When it comes to converting everyday surfers into eager buyers, one tactic that can help prompt shoppers to action is customer reviews. Customers reviews are reviews of a product or service made by a customer who has purchased and used or had experience with the product or service. They could be in the form of a feedback form, dedicated review sites, or word of mouth.
Although it might feel like you could be opening Pandora’s box, the benefits of customers’ reviews outweigh any potential issues. For example, 93% of people’s buying decisions are influenced by online reviews according to a recent survey by Podium. So, how exactly do you encourage customers to leave reviews? Here we will tackle the benefits customer reviews have for your business because the more satisfied a customer is, the more drawn they are to your business, and the more they want to buy products.
Your Brand image is everything. It shows how your business, products, and services are perceived by current and potential clients. Reviews play a significant role in shaping your brand image. Reviews gotten from a previous buyer or gotten online are trusted by Shoppers. This ultimately determines whether they buy or not. A favorable review strengthens your brand awareness as well as boosts customer’s loyalty towards your brand. Customers are more likely to come back thereby increasing overall sales. More so, reviews encourage buyers to place their trust in your business.
Asides brand trustworthiness reviews also have the potential to improve your business SEO. When the detailed review appears on your website it can help boost a product page in the search ranking. It shows proof that you run a legitimate and credible business. The more your brand is talked about, the higher it appears in the search engine results, which of course encourages people to get their hands on your products. This helps boost sales and grow your business.
More often than not, as humans, we look at what others are doing because it gives us confidence that we’re making the right decision. And as customers, we follow others’ buying decisions because we are looking for more information to help us make the best choices. Social proof can be displayed in various ways and one of which is through reviews. With reviews, you can impact how customers think about your brand to boost sales. For example, a customer is interested in a product but hesitant to buy; Social proof can be provided in the form of customer reviews. This helps in validating initial interest and eventually can push the customer to buy.
Customer reviews can persuade new or prospective customers to take action and make their purchases. When a customer writes a review, the review can act as feedback from an unbiased source in a way your product description does not. No matter how detailed and honest you are, potential customers already know you have a vested interest in presenting your products in the best light. So, customers’ reviews help potential shoppers gather the information that is relevant to them from like-minded customers who were in a similar situation as theirs.
Allowing customers to voice their opinion shows you care about customer’s feedback and also helps rectify your mistakes and strengthen weak areas of your businesses. When you take negative comments as real pieces of advice and work towards improving them, you can turn a negative review into something positive.
Companies benefit greatly from reviews either positive or negative. Opinions and suggestions passed across from customers can help businesses to bring about healthy changes, attract customers, boost customer retention and conversion rates, promote the brand, and scale the hurdle towards growing sales of products and services.