Customers value online reviews and testimonials because they help them create trust. This is especially true for eCommerce sales because customers need to question store staff for product details before purchasing. Here are some particular reasons why prospective buyers should read online reviews.
Show Social Proof
Online reviews provide social proof to potential clients, instilling trust in you and your company. Buyers will likely believe only some of what you say about your company. On the other hand, personal recommendations and word-of-mouth are far more effective.
Positive reviews reassure customers that they can trust your brand, products, or services.
Data supports this. Up to 84% of buyers said that reviews influenced their shopping decisions. Furthermore, after examining one to six reviews, 68% form an opinion about a product or service.
Unfortunately, almost everyone has had a negative experience with a company, whether online or in person. Online company reviews assist potential clients in overcoming any reservations or concerns.
Increase Brand Trust
Online reviews can help your consumers trust your brand. Potential clients are more likely to trust your brand if they know others have had favorable experiences. Reviews boost brand trust and the possibility that customers will buy from you.
Validation of Expertise
In the eyes of prospective customers, online reviews can authenticate your knowledge. They demonstrate that you have effectively assisted others in overcoming a particular obstacle or achieving a specific goal (or that your expertise results in high-quality products).
Anyone can make statements about how incredible their product or service is, but those assertions still need to be revised. You demonstrate your competence and authority by offering evidence of success through internet reviews.
Most people trust peer-reviewed web reviews more than industry promises. If there is no third-party evidence to back up a claim, consumers are less likely to believe it. Good reviews are an excellent approach to substantiate your claims.
What are the Benefits of Online Reviews for Brands or Businesses?
Online reviews are essential for businesses just as much as they are for customers, but for different reasons. For example, they help enterprises build closer ties with potential clients and allow them to demand higher prices for their products. Consumers were willing to spend 22% extra for various products in one survey if the company had a good reputation.
Extends Your Reach
One of the more underappreciated benefits of online reviews is that they allow your brand’s online exposure to extend beyond your website and social media channels. Customers can discover your company on reputable third-party websites such as Google, Angi, and Yelp. You can also actively communicate with your audience on these sites by replying to reviews, asking questions, and addressing emerging issues.
And, unlike many marketing mediums, this increased reach costs nothing other than the time you spend connecting with customers.
Sway Purchasing Decisions
Online reviews have a direct impact on your target market’s purchasing decisions. Feedback is essential to purchasing, particularly near the bottom of the funnel. Customers who compare items or services frequently select those with more positive internet ratings. A lack of feedback makes purchasers feel safer, making them less likely to purchase.
Assists in Confirming Authority
Reviews also serve to validate the authority and expertise of your business. The more reputable a brand is, the more trustworthy it appears.
People who read reviews presume that the author has previously used the product or service in question. When a potential consumer reads a positive review about your firm, it demonstrates that you are an authority in your field. They are more inclined to believe your claims if they perceive you have successfully helped others overcome issues and achieve positive outcomes (or helped them fall in love with your product).
Increases Online Visibility
Customer feedback is equally crucial for SEO. They can boost your local search ranks, increasing foot traffic to your stores. Second, reviews are addressed several times in the Google Quality Rater Guidelines (QRG).
It is critical to understand that the QRG has no direct impact on search engine rankings. It is, nevertheless, a strong indication of what Google values.
Third, if you generate optimized content for branded review keywords, you will be more likely to appear for those crucial bottom-of-funnel searches. Refrain from developing fake reviews to cheat the system. Earn and display favorable feedback.
What are the Essential Review Websites?
There are numerous venues for customers to offer feedback, but which customer review platforms should you prioritize?
Google Feedback
Google reviews should be highlighted because they are frequently displayed directly in search results and impact your SEO.
Your Google My Business profile provides a wealth of information potential consumers may find helpful. This contains your contact information, reviews, website, operating hours, etc. Potential clients will likely click on your profile and read your reviews (or lack thereof). Given the importance of excellent Google reviews for your organization, it is critical to obtain them.
With billions of monthly active users, getting excellent ratings on Facebook is equally crucial. When someone goes to your brand’s Facebook page, they should find a lot of good feedback. This increases the likelihood of people visiting your website and following you on social media.
Another advantage of having positive Facebook reviews is that you can include your overall rating in sponsored adverts that you present on the network. As a result, the likelihood of someone clicking on an ad increases.
Yelp
While Yelp reviews are helpful for all types of businesses, they are especially significant for companies that operate in a specific location.
Searchers frequently use Yelp to locate nearby companies such as coffee shops, vehicle repair shops, etc. Users skim the overall ratings as they navigate through the search results. The higher the average rating, the more likely a person will choose that company.
Angi
Angi specializes in local services such as home remodeling, duct inspection, and house cleaning. Angi should be near the top of your review priority list if your company offers any listed services.
Angi can send quotations to potential consumers, collect qualifying leads, and present customer feedback.
