How important are reviews and ratings in the buying process on the internet? If you are like many businesses out there, you probably think not much of it. After all, your products rock, why should anyone read reviews? Well, because 8 out of 10 millenials buy online only after reading those reviews. Darn! But how do you get them? French startup Feedier is here to help.
The business of reviews
Reviews on a website are far more important than one would think but they are not that easy to get. It’s what is called “social proof” and it is major in web marketing. Of course, we are talking about “real” reviews here. Not the ones left by good friends with fake accounts. There are many ways to ask for the reviews: email, in-store incentive, call for action on the packaging. But let’s face it, unless you’re overwhelmed by the experience or downright infuriated, there is little chance you will take the time to write a review.
Because it can be so important, several companies have taken to claim and organize reviews. Trustpilot or VerifiedReviews might have caught your eye.
French startup Feedier got in the game in March this year and they bring something new to the reviews quest.
The gamification of reviews
Feedier has a new approach though. Besides the ease of use for the business owner, they have implemented gamification and rewards. The idea is new and is a great incentive to leave a review.
Of course, the reward should be fun enough to get the reviews but not so big as to influence the content.
The reviews serve as social proof for future buyers but can also be a powerful insight for the R&D or marketing departments. Getting honest reviews is essential in this last case.
Casting off after a year in development
It’s often the same story, the idea was born after a shortcoming. And, by the way, this should probably be the only way to launch a startup. Focus on a problem, then come up with the solution (and the startup). Baptiste Debever and François Forest were earning a living as WordPress theme developers. In this highly competitive field, reviews are what makes you sale your plugin, or not. Although one of their key products – the intranet plugin Woffice – was doing well, they needed many reviews to stick out. They found the process lacked efficiency and set out to create their own review app.
The time for Typeform and Zapier has passed.
Feedier in 3 steps
In Feedier, the process is divided into three steps:
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Request a satisfaction rating
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Ask relevant and actionable questions
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Reward and engage the user
Rewards are quite varied and can be customized by the company. It can be vouchers, goodie download or money. Coming up soon will be Amazon vouchers.
At the end of the survey, users are even ranked in a Hall of Fame which makes the survey experience a rather pleasant and funny one. Special care is given to the user interface to make it as pleasing as possible and encourage users to leave a review. But it is equally well designed for the business owners using the service. Soft colors and simple navigation is all but intimidating.
The Feedier team and the global market
The team of five is located in Lille (North of France) and, unlike many other French startups, their goal is not to aim for the global market someday. They already have many overseas clients, especially in the US.
The reason is rather simple: they offered an English interface right away and business owners in the USA are well aware of the importance for reviews. Far more than French business owners. Their efforts are now targeted towards these businesses to open new markets.
With Millenials taking over as leading consumers online, Feedier helps business stick out in the crowd.