How to Make People Love Your Product and Write Glowing Online Reviews
People are more likely to post a negative review than a positive one. Even if someone likes your product, one bad experience can prevent them from recommending your product.
These days, people are falling in love with products for more than just their function. Brands are giving people new reasons to love their products, and in the process, new avenues to provide feedback.
My goal for you is to walk away from this blog post with a few new unique tactics to get consumers to love your product more and talk about why they do with others.
Exclusivity
There has been a huge increase in exclusive programs in the consumer market in recent years. Giant businesses have gotten off the ground by starting with an exclusivity model. Gilt, Gmail, and One Kings Lane all started by requiring invites to use their product.
Exclusive invites motivate consumers to brag about the products and perks they get from their member status. When guilt.com launched it’s discount retail website, people could only join if they were invited by another member or by applying online for an invitation.
This marketing idea appeals to our desire to want what we can’t have. Guilt.com became a commodity that not everyone could access, and therefore, everyone wanted it.
People are more willing to share positive reviews if they feel like they are a part of “the club.” Whether you’re offering special discounts or an exclusive rewards program, encourage people to share their experiences by making them feel like they are a part of something special.
By creating this unique aura around your product, you not only have the potential to increase your customer base, but you can also increase the number of people who share their positive experiences.
Packaging
I think packaging often gets overlooked in the home improvement industry. How many times have you bought something and it came in just a plain cardboard box or one of those difficult plastic containers that you almost cut yourself trying to open?
Many successful companies have built their brands on great packaging design for their products. Look at Apple for example. There are tons of videos online of people recording the process of opening their new Apple product. That’s because Apple has spent a ton of time thinking about the experience that people should have when they open one of their products.
Put the same level of thought into your packaging design as you do your product and build. If your packaging is truly unique, it will add to the value of the product in the eyes of the consumer, and it will give people more opportunities to share why they love it.
Who knows, someone might even post a video of them opening your product on YouTube.
The number of companies taking customer feedback more seriously is surging, especially as a growing number of millennials come into the marketplace and use social media to make decisions on what to buy.
-Scott Anderson, Vice President Customer Communications, Bazaarvoice.
Post Purchase Experience
With many home improvement products, the dilemma with creating engagement is that the sales cycle can often be years.
So how do you build onto the reasons why someone should love your product if they aren’t purchasing it very often? Simple: focus on the activities that a buyer uses your product for after the purchase.
Provide avenues, like social media or your website, for consumers to share their experiences with your product. These forums can give consumers the opportunity to engage with your brand and build your credibility in the process.
Having consumers share pictures and stories of their finished project might not be considered as a traditional review because it doesn’t require consumers to rate your product a 5 out of 5 stars. However, I would argue that this type of “review” is just as powerful because people love to share their personal experiences, and they love to interact with brands. If you don’t believe me look at Instagram, it's a social network built on sharing experiences through pictures.
Leverage your social media pages or your company’s website to give people the opportunity to show off how your product has helped them create their project.
Design
I was recently chatting with a friend of mine who is a product designer for a home care product company. He told me that his management team tasked him with building a product that looked as good as the Nest Thermostat.
His responded, “Okay, but I’m going to need more than a group of engineers. I’m going to need designers as well” He also spoke about the costs needed to make this happen, and his bosses gawked at his proposal and left the conversation frustrated.
I share this story because everyone can see the value in design, but it seems few companies are actually trying to improve their products aesthetically.
Design sets products apart. It often separates the high quality products from the average to low quality products. By finding ways to enhance the way your product looks, you will command more attention with consumers and demonstrate the superior quality of your product verses your competitors.
A superior design will provide consumers yet another reason to share positive reviews about your product.
Conclusion
When you want to make people love your product and write online reviews about it, the process starts and ends with the product experience. From availability, design, packaging and brand interaction, the experience as a whole is what will motivate buyers to post online reviews.
This might sound like a no brainer, but people want to feel special. Brands are recognizing this more, and are playing to the emotional aspects of the sales process pre and post purchase.
By devoting attention to the all of the interactions a consumer will have with your product, you are showing people that you care about the things that matter the most to them.
This is not an exhaustive list so I’m curious to know if you have any additional ideas on what can help encourage others to love your product?
