Competition for clients in the online business sphere continues to become tougher by the day. Only companies that have put in place the right marketing strategies can succeed in getting more customers. One of the best ways of positioning your business for success is by amassing as many reviews from customers as possible.
The most successful businesses in the world have a ton of reviews, both positive and negative, posted online. They help new customers to get a clear perspective of a product or service and decide whether to purchase or move on to the next provider.
In the travel and hospitality industry, they help tourists to know which hotels and restaurants to dine in as well as the best attraction sites to visit.
Here are four reasons defined by Ivan Konovalov, the leading expert from Semalt, why reviews are important for business:
1. Build Trust and Credibility
More than 68% of millennials trust online reviews to help them make the right purchasing decisions as posted to 34% who count on television advertising when making purchases. This statistics means that the more reviews you have posted online on various platforms such as Yelp, the higher your chances of converting prospects into buying customers.
2. Increase Sales and Site Conversion Rates
Sure, buying guides and product descriptions can help your business to grow, but you can get more results by having real customer reviews of your products, services, or the company in general. Studies show that credible customer testimonials result in 18% increase in sales.
Reports have also revealed that clients who take the time to read user-generated product or service reviews show a 133% higher conversion rate. The underlying reason for these statistics is that consumer reviews are trusted 12 times more than product descriptions that are published online by manufacturers.
3. Increase Product Awareness
To compete effectively with other companies offering similar products and services, you need to come up with ways of creating a buzz and continuously increasing product awareness. Positive reviews will portray a positive image of your company to the customers.
On the other hand, negative reviews if responded professionally will create an excellent buzz around your brand that you can capitalize on to generate more sales and boost product awareness. Instead of ignoring or deleting negative reviews, you should professionally respond to them. For example, request the poster to contact the support team and provide solutions to the problem. Once the issue is resolved, ask the poster to reply to his/her comment to show other potential clients that you care about your customers and you are willing to do everything possible to ensure that they get value for money.
4. Contribute to Google Ranking
Every company that has a website is working tirelessly to get listed on the first page of search engine results page. A majority of SEO experts from Semalt are of the idea that reviews contribute to 10% of Google ranking. The more the reviews you accrue from clients, the higher your chances of getting a high ranking on SERPs.
Reviews are critical to your business. Encourage customers to leave feedback by providing incentives such as discounts on their next purchase.
