Turning reviews into real revenue with consumer insights

It’s no secret that today’s consumers do their research before buying online.

And with the power of the internet available in the backpocket of most consumers, online reviews and referrals have become more important than ever before.

That’s why it’s no shock that user-generated ratings have revolutionised the shopping experience for eCommerce operations as well as brick and mortar stores — no matter the industry.

Ratings and reviews are an easy way to build brand trust and loyalty between you and your customers. More so, according to a study by Harvard Business School, consumer reviews have a direct impact on revenues.

Simply put — the better (and more) reviews you have, the higher your chances are at having a better business reputation that leads to brand trust and loyalty - which inevitably leads to more sales.

In this article, we’ll share the best ways to use online reviews to improve customer service and positively impact your revenue, and discuss how our Zendesk integration makes the whole process easier.

1. Collecting customer reviews

Online reviews play a crucial role in determining the success of your business because they aren’t just an ancillary aspect of a purchasing decision.

This year, we observed an 11% decline in trust globally, with only 71% of people admitting they trust consumer brands. Nowadays, buyers want more. They want to hear about their peers’ experiences with a brand, not just what the company has to say about it.

In fact, the same study found that 89% of global consumers check online reviews as part of their online buying journey, and 49% of global consumers consider positive reviews one of their top 3 purchase influences.

And according to Psychological Science, in a situation with two competing products with similar ratings, consumers are more likely to buy the product with more reviews. By harnessing the wisdom of crowds, positive reviews can be a game changer when it comes to a customer’s decision to choose your brand.

So how can you make sure your customers leave reviews after their purchase? Simply ask your customers. By proactively presenting your users with the ability to easily leave a review, you can maintain transparency and solicit reviews.

Now that you’re asking for feedback and receiving it, here’s how you can leverage it to highlight important consumer data.

2. Identifying trends

Did you know that collecting and tagging your Trustpilot reviews could give you valuable insights into your current customer experience and how to better your business in the long run?

Our sentiment analysis tool, Review Insights, can go through every review for you, and discover major topics that you can analyse. The goal is to help you improve customer experience.

Indeed, the better the customer experience and service, the more likely it is that your customers will have a good relationship with your brand. This will inevitably lead to better reviews.

Trustpilot also lets you use tags to filter review content by relevant topics related to your product or service. This means you can easily get an overview of your feedback and identify specific trends.

Review tagging can be an extremely valuable tool when it comes to better understanding your company's strengths and weaknesses, based on customer feedback. These insights have the power to improve your service and experience, boost your sales and revenue, and help you retain your customers.

3. Improving customer service with our Zendesk integration

A Trustpilot and Canvas 8 study found that 82% of UK consumers have a positive view towards companies that respond to reviews, and 64% of global consumers would prefer to buy from a responsive company over one that appears perfect.

There’s no doubt responding to reviews is important, but it can be tricky to identify the reviews that need responses. That’s where our Zendesk integration comes in. The integration helps you streamline your customer service by highlighting reviews that need your attention.

Indeed, Zendesk automatically checks your business’s Trustpilot profile every few minutes, so if you get a new review at or below a star threshold rating that you have determined, Zendesk will create a new ticket for you.

You can then read and reply to the review from within Zendesk. Your reply will automatically appear on your business profile, and if the customer responds to, or updates, their review based on your answer, their Trustpilot review will automatically be updated.

Responding to your feedback and showing your commitment to doing better as a business is what will differentiate you from other brands. Negative reviews can, when well-handled, provide balance, help build trust and transparency (assuming you addressed the issue efficiently), and turn a hesitating visitor into a long-term customer.

By approaching consumer insights as an opportunity rather than a threat, you’ll soon see your customer service and customer experience improve, and your sales and revenue increase.

We hope you found these tips helpful. If you’d like to learn more about the importance of consumers insights, and how to handle negative feedback well, read our ‘Bad Reviews’ report by clicking the link below: