One of the most effective ways to get what you want is to ASK. It’s no different with customer reviews. If you’d like to encourage more reviews on your site, try sending an event-triggered email to buyers some time after they’ve received their product. For hard goods, this should be three to four weeks after the product shipped. For plants, you might want to wait until the end of the first growing season.
Link the email directly to your product review page and make the questions as specific as possible. For a superb example outside the gardening field, look at Dymo label maker’s form. What makes their questions so impressive?
They’re balanced. The form specifically invites negative comments as well as positive ones.
They’re specific. Dymo offers six suggestions for “pro’s” and six for “con’s” in addition to giving reviewers the option to add their own.
You know who’s talking. The form asks for the reviewer’s occupation, whether the product is used primarily for business or personal, and whether the reviewer is more concerned with quality of value.
They sell. In a subtle touch, Dymo asks the reviewer to specify any accessories they’d recommend, as well as similar products they use.
Do you currently use product reviews on your site? If not, this article might convince you.
