A 5-star review image.

The Impact of Customer Reviews

What your clients have to say about you says a lot about your business. It is often the determining factor whether they choose to do business with you or call on one of your competitors. While word-of-mouth referrals were once the primary way to gather feedback about a business, the internet has made it easier than ever to find everything you need before stepping foot into a shop or dialing a friend.

Most customers turn to reviews while conducting research online. This helps consumers establish trust and filter out companies that do not have a good reputation. Studies show consumers read an average of 10 reviews before shopping at a location. Therefore, it is important that your business has several reviews across multiple platforms.

Reviews do more than build trust and credibility. Positive reviews assure buyers that they are making the right choice before choosing a business, product, or service. They can also help increase revenue and impact sales. In fact, customers spend 31% more with businesses that have positive reviews.    

Reviews = Validation

The buyer’s journey begins with identifying a problem and ends with finding a solution. Along the way, people are researching to find the best solution to satisfy their need. While they think they may know what they want, most are looking for validation before making a final decision. That validation often comes from reading other reviews.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Are you more likely to trust a business with 20+ positive reviews or one with not a single review? The choice is obvious. Not to mention, search engine algorithms take into account the importance of customer reviews. A high number of reviews indicates a more legitimate business and your search engine ranking will improve with the more positive reviews you acquire thanks to E-A-T.

E-A-T stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Google uses E-A-T to determine the overall quality of a web page. Therefore, it is important to have quality content to rank highly in Google search.

Request Reviews From Satisfied Customers

Be proactive in collecting feedback. When a customer has had a positive interaction with your brand, follow up and request that they leave a review. Make it easy for them by sending a direct link to your Google or social media pages. You could even offer an incentive such as a discount or coupon in exchange for their feedback.

In addition, keep your eyes peeled for mentions on social media or other websites. Customers often share feedback on their personal pages. Use social media search tools and set up Google Alerts to catch up on the latest people have to say about you. From there, determine which reviews you’d like to feature on your own pages. Collecting and displaying customer feedback is a great way to attract new business, build credibility, boost sales, and develop trust with existing and current customers.

It is always good practice to receive and promote online reviews. However, as reviews start pouring in, don’t forget to take the time to respond to them as well. This will not only boost your trustworthiness but improve your reputation as well.

Reviews are vital to the overall success of your business. Let us help guide you toward increasing your brand awareness and credibility in the marketplace. Talk to Peabody today.