In today’s age of online shopping, product reviews hold immense power.
There are several studies from BrightLocal, Moz, and other reputable publications that show that a large percentage of consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
It’s no different for Walmart Marketplace, where reviews play a significant role in the success of your store.
The more positive reviews you have, the higher the chance of customers choosing your products over your competitors. However, getting reviews for your Walmart store can be a challenging task.
In this blog post, we will be sharing helpful tips on how to obtain more reviews for your Walmart store. By doing so, you can ultimately improve your sales and enhance your brand reputation.
But first, let’s talk about why Walmart reviews are important to your business.
Why Walmart Reviews Are Important
Reviews from customers play a crucial role in online shopping, and their impact on buying choices is significant.
According to a 2023 survey conducted by BrightLocal, 98% of consumers read reviews for local businesses before making a purchase decision, and this number is likely to be even higher for online shopping platforms like Walmart.
Positive reviews can significantly impact a business’s reputation and increase its customer base. On the other hand, negative reviews can have the opposite effect, turning potential customers away and damaging the business’s image.
In fact, a single negative review can cost a business 22% of its customers, according to a study by Moz.
In addition to their direct impact on sales, customer reviews also play a crucial role in Walmart’s search ranking algorithm. When a product receives positive reviews, its chances of ranking higher in search results increase, thus making it more visible to potential customers.
On the other hand, products with negative reviews are likely to be pushed down in the search results, making them less visible and less likely to be purchased.
As a Walmart seller, it’s crucial to comprehend how customer reviews can affect your business and take preemptive measures to maintain a positive online reputation.
This includes soliciting reviews from satisfied customers, responding to negative Walmart reviews, and addressing customer complaints promptly and professionally.
By doing so, you can improve your search rankings, attract more customers, and ultimately, grow your business.
3 Ways to Get Walmart Reviews
Below are some of the ways you can get Walmart reviews as a seller:
Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews
Asking for customer reviews is a great way to get Walmart reviews. The BrightLocal research we cited earlier also found that 65% of customers will leave a review if asked.
So if 100 people buy products from your Walmart store and you ask every one of them, there is a chance that 65 of them will respond and leave a review.
There are some guidelines you must follow, however, to get the best out of asking for reviews. Here are some best practices for requesting Walmart reviews from customers:
1. Ask at the Right Time
Timing is everything when it comes to requesting reviews. Ideally, you want to ask customers to leave a review when they are most satisfied with their purchase.
This could be right after they receive the product, after they have had a chance to use it, or after they have received exceptional customer service (e.g fast shipping).
2. Make the Process Easy
Ensure that the review process is simple and convenient for your customers.
Provide clear instructions on how to leave a review and offer multiple options for leaving a review, such as via email, text message, or on your website.
3. Personalize your Request
Personalization can go a long way in encouraging customers to leave a review. Address them by their name, and thank them for their purchase.
Let them know that their feedback is important and that their review will help other customers make an informed decision.
Respond to Customer Reviews
Responding to Walmart customer reviews is an essential part of your success on the platform. This is especially true for Walmart because customer reviews can greatly impact search rankings and the overall success of your seller store.
Note that it is important to respond to both positive and negative reviews.
Responding to positive reviews shows appreciation for the customer’s feedback and can help foster customer loyalty.
Responding to negative reviews is equally important, as it shows that the seller is actively engaged in addressing customer concerns and is committed to providing excellent customer service.
When responding to negative reviews, it’s important to remain professional and empathetic. Acknowledge the customer’s concerns and apologize for any negative experience they may have had.
Offer a solution or explanation for the issue and make it clear that steps are being taken to prevent it from happening again in the future.
Here are some tips for effectively responding to negative reviews on Walmart Marketplace:
1. Respond promptly
It’s important to respond to negative reviews as soon as possible, ideally within 24-48 hours.
2. Be empathetic
Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and try to understand their perspective.
3. Apologize sincerely
Take responsibility for any mistakes and apologize for any negative experience the customer may have had.
4. Offer a solution
Provide a solution or explanation for the issue and offer to make things right.
5. Keep it professional
Remain calm and professional, even if the customer is being hostile or aggressive.
6. Follow up
After providing a solution, follow up with the customer to ensure that they are satisfied with the outcome.
In addition to responding to customer reviews, sellers should also monitor their reviews regularly and make any necessary changes to improve the customer experience.
This can include addressing common complaints or issues, improving product descriptions or images, and ensuring timely and accurate order fulfillment.
If the negative reviews you get lead both you and the customer to the point where they return the product and want a refund, you also want to handle the entire process without hitches.
We have a complete guide to Walmart returns that tells you exactly how to handle your returns properly.
Make the Best Use of Bazaarvoice
Bazaarvoice is a leading provider of customer reviews and user-generated content solutions. The company has a strong focus on customer experience and helping businesses to better understand and engage with their customers.
For Walmart sellers, Bazaarvoice offers a range of solutions to help generate and manage customer reviews on the Walmart Marketplace platform.
One of the key features of Bazaarvoice is its ability to collect and publish customer reviews across multiple channels. This means that you can use the platform to collect and display reviews on your own websites, as well as on Walmart’s Marketplace.
By doing so, you can provide potential customers with a more comprehensive view of your products and services, which can help to build trust and credibility.
Bazaarvoice’s platform also includes a range of tools to help Walmart sellers manage their reviews more effectively.
For example, the platform offers a sentiment analysis tool to help sellers identify and respond to negative reviews more quickly.
It also provides detailed analytics and reporting tools that allow sellers to track the performance of their reviews over time, and identify areas for improvement.
Here’s how you can use Bazaarvoice to get Walmart reviews:
1. Sign up for a Bazaarvoice account
To get started, you’ll need to sign up for a Bazaarvoice account. Once you’ve signed up, you can start setting up your Walmart review collection campaign.
2. Set up your campaign
Bazaarvoice offers a range of tools and features that can help you collect reviews from your Walmart customers. You can set up automated review requests, create custom review forms, and even offer incentives for customers who leave reviews.
3. Integrate with Walmart
To collect reviews from Walmart customers, you’ll need to integrate your Bazaarvoice account with your Walmart seller account.
This will allow Bazaarvoice to collect and display reviews on your Walmart product pages.
4. Monitor and respond to reviews
Once you’ve started collecting Walmart reviews through Bazaarvoice, it’s important to monitor them closely and respond to any negative feedback. This can help improve your overall customer satisfaction and drive more sales.
5. Use reviews to improve your business
Finally, make sure you use the insights and feedback you gather from Walmart reviews to improve your products and services. This can help you attract more customers and drive more sales over time.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, getting Walmart reviews is a crucial part of any successful Walmart seller’s strategy.
Positive reviews not only help to boost your search ranking on Walmart Marketplace, but they also build trust with potential customers and increase sales.
To effectively get reviews, it’s important to make the process easy and convenient for your customers, respond promptly to any negative reviews, and consider using incentives or tools like Bazaarvoice.
By implementing these best practices, you can create a strong foundation of positive customer feedback and grow your business on Walmart Marketplace.
Remember, happy customers lead to a thriving business, and Walmart reviews are an important tool to achieve that goal.
