Reviews are an important part of a customer’s shopping experience. In fact, the presence of reviews ranks as the most important factor affecting purchase decisions — behind only the price of the product itself.
But here’s the thing: while nearly all shoppers (95%) use reviews, far fewer actually write reviews. PowerReviews research found that only 42% of consumers leave feedback for products they buy. This number dips to 32% for consumers aged 18 to 29.
What would it take to get more of your shoppers to write reviews? More than half of consumers who aren’t writing reviews cited needing motivation to do so. Offering some type of reward or recognition in your post purchase emails can help you generate even more product reviews.
Types of Incentives
Incentivizing your customers doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor. Here are a few of the different types of incentives that have been successful for PowerReviews clients:
- Sweepstakes: Sweepstakes are proven to improve review generation by up to 100%. The good news is, implementing a sweepstakes doesn’t have to be a lot of work for you. If you’re a PowerReviews customer, you can use the $1,000 PowerReviews Sweepstakes to incentivize customers.
- Using an Existing Loyalty or Rewards Program: Do you already have an established loyalty or rewards program? Use it to encourage reviews. For example, if a customer in your loyalty program writes a review, she’ll get 10 loyalty points. Once she accrues a set number of points, she’ll receive some sort of promotion, like free shipping or a discount code.
- Free Shipping or Discounts: Offer your shoppers a discount or free shipping to thank them for writing reviews. Not only will you generate more reviews, you’ll also give shoppers an excuse to shop with you again.
Remember: When developing incentives, it’s key to understand your audience. An incentive that works well for one audience may not resonate for another. Test different incentives to see what performs best for your brand.
Make the Offer Obvious
If you include a sweepstakes or other offer in your post purchase emails, make it prominent. If possible, include the incentive in the upper portion of the email so shoppers know what you’re offering, even if they don’t scroll through the entire email.
And don’t offer more than one promotion in the same email. If you include multiple offers, your audience will likely get distracted.
Learn More Best Practices for Post Purchase Emails
Looking for more ways to generate reviews with your post purchase emails? Check out this on-demand webinar
