In our last post, we spoke about the idea that online reviews are not something you should fear, but something you should leverage to grow your business. In this post, we’ll explore the benefits of online reviews, and we’ll share some statistics that back up our claims.
We think by the time you finish reading, you’ll see that the idea online reviews are something to be afraid of isn’t true at all. What you should really be scared of is a lack of reviews!
Online reviews are a growth superpower any business can develop, they help businesses grow in ways you haven’t even thought of before. In this section, we’ll be talking about some of the most powerful benefits of online reviews, so you can stop fearing them and start leveraging them.
Word-of-mouth has always been the best form of marketing. According to Nielsen,
92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over any other type of advertising.
Think about it. When a friend tells you about a company that helped them solve the same problem you currently have, what do you do? You look at the company to learn more about them. In the best cases, you discover a new product or service and buy it because it offers the solution you’ve been looking for, and you know it works well since it worked for your friend too.
Online reviews work similarly. Someone that had the same problem you have was able to solve it and is now recommending the solution that worked for them based on their personal experience. That’s why online reviews are seen as the digital word-of-mouth.
As Adweek reported, “62% of online consumers claim they are more likely to do business with a company after reading a positive review.”
Why? Because we want to know whether other people had a great experience. It makes us feel better about spending our money with the business since it’s a realistic indicator of how our experience will be.
When we’re actively seeking solutions, online reviews allow us to get instant feedback about the companies we’re looking into purchasing from. While seeing an online review isn’t the same as your best friend recommending a company, digital word-of-mouth transcends traditional word-of-mouth due to the scale and reach of social and online platforms.
Today’s world is increasingly interconnected through social media platforms, which means digital word-of-mouth has the potential to reach a much larger audience, while still providing a trusted source of feedback from someone who was in a similar position. This makes digital word-of-mouth an extremely powerful marketing tool that’s similar to traditional word-of-mouth, but with a much larger scope.
As Leverage Marketing explains, “While there are a lot of factors involved in search rankings, online customer reviews can be a strong signal to search engines that communicates trustworthiness and authority.”
They went on to say that one of the reasons online reviews are so important for search engine optimisation (SEO) is that “Google trusts your customers more than it trusts you.”
What this means is that while you can add keywords to your website to increase your ranking, what matters more to search engines is user-experience. Therefore, if you’re receiving online reviews you also need an SEO reputation management strategy in place because like Leverage Marketing says, “Google sees that (online reviews) as a kind of endorsement of trust, and rewards you with better visibility.”
Inc.com said, “84% of people trust online reviews as much as friends.”
They also state that around 68% of people form opinions about companies “after reading between one and six online reviews.”
The best way to build trust and authenticity with your reviews is by using an independent third party review platform. Having a trustworthy, known consumer advocacy platform verify and vouch for the online reviews of your business, makes each review that much more credible.
People do business with people they know, like, and trust. What better way to earn trust than by having your happy customers brag about how great their experience was?
Our research has indicated that businesses who implement a proactive online reputation management strategy will see most of the reviews submitted to be positive ones. But that’s not all, being proactive towards reviews will also generate a boost in revenue from bad reviews.
Believe it or not, because business trust is built on honesty and transparency, your customers want to see the good, the bad, and the ugly about your company. Adweek found that
“90% of unhappy customers will return [and buy again] if an issue is resolved quickly and efficiently, and 15% [of consumers] say they are more likely to do business with a company after reading a response to a negative review that was resolved.”
The key takeaways from these statistics about online reviews are that bad reviews can be beneficial as they give you a chance to improve your business and build a relationship with your customers.
As a bonus benefit, when you act on the feedback your customers give you, it shows your community how much you care. You’ll be able to turn a frustrated customer into a loyal advocate of your business.
According to a study from iPerceptions, 63% of customers are more likely to purchase from a site that has user reviews. Most customers have some type of concern when it comes to making a purchase, and one of the best ways to address the most common concerns your possible customers might have is to leverage the review of a customer that’s had a similar experience.
Let’s say that you know most of the visitors to your site are worried about dealing with an unexpected problem after receiving your service, you could include a review from a customer that was impressed by your customer service experience. This way, any visitor who’s concerned about an unexpected problem can feel that you’re on the ball if anything goes wrong, and are then much more likely to follow through with their purchase.
Ultimately, online reviews can increase your conversion rates, and constructive criticism provides you with suggestions for improvement that can help your company grow in the short term and long term. Reviews can help you have a closer relationship with your customers, and develop a loyal fan base of brand advocates for your business.
Now that you understand the benefits of online reviews, you need an easy method for collecting, managing, and leveraging them. Enter Hellopeter reputation management software.
Our customer feedback software provides everything you need to collect reviews, engage with your customers, and build business trust. We can help your business become more discoverable, and assist with your Google organic search results standing out.
That’s just the beginning! Click here to download the complete eBook guide!