Auto Parts Marketing Idea – Collect Reviews and Testimonials

If you want to sell more parts, collect reviews and testimonials from your customers. You’re probably thinking “DUH!”, but the trick is in the doing.

Here’s a rundown of tools and methods an auto parts etailer can use to collect reviews and testimonials from customers.

Encourage Feedback

One of the smartest things any business can do is encourage customers to share feedback during the sales process. This is because:

1. An easy method for leaving feedback helps to defuse angry customers who might leave negative reviews online
2. Asking for feedback makes it easier for customers to complain, giving you an opportunity to address their concern and keep their business
3. Whenever a customer is happy, asking for feedback can generate a great testimonial (and promote future sales)

Restaurants have those “rate your experience” cards on tables for a reason

Some of the tactics that etailers use to encourage feedback include:

• A simple feedback link or button that’s plainly visible anywhere on the website
• A chat invitation that encourages users to ask questions or send a message
• Links and verbiage in email correspondence (order confirmation, shipping notification, etc.) that encourage customers to share

At the very least, make sure your website has a Contact Us link in the main menu. The contact page should encourage customers to send an email and voice their concerns.

Automated Surveys and Follow-Up

Automated follow-up is another trick many etailers use. Companies like Shopper Approved, Bizrate, and Reseller Ratings use software to encourage customer reviews. These systems invite a review immediately after the customer sees the thank you page on your site, or the email after the sale, or both.

The value in these systems is that no human effort is required. You add some javascript to your existing ecommerce site’s thank you page, and you’re good to go.

What’s more, these services will collect reviews for your business and syndicate them to Google AdWords. This means that your PPC ads on Google.com may show a star rating (see example). We’ve found these ratings have a big impact on conversion rates.

Track Mentions and Reviews On 3rd Party Websites

Another great way to find reviews and testimonials is to track mentions of your brand name. If someone mentions your product or brand on a forum, for example, Google Alerts or Talkwalker Alerts could help you find it. If the mention was positive, include it on your testimonials web page. Just be sure to cite the original URL when you quote the review. The same goes for reviews about your company or products left on 3rd party websites like Amazon or Yelp.

Pay For Reviews

Last but not least, you can hire people to review your products or your company. Websites like SnagShout will facilitate product reviews on Amazon.com. Most major publishers (and many bloggers) have sponsored content advertising that guarantees a quality review for a set price. You can also email your previous customers and offer them a gift card (or other valuable item) if they leave you a review.

However, the key to paying for reviews is to make sure everyone understands that reviews do not have to be positive. Emphasize that you want honest feedback, and steer clear of any review system that guarantees positive reviews.

But What If We Get A Bad Review?

No one likes bad reviews, but very often a bad review is a good thing.

Imagine the following scenario: You’re trying to find a moving company to help you with a local move, and you’re down to two movers:

1. Company “A”, which has 25 5-star reviews and a perfect 5-star rating. All of the reviews are glowing and perfect.
2. Company “B”, which has the same number of reviews, but their rating is only 4.5 stars. Most of the reviews are glowing, but a couple are not.

Who do you hire? Since most of us have learned to be suspicious of a perfect 5-star score, most of us go with company “B”. There’s a great article on MIT’s Technology Review that dives into some numbers, but the long and short of it is this: A few bad reviews make your good reviews look more authentic. As long as your reviews are generally positive (4 stars or better), a few bad reviews are no big deal.