Reviews are very important for your business because, according to a report by BrightLocal, 92% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase, and 87% of customers trust online review or testimonials as much as personal recommendations, especially when evaluating a local business. Having a huge number of positive reviews helps maintain a positive reputation for your business. As the practice of online shopping continues to increase, reviews play a crucial role in influencing customers’ purchasing decisions. According to DemandSage, online reviews play an important role in the sales cycle, as 9 in 10 buyers use them while making a purchasing decision.
In this world, online reviews can make or break your business. It is important to pay attention to customer feedback. Positive reviews help in improving credibility, attracting new customers, and establishing trust.
In this article, we’ll learn why reviews are important for your business and how to collect more high-quality reviews. Also, we learn how to use these customer reviews for the benefit of your business.
Why Reviews are Important for Your Business
Reviews help in building trust with potential customers. According to a study by BrightLocal, 91% of customers aged 18-34 trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. For small businesses, it can prove a game-changer. Strategic review management is not about highlighting 5-star ratings or positive reviews. Placing reviews on important pages can increase the chance of conversion. According to a study, adding just three lines of testimonials or reviews to a landing page can increase the conversion rate by 34%.
It also helps in boosting seo and online visibility. Search engines favor those businesses that have more consistent and positive reviews. More reviews on Google can help in getting a higher rank in local search engines. Using customer reviews and Google Reviews can boost your local seo. At the same time. It removes the risk perception. Hesitant buyers fear making a wrong decision or choice. Authentic reviews address objections and provide evidence that your business delivers. This reduces the risk. In fact, positive reviews can enhance trust.
How to Collect More High-Quality Review
Collecting reviews isn’t just about waiting for the reviews. By employing a smart marketing strategy, you can collect more reviews.
- Ask at the Right Time: Try connecting with your customers after a successful and happy experience. Ask them for reviews when you feel customers are satisfied with your service and product.
- Incentives: A small discount, sneak peek at a new product, giveaway, etc, can motivate more customers into leaving a review.
- Multiple Channel: Use multiple channels, such as sending follow-up emails, SMS surveys, and providing QR codes linking directly to your review page. You can also use social media to contact them and ask them to leave a review
- Guide: You can guide them into giving a review so that their reviews are specific and not generic.
- Converting Negative Reviews: Whenever you receive a negative review, don’t ignore it. Rather than trying to provide a solution, once the problem is resolved and the negative experience is turned into a positive, you can ask the customers to share their review.
Best Practices for Using Customer Reviews
Here are some of the best practices for customer reviews
- Encourage Customers: Encourage customers to leave a review. Connect with them at the right time and send follow-up emails or other messages to encourage them to leave a review. You can send direct links to the review submission page. Make sure the review process is user-friendly.
- Multiple Channel: Share reviews on multiple channels, as it helps in building trust and attracting new customers. A website section, ‘Client Testimonials”, can familiarize people with positive experiences customers had with you. Leave reviews on the product page to show users how useful your products are. It helps in knowing more about the product.
- Gain Insight: Reviews give important insight related to products and services. By analyzing these reviews, you improve your product and experience. It also helps in retaining customers and creating a new market for users who want high-quality products and services. To gain these insights, you must regularly monitor your reviews and important metrics.
- SEO: Review helps in boosting your website’s understanding with search engines due to the fresh, user-friendly content that it creates. Adding appropriate keywords from reviews to your website improves search results. Reviews on external sites help in building local seo and increase your online visibility.
- Social Proof: Select influencers who are relevant and important to your target audience. Also, someone who has expertise in that field. Influencers can post using your product or click a picture with it. It helps in developing a community where people can share their stories and feel connected to your brand.
- Paid Advertising: Including reviews affects ad personalisation and makes the ads more credible. It can be anything from a quote, a star, or any other important information from reviews. Campaign feedback can help in developing high-performing ads that encourage customer loyalty and conversion.
Customer reviews help in building trust, improving conversion rate, and establishing a strong foundation for successful marketing campaigns. Customers want proof, by strategically placing social proof across multiple channels and media such as video, images, etc. It helps in fulfilling long-term goals. Lumia 360 provides an efficient review management system that can manage your reviews quickly and help you rank well on search engines. To know more about our strategies, email us at info@lumia360.com or call at 514-668-5599.
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