BBB (Better Business Bureau)
Another third-party site that displays corporate reviews is the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It not only shows client evaluations but also tells whether or not your brand is BBB certified. This grade is based on several factors, including years in operation, complaint history, complaint response, and more.
Positive customer feedback combined with a high BBB rating can dramatically boost a customer’s trust in your brand.
Trustpilot
Trustpilot is a popular online review service where people can leave feedback on anything from car dealerships to airlines, mortgage brokers, and shoe stores.
When a searcher employs terms like best X or top-rated X, their pages frequently appear in the search results. Users who navigate to a page will see the most highly rated brands. The greater your Trust Score, the more positive ratings your brand has. A higher Trust Score leads to a better brand reputation and, in most cases, more excellent sales.
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor ratings are essential to your success if you work in the travel sector. Consider how many inquiries people have while planning a trip. What should they do? Which restaurants should you try? Are there any enjoyable activities nearby?
TripAdvisor reviews can have a significant influence on customer decisions. Customers will likely prefer a better-rated brand if your brand has fewer reviews or more one-star ratings.
Capterra
People have a lot of questions when it comes to software solutions. Thus online reviews are crucial to the consumer journey. What are the characteristics, benefits, advantages, and disadvantages? Is the software difficult to use, and does the vendor provide continuous customer support? What do other people think about it?
Capterra is the world’s leading software evaluation and selection platform, with over 1.5 million verified software reviews. It enables software purchasers to choose the best software for their needs and make informed decisions.
Sites that Provide Industry Reviews
Industry-specific review sites might be beneficial, especially if your company is in an industry that is not typically represented on the more critical sites. Even if they can’t locate it on the more important sites, reviews on these sites provide potential buyers with the assurance they need to trust your company.
Use Online Reviews to Benefit Your Brand
You may utilize internet reviews to manage your brand in various ways.
First and foremost, promote your favorable evaluations prominently on your website as social evidence to visitors. You can also include your reviews in your marketing materials. Share positive consumer comments on social media or in marketing emails regularly.
Furthermore, some review websites provide badges if you rank highly in your business or category. These badges can be included in email signatures and displayed on your website.
Also, pay attention to the SEO benefits of internet reviews. Determine the terms your target audience uses during the deliberation stage of the purchasing cycle.
Positive Feedback
You want as many favorable evaluations as possible. If your product or service is good, you will undoubtedly receive encouraging feedback from satisfied clients. However, there are extra steps you can do to enhance the number.
How to Get Positive Feedback
You can use several ways to increase the number of good ratings you receive. The easiest and most obvious method is to request reviews directly. Create a simple email automatically delivered to buyers after a specific period if you sell goods. This email should make it as easy for them to post a review as possible by embedding a form within the email or including direct links to Google and other review sites.
There are also methods to encourage customers to post a review. A modest discount on future purchases or a promo coupon for free shipping is required to elicit a review. SaaS companies frequently give access to additional resources in exchange for a review on a reputable review site.
Another strategy to get more favorable reviews is to conduct a post-purchase survey that asks about the customer’s happiness with things like checkout, delivery, and product quality. If the survey has a remark section, you can collect favorable comments and display them in various ways.
How to React to Positive Feedback
When you receive a positive review, you must respond to it. The response can be brief and brief. It only needs to demonstrate that you appreciate your consumers and are committed to engaging with them on an ongoing basis. This strengthens your relationship with your audience and motivates other consumers to post reviews.
Negative Feedback
It’s critical to have a strategy to reduce the number of bad reviews you receive and respond to them.
How to Reduce Negative Reviews
You can utilize a few basic tactics to limit the number of negative reviews you receive. The most obvious is to provide a superb customer experience from beginning to end. This encompasses the product or service’s quality and much more.
Another effective strategy to avoid negative feedback is to provide detailed responses to frequently requested questions. This guarantees that new clients understand what they’re getting into and know the situation.
Finally, think about including a solid guarantee with your goods or service. Customers are considerably more likely to contact you before writing a negative review if they know you are devoted to providing them with the greatest possible experience. This provides you with the option to address the issue.
How to Handle Negative Reviews
You will inevitably receive some bad feedback. Instead of dismissing it, use it to demonstrate your dedication to your clients. Directly respond to the review, apologies for any issues, and offer a concrete solution to the problem.
Even if this does not satisfy the dissatisfied consumer, it displays that you genuinely care about your customers. Others who read the unfavorable review will notice that you sincerely try to resolve the issue, which increases how many people regard your company.
Invest in Reputation Management
Your brand’s reputation is more important than ever. People buy from companies they believe in and warn others about those they don’t.
Regarding your brand’s reputation, the relevance of internet reviews becomes even more evident. They impact customer purchasing behavior, search engine rankings, perceived authority, and, eventually, your bottom line.
Investing in your online reputation will only benefit you if you own a multinational corporation or a small local business. Failure to do so can have serious ramifications.
