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roduct reviews play a critical role in today's online shopping landscape, especially for food & beverage brands looking to build their presence on retail websites like walmart.com and Amazon (who we’ll refer to as retailer.com). Not only do they help build buyer confidence, but they also provide valuable feedback on the taste, quality, and branding of the product. Positive reviews can improve a product's ranking on the retailer's website, leading to increased visibility and sales. Additionally, they provide social proof, a powerful psychological factor that drives consumers to trust and buy products that others have approved of. If you’d like to read more, we’ve also written an article highlighting the importance of product reviews for driving shelf velocity.
Getting more product reviews could be considered a tall task for any food & beverage brand, but in this article we will give you step-by-step instructions on how to get more reviews on Amazon, retail websites, and even your own website for your food and beverage brand:
Before you can find potential product reviewers, you need to identify your target audience. Your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to be interested in and purchase your product. For example, if you are producing a zero carb noodle, your product may do fairly well with keto dieters and members of the fitness community.
Without a clear understanding of who your target audience is, you lower the likelihood of receiving positive reviews, and you may waste valuable inventory on reviewers that don't resonate with your product.
Conducting market research can help you identify who your target audience is. You can use surveys, focus groups, and other research methods to gather information about your target audience's demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Analyzing your competitors can also give you insights into who your target audience is. Look at who your competitors are targeting and what messaging they're using to attract that audience.
Social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook offer analytics tools that can help you understand who your followers are and what content they engage with the most. Use this data to identify your target audience and create content that resonates with them.
Psychographics refer to the attitudes, beliefs, and values of your target audience. Understanding your target audience's psychographics can help you create messaging that resonates with them on a deeper level.
Once you've identified your target audience, the next step is to find willing participants to test your product.
Finding reviewers for your product online can be a challenge, but there are several strategies you can use to make it easier.
Here are three proven strategies for finding product reviewers.
One of the easiest ways to find willing reviewers in your target audience is to search for hashtags on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Users posting under this hashtag are more likely to be in your target audience and often have their contact information in their profile - otherwise a quick DM offering free product will do.
Influencer databases like GRIN, Upfluence, and Mavrck can be a great resource for finding influencers who are a good fit for your brand. These platforms allow you to search for influencers based on their niche, audience size, and engagement rates. While this option can be more expensive, getting larger influencers to try your product can pay dividends, because if they like it, they may choose to share with their followers free of charge or at a discounted rate. Be sure to approach influencers with a clear understanding of your target audience and what benefits your product can offer their followers.
Solutions like Bazaarvoice, Plum, Crafted and Social Nature can help you to easily find reviewers and direct them to in-store locations where your product is available. Some of these solutions like Crafted and Social Nature have even curated their reviewer networks for food interests & diets so it can be even easier to connect with your target audience. Crafted’s network also includes food content creators and influencers that can be leveraged to create compelling content and gettin more positive reviews.
Once you've identified potential participants, reach out to them and offer to send them free product in exchange for a review. Be sure to explain the benefits of your product and why it's a good fit for their audience.
After you’ve identified potential reviewers, reached out, and they’ve accepted, you will need to find a way to get sample products to the reviewer for them to try. A few options are: providing promo codes that can be redeemed on your website or a retailers website, directing them to a nearby retail location that stocks your product, or shipping them sample product.
One way to maximize the chances of getting more positive reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations is to focus on the packaging and unboxing experience. Consider investing a little extra in creating packaging that is both eye-catching and practical, and that makes the recipient feel valued and appreciated. For online orders especially, this could be including a personalized note or adding extra samples of your product. Sending multiple flavors can also increase the odds of a positive review as it gives them multiple options to try.
To actually collect the product feedback, you should include a QR code in the packaging for the reviewer to use and follow up with an email sequence with a link to your product survey. This survey data is important to help you to improve your product and to identify potential brand partners that like your product and can spread the word.
When a reviewer has a positive experience with your product, it's important to encourage them to post their review on the retailer websites where your product is sold. Not only will this help boost conversions on the product details page (PDP), but it can also increase discoverability on the retailer website as they often boost popular products with good reviews. In your email sequence to the reviewer, include a gentle reminder to leave a review on the retailer website if they enjoyed the product. You can also offer a small incentive, such as a discount on their next purchase, to encourage them to take the time to leave a review.
It's also helpful for your brand to collect those positive product reviews internally and get permission to use them on your own website (brand.com). By featuring those reviews on your website, you can build social proof and help potential customers make a more informed purchasing decision. Be sure to give credit to the reviewer by including their name and any relevant information about their experience with the product. Ultimately, by encouraging reviewers to post their positive reviews on retailer websites and utilizing those reviews on your own website, you can improve conversions and build a strong reputation for your brand.
Now that you have identified positive reviewers, it’s time to turn them into brand ambassadors. One of the most effective ways to leverage brand ambassadors who have left positive reviews on your PDP is to encourage or commission them to produce user-generated content (UGC). This should include things like sharing videos of themselves using your product, creating recipes or tutorials featuring your product, or simply sharing their thoughts and opinions. Read more about the importance of short-form user generated video here.
By leveraging UGC, you can not only increase brand awareness and engagement, but also build trust and credibility with your target audience. This is because UGC is often seen as more authentic and trustworthy than traditional advertising, and because it provides social proof that your product is both high-quality and well-loved by real people. Check out some of our favorite brand video examples including UGC, as well as our 31 day social media content calendar which incorporates UGC and reviews into the schedule. Once you have this UGC, you can license it from the brand ambassadors and use it in your own marketing efforts. This content can be shared on social media or embedded on your website, or it can be used in email and SMS outreach to prospective customers. By doing this, you can showcase the positive experiences of your brand ambassadors and use their influence to attract new customers to your product.
Another way to leverage brand ambassadors who have left positive reviews on your PDP is to encourage them to join an affiliate program for your brand. Affiliate marketing is a powerful way to expand your reach and drive sales, and by recruiting brand ambassadors to promote your products, you can tap into their networks and increase your exposure to new customers. When your brand ambassadors promote your products to their friends, family or followers, they can earn a commission on any sales that result from their efforts. This incentivizes them to continue promoting your products and can help you build a community of loyal brand ambassadors who are invested in your success.
If you're a food and beverage brand looking to build your presence on online retailers such as Amazon, product reviews are critical to building buyer confidence, providing valuable feedback, and increasing sales. In this article, you'll find step-by-step instructions on how to get more product reviews on Amazon, retail websites, and even your own website. The article covers how to identify your target audience, find product reviewers in your target audience, and deliver sample products to reviewers. It also discusses how to maximize the chances of positive reviews by focusing on the packaging and unboxing experience and including a QR code in the packaging for reviewers to use. Overall, this article provides strategies and tips on how to get more online reviews and improve your product ranking on retail websites. With Crafted, brands can find quality reviewers in their target audience for an affordable rate and even have positive reviews generated through the platform. To start your next product review campaign, contact Crafted today.
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