Customer-generated content or CGC is a powerful marketing tool that is highly effective in customer conversions.

Studies show that consumers are heavily reliant on CGC for important insights on a product and for making purchasing decisions. Research also found that consumers have more faith in CGC than they do in advertising.

Digital marketing and eCommerce expert, Joanna Steele, who developed a CGC strategy for Argos shares valuable information on how to harness the power of CGC through reviews.

WHAT DOES CGC MEAN:

Customer Generated Content (CGC) or User Generated Content (UGC) is authentic content about your brand that has been created and published by unpaid contributors.

It can appear in the form of ratings and reviews, Q&A, customer images, customer videos, social media and even blogs. Each of these different types of content play a part in the customer journey - from discovery to exploration to ownership.

Why does CGC matter?

CGC is a powerful part of marketing in that it helps to build and establish customer trust. It connects your customers to authentic and credible content..

CGC is the social proofing element. Brands can shout about how amazing they are and how incredible their products are but at the end of the day, customers trust other customers. They actively seek out external validation and customer advocacy because they want to know what the product is like to have, to hold and to use.

Customers can make informed purchasing decisions through CGC. Reading reviews and viewing pictures and videos of the product being used by other customers helps them to visualise and understand how it would fit into their own lifestyle.

All types of CGC are effective in harnessing the power of social proof but reviews are exceptional.

Reviews drive conversions

Customers are candid about the pros and cons of a product. They highlight flaws as easily as they sing its praises while offering additional information about the product.

When a company only shows good reviews and high ratings, people fear that reviews have been doctored. Customers want to see the good, the bad and the ugly.

As much as you may want to remove the negative reviews and ratings it is far better to maintain credibility with your customers by being transparent. In fact, the negative reviews serve a purpose too. They can teach you more about your customers and allow you to filter information back into the product development process.

This may sound counter-intuitive but it comes down to what people are unhappy about. If it’s a feature that doesn’t affect the potential customer’s reasons for buying the product then they aren’t really bothered and will still buy the product.

A product with no reviews, on the other hand, is likely to stop potential customers from buying. They won’t take a chance on something that no one else has bought because they don’t know what others are saying about it.

A spread of varied reviews that can be filtered by the customer will give your brand more credibility and authenticity.

This becomes even more pertinent when you sell high value products. Customers want to know as much detail about a product before deciding whether it is worth purchasing. Lower value purchases don’t tend to get the same level of scrutiny. Often customers will be content knowing it has a four star rating and will happily part with their money.

Reviews boost SEO

Google cares about your online reviews and uses them to improve site ranking. Online customer reviews are indicators to Google and other search engines that your brand has authority and it can be trusted.

The product will appear naturally in organic searches because people will be using natural language to talk about the product.

How to encourage customers to give product reviews

People like to be heard and they like to put their opinion forward. Be intentional about getting reviews.

eCommerce websites should have at least 15 reviews per product. Here’s some ways to generate reviews.

>> Post-purchase emails

Send a post-purchase email whenever someone buys something from your website. You will need to test and determine lead times for sending the email for the particular product.

If they don’t respond to the first email, send a reminder email as a follow up.

>> Prioritise product

Send one email to customers and prioritize one product. It could be a high value product and or a product that needs more reviews.

>> Incentivise

Incentivise your customers to submit reviews. Whether its a prize draw, future discount or a enter reviewers into a contest. It can be anything that works with your brand and business.

>> Third party review sites

Using a third party review site like Trustpilot, BazaarVoice etc is really helpful for increasing conversion. The onus is on the third party to moderate the content and it removes you from being accused of doctoring reviews. This is really crucial for people to fully trust the content.

If you choose to use a third party review site be sure to use their logos and be very clear on your site about where the reviews have been collected.

>> Tester Community

Create a community of testers for your products and tap into this resource as and when you need. This will help you have reviews for products from day one.

Argos created a testers community of about 5000 people. In exchange for reviews, suppliers paid to tap into this tester database and sent at least 10 products to people in the program that fit the profile for the ideal product user.

Respond to reviews

Show customers that you value them and their feedback by responding to reviews. Reinforce customer trust by engaging with the negative reviews politely and sympathetically and do what you can to create a favorable outcome for the customer.

The data you collect from customers and or the tester community can improve your product too. It can be used by the quality assurance teams, product development, product information and can also improve service propositions.

TAKEAWAY #1 - Customers trust other customers.

TAKEAWAY #2 - Customers want to see all reviews - the good, the bad and the ugly.

TAKEAWAY #3 - eCommerce websites should have at least 15 reviews per product.

TAKEAWAY #4 - Incorporate CGC into the whole customer journey

TAKEAWAY #5 - Use CGC to improve everything about your product

Joanna Diana Steele is a Digital Marketing & eCommerce Consultant, Trainer & International Public Speaker. She has over 15+ years of digital experience helping multi-million pound UK brands like Argos, London 2012 Olympics and Mothercare engage consumers with award-winning campaigns and experiences, build online communities and increase sales. She was nominated for a TechWomen 50 Award in 2017, which recognises emerging tech talent in the UK and writes a column for She Leads Africa – a community that helps young African women achieve their professional dreams with engaging online content and pan-African events. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dimax – A digital agency that unifies creativity and technology, helping businesses in Central & West Africa to become digitally focused to drive growth. The Dimax vision is to be the No.1 digital agency in Africa. Her passions are Africa, tech and travel. She is also a big music fan and loves football supporting North London’s finest Spurs.

Connect with Joanna Steele:

Linkedin - www.linkedin.com/in/misssteele/

Website - www.dimaxdigital.com

Instagram - @joanna.diana.steele

Twitter - @misssteele

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