Think about all the apps you’ve installed over the last few years. What was the first thing that caught your eye and would ultimately determine whether you would proceed to download the app or bypass it in search of a better alternative? If you’re like everyone else with commonsense, then ratings and reviews tend to seal or shatter the deal. 

Why care about app ratings? 

Users get the chance to rate an app on the app store between one to five stars depending on their level of satisfaction with their experience.

You might have built a great product but all the work is made worthwhile when people can attest to its quality. Ratings and reviews do matter; to your business and your prospective customers. They serve as an avenue for feedback and organic traction for your app.  

App ratings determine your app’s ranking and visibility on the app store which directly impacts conversions (downloads) and hence, the success of your app. Low rating is a huge problem for lender apps given that its importance is underestimated so little to no effort is applied to drive good ratings and reviews. More importantly, borrowers who are unable to get loans tend to take their grievances to the app stores and leave the worst possible ratings and reviews (a loan app that didn’t give me a loan?? Everyone must hear of this!) Without proper management of these ratings and enough good ratings to counteract the bad ones, your app runs the risk of poor visibility, weak conversion rates, and in cases of consistent poor performance, total removal from the app stores (ouch!).

You can read more about how summary app ratings are calculated on Google Play and App store.

So how do you get or keep those ratings up? 

Now that we’ve established why you should care about ratings and reviews, we have put together some tested and proven methods of improving your app’s rating and keeping those numbers high. Here are some of the ways one of our lenders, Irorun, was able to drive ratings up from about 2.9 stars to over 4 stars in a couple of months: 

Build a product that delivers a great experience user and keep improving it 

This may go without saying but we should say it still, users will only be able to speak well about a product that solves a problem and delivers value for them. Borrowers should be able to pinpoint the merits of using your product and you have to constantly improve issues that prevent users from enjoying their experience on your app. 

Don’t get comfortable when customers are happy, show them how much happier they can get (within reason of course). 

Frequently engage reviews 

It is important to let your customers know that you value their feedback; whether positive or negative. Respond to new reviews on the app stores within the hour; thank those who rated you highly and engage those who have rated you poorly.

Let your customers feel seen and heard. Fix bugs they complain about in the reviews, optimize processes and introduce new features that enhance their experience. Embrace their feedback and let them see the change their input can influence. 

Reach out to existing users to rate your app or update their ratings 

Some users may be satisfied with your app but need an extra nudge to rate and leave a review. You can make use of: 

• In-app prompts asking them to rate your app
• Frequent email reminders to rate and review (but don’t get annoying)
• Phone calls from customer support asking them about their experience and encouraging them to rate and review

to ask users to rate and review when they may not have done so. 

Additionally, it is equally important to get users who rated your app poorly to update their ratings. According to Apptentive, you can increase your conversion rate on the app stores by up to 770% by getting a user to update their rating from 1 star to 5 stars (whoa!). Reach out to these users, find out about their experience, fix their issues if possible and politely ask them to update their ratings. 

Identify great borrower moments and ask them to rate you then 

What happier time exists during a borrower’s experience than when their loan request is approved? This is the best time to get as many 5 star ratings as there are granted loan requests and the positivity in the reviews at this time is unmatched. 

Reach out to borrowers who have gotten a loan from you within a day or two, provide them assistance with withdrawing their loan if needed, answer any questions they may have and politely ask them to rate you 5 stars and leave a glowing review. They are usually more than happy to oblige. 

Improve your customer support 

We can’t stress the importance of good quality customer support enough. As a lender, you should always be prepared for the possibility that those who are not granted loans on your app are likely to rate you poorly, however, interestingly, some users who were unable to get a loan would still give a high rating and positive review for great customer service that supported them kindly even through a rejected loan request.

The goal here is to keep unhappy users away from the app stores and redirect them to support channels where their issues can be addressed. Make use of multiple support channels and remain visible so users know how to reach you easily. In-app chat function is perhaps the most effective way to do this and Lendsqr has partnered with Freshworks to give every lender who signs up $10,000 credit to use the very robust customer support platform to deliver A-grade customer service.

Respond to low ratings and reviews; be courteous and empathetic. Engage them to determine the issues they may have experienced with your app and solve their problems if possible. Always apologize for the inconvenience and offer information that might help where the solution is outside your scope of operation. Don’t discuss specifics or personal details in app store reviews but simply thank them for their feedback, apologize for the inconvenience and direct them to a support channel where they can provide details (be proactive and reach out to them as well). 

By paying attention to your app ratings and taking measures to boost them, you can:

•  increase traction for your app 
• strengthen your brand image and customers’ trust and 
• drive your conversion rate up

If you were neglecting your app’s ratings and reviews before reading this, this is your sign to get on it immediately! You are quite literally fighting for your app’s life. Don’t let your app die needlessly from lack of attention (we know right?! what a diva!)