Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore the Importance of Online Reviews
Reviews play a crucial role in showing the world that your business is trustworthy and transparent. But you likely already know this – you likely look at reviews yourself before you purchase! Whether it’s a local landscaper or an online book purchase, you’re checking out reviews before you commit to spending your money with a business or product you don’t know much about, and so are your potential customers.
Recent consumer studies suggest that customer reviews are the most powerful purchase influence on potential customers, and specifically Google Reviews are the most viewed of all. Customers clearly want to know what kind of experiences others have had with your business. The more great Google Reviews they see, the more likely they are to believe that you provide great products or services, and give you a chance with their pocket books. It’s old-fashioned word-of-mouth in the internet marketing era.
Customers are actively looking for reviews about your business, as indicated by several studies that show 90% of consumers consult reviews before making a purchase. If you have a website, consider that yet another study indicates that 63% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from your website if it has favorable customer reviews. But first, you need good reviews just to get customers to your website, because Google Search is more likely to recommend your website if it has highly rated reviews.
Reviews appear next to your business listing not only on Google Search but also on the very popular Google Maps (where customers are now looking for reviews as well as actual directions!) and can help your business stand out from the competition. Your local business can appear above others, even if you’re farther away – if you have better reviews! Your average star rating is the first fact about your business that’s displayed to potential customers, before any other information. The more positive ratings you can capture, the better chance you have of getting a customer’s attention and drawing them into your store.
If you’ve been putting off focusing on collecting online reviews, you can’t ignore it any more. In a review-centric market, businesses who collect more positive reviews have a huge advantage over those who don’t. You need to let your satisfied customers know that you would appreciate their online reviews and direct them to the easiest ways for them to do so. How can you do this? You should be requesting reviews on your website, with in-store signage, verbally upon in-person purchase, and by text. Tribely Reviews enables you to text your customers right away upon purchase, and put your Google Review directly in the palm of their hands, helping you collect more of those important customer reviews. Far from being annoying, requesting and responding to reviews actually lets your customers know that you care about their satisfaction and feedback. They just need to know that you want their reviews, and know how to leave them.
