How brands can build loyalty with reviews
Loyalty and Reviews — The dynamic duo that drives customer retention.
It is no secret that site and product reviews are vital to growing your brand. Brands are required to create unique user-friendly experiences in order to attract new customers in an increasingly competitive online market. Businesses must also be focused on retention strategies.
To keep customers coming back, while also generating sustainable brand growth and retention, brands have begun to integrate loyalty programs into their reviews strategy .
Retention is the key to long-term brand growth
Marketing eCommerce has new avenues that focus on customer retention and average order value (AOV), overall loyalty, and customer lifetime values (CLTV). This is done by leveraging integrations between reviews and brand loyalty. Simply put, brands drive retention by leveraging reviews from their most loyal customers. Brands can use retention strategies to increase their ROI and achieve sustainable growth by combining loyalty and reviews.
Benefits of syncing loyalty and reviews strategies
Like reviews and ratings, loyalty programs are not new to eCommerce. Recent studies indicate that loyalty programmes are gaining popularity in the eCommerce sector. This comes as no surprise, considering brand loyalty has existed and triumphed in commerce since its 161% greater conversion rate for shoppers who see user-generated material (UGC), and reviews on a brand’s site, shows the potential benefits that brands can reap from leveraging loyalty and reviews.
Brands are improving their retention metrics by focusing on the following:
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Increased overall CLTV
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A rise in customers’ AOV
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Boosted VVR across all products
Retention strategies are driven by consumer behavior
Direct-to-consumer eCommerce companies understand the importance of customer reviews in growing their business. Shopify found that customers are 63% less likely to shop with brands that have high-quality reviews. The novelty of collecting reviews through search engines is fading. We are also seeing an increase in the collection of other types of user-generated content via alternative channels.
This is due in large part to the increase of social media shopping integrations, and trends around mobile-first experiences. According to Statista, mobile devices accounted 69% for all retail site visits worldwide. Global eCommerce marketing strategies now include the standard practice of collecting and displaying ratings, reviews and comments online.
Brands must consider their reviews strategy more than just a means to lower customer acquisition costs (CAC). It is also becoming more difficult to reduce CAC in our highly-saturated online market. Forbes reports that online customer acquisition cost have increased by an average 60% over the last five years. This suggests that brands need to shift their focus towards generating sustainable growth.
3 ways to build loyalty with reviews and loyalty
Brands can execute successful retention strategies by incentivizing repeat purchase, generating more social evidence, and increasing community engagement through integrations between brand loyalty solutions and reviews.
Let’s see how brands leverage the feedback of their most loyal and engaged customers in return for perks, special rewards and other unique experiences that improve CLTV, AOV and CVR and ultimately retention.
1. Collecting more reviews can boost CLTV
Businesses can increase their CLTV by by focusing on their most happy customers, and leveraging customer data (e.g. product fit, quality, shipping, etc.) from reviews and visual-user-generated content (VUGC). Businesses can reward customers for leaving detailed reviews and sharing VUGC to encourage community engagement, strengthen brand advocacy, and ultimately increase retention and CLTV.
Let’s look at The Turmeric Co. as an example of a UK-based wellness and health brand. After just one year of combining Reviews and Loyalty, they were able to increase their CLTV by 2X . The brand was founded by , which focuses on making first-time customers loyal customers and then brand advocates through the creation of a brand community.
Turmeric Co. had a success rate in reviews early on, but they wanted to continue customer engagement and feedback. Turmeric Tokens is their customer loyalty program. It offers 11 ways to earn points. You can leave reviews, sign up for newsletters , and sign up for subscriptions . This strategic customer loyalty program was launched to take their review collection to the next level. It also increased customer retention.
2. Unified customer experiences are key to maximising repeat purchases and AOV.
Hybrid loyalty solutions are becoming more popular, just as online loyalty programs drive customer retention. Today, half of consumers want to interact with a brand’s loyalty program through their mobile device when they shop in-store. This means that shoppers are looking for loyalty solutions that combine online and offline shopping to create a more user-friendly customer experience.
Let’s look at Ruohonjuuri a Nordic-based eCommerce and retail chain that sells health and wellness products. Ruohonjuuri increased their AOV, conversion (CVR), repeat purchase rate and repeat sales by integrating an existing rewards program in-store with their online reviews strategy. This was achieved by the brand attempting to recreate the in-store experience of shopping online. The brand achieved a 175% greater repeat purchase rate from loyalty redemptioners than non-loyalty holders. This was simply because they rewarded loyal online shoppers who provide product reviews and redeemed loyalty points.
Princess Polly is another brand that drives customer retention through unified customer experiences. This fashion-forward clothing brand is well-known for its social media reach, which is primarily aimed at a Gen-Z audience. Through onsite VUGC, they were able create a more cohesive customer experience. The brand achieved a 112% increase of average order value by rewarding loyal customers who left video and photo reviews on Yotpo Reviews. Combining reviews and loyalty not only increased their AOV, but also increased their repeat purchases rate to 66%. This resulted in 15.4X ROI.
3. CVR improvement through incentivized social evidence
Brands are beginning to see the value of VUGC and social proof in building customer loyalty and satisfaction. Instagram discovered that 87% of shoppers who interact with social proof (including VUGC via Social Media) take action during the consumer journey. Social proof is a powerful tool for brands to increase retention and conversion rates.
Reviving Princess Polly, the brand used social media to establish a customer loyalty strategy. This incentivized reviews and honed in on Gen-Z shoppers’ needs: a tiered loyalty programme that offers tangible rewards.
Princess Polly observed a 191% greater review conversion by loyalty customers than from non-loyalty ones. This was due to the loyalty program incentivizing reviews. The brand also found that loyal customers are 188% more likely than non-loyalty shoppers to include a photo in their review.
Turmeric Co. saw similar results when they combined their reviews strategy and Loyalty. They boasted a 7% rate of review conversion, which is almost twice the average CVR for eCommerce brands. The Turmeric Co. founder stated that “we love the synergy of rewarding our customers for leaving reviews.” It creates a review for the brand and pulls customers into the retention piece, driving greater engagement and creating a better customer experience.
Turning customer reviews into retention is simple with the right technology
As eCommerce grows, brands must remain relevant and current in an increasingly competitive online environment. Brands can build emotional connections and maintain brand loyalty by leveraging the feedback of existing loyal customers and incentivizing customer engagement.
There are many benefits to creating an online community and a cohesive customer experience. One thing is certain: turning reviews into retention does not have to be difficult. The integrations between Yotpo Reviews, Loyalty and Yotpo Reviews make it simple. Get a demo to learn more about Yotpo products
source https://www.yotpo.com/blog/from-reviews-to-retention-how-brands-can-build-loyalty-with-reviews/