How to Encourage and Leverage Product Reviews

It's no secret, trust is declining when it comes to marketing messages, whether online or offline. So it's natural that shoppers turn to their peers for an insight into products that are in a consideration pool. That's where product reviews come in. With that in mind, let us look at how your company can encourage product reviews. There are already 5 Types of Emails That Grow Customer Lifetime Value so any one of them could share an incentive with the recipient to share a review after a purchase. You can even advertise a customer's right to vote for what they want via product reviews. Some beverage companies have started advertising a reviews option on their packages, offering customers a chance to make an Instagram or Snapchat video talking about their experience, tagging the company and receiving redeemable points. Nutria Danone attains product reviews and customer insights via its branded communities in the Middle East, so that's another option.

Feel free to propose the reviews to be in photos or videos, the more UGC the better. Reviews can further be incentivized by offering a free sample in return. Beauty soap brands offer customers locked videos that feature BTS footage of their sponsored events such as Oscars or Grammy's. Some companies in the UAE, sponsoring concerts, offer BTS clips in exchange for reviews as well.  Be sure to tag, thank and highlight customers that leave reviews. When other see this, their inner critic will be eager to share the limelight. Social currency is very important for millennials and brands that give them it stand to gain their customer mindshare. Recognition from a brand is also a great way to create brand advocates.

Now that you have all these product reviews, publish them on your owned and earned platforms. Even negative reviews scream authenticity, challenging viewers to come see for themselves. You can even use reviews as a basis for marketing messages across ATL and BTL. Show the customer review within the ad and see credibility boost.

Hand the feedback to teams behind the brand and teams involved in after-sales service. It can help them improve in many ways. We believe that consumer photos and product reviews will be featured in every ad of the future and brands without customer generated reviews will be left in the dust.