviews In-Store Order Feed and is already seeing review completion double with the increase in email volume. Previously NBF was missing out on reviews from the majority of its customers who are purchasing through sales reps in the field. NBF now passes along order data retrieved from the field, to obtain review feedback from the entirety of its customer base no matter if they purchased online or in person.
NBF has found customer reviews also benefit outbound marketing efforts. The company highlights highly rated products and reviewer quotes via its email efforts, which helps continue to reinforce the brand’s reputation for carrying high-quality products that customers love.
“Sharing user-generated content we capture through the Power Reviews program allows us to promote our products in a way that is both authentic and impactful,” said Pelt.
