‍From a business standpoint, there are many benefits to having your online reviews. These can be accessed by potential customers without the need for signing up for an online review or website. 

Moreover, having your reviews will allow you to target specific customers resulting in a more personal and targeted service. But how useful are these types of reviews? 

If you’re thinking about starting an online business, it might be beneficial to run your independent verification program before taking the plunge. To do this successfully, you need to understand what type of feedback is most helpful. 

What Is an Online Review?

An online review is a word of appreciation or criticism published on a website or social media platform. This type of review is generally positive to help others make purchased goods more easily or efficiently. 

However, there are some negative reviews. These reviews talk about the lapses of either the business or the product. While it is presumed to be true, remember that not all reviews are legitimate so you have to verify them.

Whether you choose to publish an online review or not has a lot to do with the type of business you are operating.

Types of Online Reviews

Many types of online reviews can help your company gain prospective customers. The most common types of online reviews are customer reviews, product reviews, and company reviews, however, there are other types that you must know. Let’s take a look at each type and see how your startup can benefit from them:

Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are positive assessments and rankings of products written by actual customers. These reviews are often displayed on websites and forums where potential customers can view and read reviews. The more money a business has to spend on marketing, the more visible these customer reviews are. As a result, they can also be used as a form of advertising.

Product Reviews

Product reviews are reviews written by actual employees or professionals who use the products you sell. These reviews are meant to be more critical and detailed. They are often displayed on websites and professional review sites. Like customer reviews, the higher the reward you offer to your employees or professionals who write product reviews, the more visible these reviews are.

Company Reviews

Company reviews are written by employees or professionals who work for a specific company. These reviews are meant to be unbiased because they are often the product of negative comparisons and criticism. Like customer reviews, the higher the reward you offer to your employees or professionals who write company reviews, the more visible these reviews are.

Verified Review

A verified review is based on firsthand experience, objective observation, and documentation. These types of reviews tend to be more favorable and reflect the buyer’s point of view. If you have used a product or service and found them to be valuable, a verified review will reflect that positively.

A verified review is often the best option for a business because it is based on firsthand experience, objective observation, and documentation. 

Unverified Review

An unverified review is a review that comes from an unverified account or a review that is still not proven. This kind of review still needs to be verified and reported when proven to be fake.

Fake Review Review

This type of review is usually very negative and did not happen by accident. A company may fake reviews to gain public attention, shield its reputation, or reduce its product’s score to sell more. 

This can be done by paid bloggers who are incentivized to write positive articles to increase the sale of their products.

Types of Customers

To access online reviews properly, you must also know the types of customers who may write them. There are many variants of the type of customer you want to attract to your online business. You can find them in online reviews, forums, and social media. Here are a few types: 

Newbie

New customers are the easiest to welcome into your business. You can treat them like friends asking them to test out your products or service. Start with a free trial or a small sample. After they have received value from your product or service, ask them to write a review. You can also ask bloggers and other website owners to post unbiased product reviews on their websites. 

Veteran

Veteran customers are the customers who have used your products or service for a while. Ask them to rate them on a scale of 0-10. This will allow you to compare your average customer value (ACV) to the average business’ ACV. If your average customer value is higher than your average business’ ACV, you’ve probably found a good niche! 

Expert

Experts are the consummation of the two subcategories above. They are the customers who have used your products or services for a long time and who have an informed opinion about them. These customers are likely to be repeat buyers. To attract these customers, offer them special deals or freebies.

How to Get Customer Online Reviews?

If you are getting customer reviews for the first time, there are several things you can do to make the process smoother. One helpful tip is to create an introduction for each customer review. 

This way, you will remember their name and can reply to them in a more personalized way. Another tip is to take notes while writing the review. This way, you can remember what the customer was saying and also whether they were happy or unhappy with the purchase. To get more customer reviews, you can also:

Set-Up CSR

There are many ways to get customer reviews. One option is to set up a customer service representative (CSR) account on your website. This way, you can direct your customers to review your goods and services and receive a reward in exchange for their honest opinions. You can also offer to reward bloggers and other website owners who write reviews on your products or services.

Offer Great Product/Service

Sometimes you might want to offer a great product or service to get customer reviews. This can be done through email or by writing a great email subject line and following up on the first few emails with additional great content.

Respond To Every Review

Even if you offer a great product or service and get a lot of great reviews, it’s not good enough if you don’t respond to the reviews. Be it in the form of a response email or a social media post, always address each review to the person who made it. You’re keeping the customer happy, which is the whole point of customer service.

Encourage Social Media Backing

Social media is a great way to get customer reviews. Not only can you get real-time customer feedback through social media, but you can also follow real customers and receive updates on their purchases. 

Reward Employees

If you have employees who write reviews for you, offer them a reward. This will show them that you appreciate their input and will help you get more customer reviews. 

Get New Customers Involved

Invite new customers to take part in the review process. This will help you get more customer reviews and also encourage repeat business.

Start Now

To get started with customer reviews, you’ll need to: Set up a CSR account on your website. This way, customers can contact you directly and receive a reward in exchange for their honest opinions. Post reviews and earn rewards. This can be done by posting unbiased product reviews and earning rewards in return. 

Engage with bloggers and other website owners who write reviews on your products or services. This will help you get more customer reviews and also improve your ranking on search engines

Getting customer reviews is helpful for any business. You can use customer reviews to gain prospective customers, increase your rankings on search engines, and get reputational benefits from brands that are already trusted. Whether you are a small business or a major corporation, having your customer reviews can help your brand stand out from the crowd.

Summing Up

All online reviews are helpful for business growth. Online reviews are a great way to get customer feedback and showcase your products’ strengths. You can also use customer reviews, product reviews, and company reviews to gain prospective customers. 

In addition, customer service representatives can help you get customer reviews. There are many ways to get customer reviews and if you have questions about how to do it, a customer service representative can help you. 

The most important thing you can do is respond to each review and give the person who wrote it the satisfaction they were craving. Remember that online reviews reflect the identity of the business. Not responding to some reviews may leave a negative impression on customers.

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