Customer reviews are very important if you want your app to be a success. In fact, 93% of consumers say online reviews influence their buying decisions. This means that you should focus heavily on getting better app store ratings and reviews. Without a solid strategy for gaining social proof, your app’s retention rate will plummet and your app will fall into insignificance. So we’ve compiled this guide which contains eight proven methods for you to get better ratings and reviews on the App Store.
What are app ratings?
App ratings are star ratings (usually with a maximum of five stars) that users of an app should assign after using the product for a short period of time. They allow you to gain valuable insight into your product’s performance from end users, allowing you to make informed decisions on what changes should be made and how the application could be improved.
What are app reviews?
App reviews are written statements of opinion. They allow you to get more in-depth customer feedback on what your customers really think of the app, allowing you to make informed decisions on what changes to make and how they can be improved. Reviews are useful for both customer acquisition and retention strategies. Reviews also direct you to customer pain points, which helps you improve your services.
How important are app ratings and reviews?
App ratings and reviews are critical to the success of your app. A high rating and good reviews can encourage customers to download your app. A low star rating can make it incredibly difficult to acquire new customers and drive them to your competitors. Reviews give you the opportunity to interact directly with customers and resolve their issues while improving ratings and retaining existing customers.
8 Proven Ways to Get Better App Store Ratings and Reviews
Now that you know the difference between app ratings and reviews (and how important they are), here are eight proven ways to get better App Store ratings and reviews.
- Make sure your product is good
If your product sucks, no matter how hard you try to get good app store ratings and reviews, it won’t work. That’s because a bad app doesn’t deserve praise. Your customers expect a lot from you so don’t disappoint them with something low quality. If you want to be successful, provide the best possible user experience. If you are selling a VoIP phone system, make sure before you put it on the market that it works optimally. It starts here.
- Always keep improving
If you want your app to be a success, make sure you keep improving it. Your customers value new features and enhancements that improve their user experience. Again, if your product is low quality, don’t bother getting better app store ratings and reviews, because it won’t work. Ditch the 1.0 version of the app and create a better version, one that your customers will love.
- Ask for feedback and reviews
If you want better App Store ratings and reviews, ask for them. If your customers like your app, don’t ignore their input. Be sure to encourage reviews and testimonials to improve future versions of the app. Why not add a review request popup to collect the app’s positive and negative ratings. This way you can use both good and bad reviews to make the app even better.
The more feedback you collect, the easier it will be for you to improve your app and get better ratings and reviews on the App Store.
- Find your most engaged users
Every app has its most loyal users – those who use it regularly. If you want to get better app store ratings and reviews, find the most engaged users or members of your loyalty program and ask them for reviews. Don’t bother asking strangers because they won’t write reviews. Instead, focus on people who enjoy using your app regularly.
As part of your app lifecycle management, you need to analyze your target audience data. This will help you find your most engaged users. Then you can ask them to leave reviews on the App Store. This is a great way to improve your app rating.
- Introduce the benefits of ratings and reviews
If you want better App Store ratings and reviews, make sure your customers know why they should submit them. Remember that many consumers read reviews before making a purchase. If you want to increase your app’s rating, let people know about the benefits of rating and reviewing apps on the app store. Post a review that encourages people to use your app and submit a review in the App Store.
6. Keep negative store ratings and reviews away
Negative app store ratings and reviews are the biggest threat to your success. If you want to get a better app rating, you need to manage negative reviews to maintain a positive image.
Keeping most negative ratings and reviews away from App Stores is a good way to maintain a clean image. Only leave negative reviews with specific details about possible improvements in future versions of your app. You may be able to incorporate this process into your work automation.
seven. A/B test your prompts
If you want to get better app store ratings and reviews, always A/B test your prompts. A/B testing is one of the most effective types of testing. You need to improve them in order to generate the best customer response. It doesn’t matter if they are positive or negative, because you can use them for future versions of your application. If a good review is submitted, make sure to ask them to submit another one, only for future versions of your app.
8. Use social media to get comments and reviews
Be sure to use social media to collect testimonials and feedback from your customers. Social media is a great way to get quick feedback on how App Store ratings and reviews can be improved. Use tools like Twitter to share new app releases and gather customer feedback. You can also use social media to promote requests for ratings and reviews on the App Store, then direct them to your virtual help desk phone if they have more questions about your app. This way they will know that this product is truly designed to meet their needs. Another use of social media is to use it to browse your product content, such as blog features or video testimonials. This way you can also affirm how your app is doing the rounds on social media and reaching the right people.
Conclusion
If you follow these tips, you will see that it is possible to get better ratings and reviews on the App Store. You just need to be patient, use the right tools for A/B testing, and try different techniques to improve your customer feedback.
By doing this, you can improve your app store ratings and reviews in the long run, providing a better app experience for each of your users and more app downloads in the future.
This story was written by Jessica Day – Senior Director of Marketing Strategy at Dialpad – a UCaaS provider and modern enterprise communications platform that takes conversations to the next level by turning them into opportunities.
For more information about Dialpad, a UCaaS provider, go here.
Learn more about Women Love Tech on apps here.
