The importance of building up reviews
As we purchase and spend more time online, having a positive online presence is important now more than ever with the increase of competitors. Having online reviews to view in an accessible way is a great step to gaining lots of loyal customers. Most customers now prefer to see an array of positive reviews before investing in a business or purchasing a specific product/service.
There are many platforms where customers can leave reviews, such as the company website, social media, search engines and online directories. The customer will want to have an easy way to leave a review, so making this accessible is an important aspect when considering building your reviews.
Here are 7 reasons why reviews from customers and clients are important to have for your business:
- You learn to understand your customer more and this helps improve your customer service.
- Increased credibility.
- Helps with building resilience with other competitors when competing for customers.
- Allows the customers to let their voice be heard and have a sense of loyalty.
- Improves your business rankings online.
- Increases marketing campaigns for your business as the reviews help boost positive outlooks on your company.
- As you start to build reviews, more reviews will increase.
Customers and consumers will spend time now reading reviews before purchasing a product/service more than ever because there are lots more opportunities to ‘check before you buy’ online. According to Lumina Intelligence, “72% of consumers will wait until they’ve read reviews before taking action on a purchase”, and reviews can also boost conversion rates by 50%. This shows that having accessible places online to showcase your reviews is a great asset for your business and will help expose your company to new audiences.
To obtain new reviews from customers and clients, there are many different routes to take. This includes asking people in person, testimonials via email, social media reviews, search engine reviews and more. You need to make adding a review easy for the customer as they may not have the time to leave something lengthy. If the customer is happy to provide a longer review, ask them specific questions so they can answer simply and without making it inconvenient for them.
Sometimes it may be more difficult to encourage customers and clients to leave reviews on your various online platforms so providing an incentive is a good approach. This can include offering a giveaway or a competition in which the customer may receive a prize.
When you start to build up reviews, keep an eye on them and make sure that you are fulfilling your target market. Reviews will be a good indicator on any improvements or changes you may need to make to your product/service. Keeping a positive online presence is vital in this day and age, especially as we start to move into more of a digital age.