The True Power of Online Reviews

The True Power of Online Reviews

Today, every consumer has a voice. You have the power to share your own positive or negative experience of a specific product, service, or brand with the entire world.

88 percent of buyers trust online reviews just as much as recommendations from people they know. This is just one of the major cultural changes the internet has created: in the past, you only had word of mouth or a printed review to go on. Failing that, you simply had to take a punt and hope for the best.

Today, it’s a whole new world. You can find reviews of almost any restaurant, store, bar, club, independent retailer, or global corporation written by real customers. Search engines, directory websites (Yelp), social media, specialist sites (TripAdvisor), and others all host thousands of reviews to help guide buyers’ decisions.

How powerful are online reviews, and why?

Attracting New Customers

A kind word goes a long way. 72 percent of consumers say positive reviews make them trust a company more, while just 18 percent said the same reviews make no difference to their buying decisions.

These statistics suggest you have more chance of attracting new customers by promoting good reviews, so take the time to share them on your website and social media. These will give an invaluable insight into the level of service prospects can expect to enjoy, and build a positive image of your company overall.

You should provide facilities on your website and social media for customers to write reviews direct, rather than having to go to external sites (though this can still be helpful).

Boosting Your Rankings

Giving customers the opportunity to write reviews on your website may improve your organic rankings.

At the most basic level, reviews add fresh content to your site, especially if you have enough customers for new reviews to appear on a regular basis. For local businesses, a strong body of reviews can cause a star rating to appear in search results when users Google you. All you need to do is generate at least five reviews on Google+ Local.

Positive reviews will give your local business an impressive score, which can give you an edge over competitors that are newer or have less stars to their name.

Painting a Broad Picture of Your Brand

Customer reviews can cover different areas of your business respectively, or overall. For example, one buyer may simply review the product they bought from you, which is especially beneficial if it’s unique to your brand.

Alternatively, another customer could leave a review praising your entire service, from the easy checkout process on your site to the fast delivery and strong packaging. These might be areas you fail to actually promote, but potential buyers may well be curious about. Smaller elements all add up to make a big impact.

In such cases, positive reviews will form a comprehensive overview of your business beyond just your products or prices.

Showcasing Your Professionalism and Desire to Please

Of course, you can’t please everyone. There is a chance that a customer may be dissatisfied with your prices, your delivery process, or another part of your business entirely. If they share this in a review and give you a low rating, this can affect your whole online reputation.

However, it’s vital to keep this in perspective. If you have one weaker review for every 10 positive ones, customers are likely to recognize that they have a high chance of a pleasant buying experience.

Poor customer reviews give you an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to the best service and learning from mistakes. If you can, respond to reviews in a polite, accommodating manner. Apologize for any errors your business may have made and offer to make things right: this might be a refund, a discount on future purchases, or another form of compensation.

Not only could this possibly appease the dissatisfied customer, it also demonstrates your focus on pleasing everyone. This can help to keep your reputation untarnished, particularly if good reviews far outweigh bad ones.

Likewise, if you handle weak feedback in a poor manner, the damage to your reputation will only be increased. It can be tough, but it’s vital to manage your emotional response to unflattering sentiments – otherwise, an aggressive rant will make you appear less than attractive to prospects.

Always treat unsatisfied customers with tact and courtesy. They may be exaggerating a negative experience or change their mind at a later date.

Perhaps the most important point is to stay calm when you see poor reviews of your business. With the right response, you can transform a customer’s experience of your brand, leave them more satisfied, and possibly cause them to edit their original feedback to write something better.

Still, negative reviews can still help to build trust. Customers checking reviews only to find them all filled with nothing but praise may become suspicious, and wonder whether they should believe anything written about your business. Sincerity matters, and a healthy ratio of good to bad reviews is nothing to worry about.

Increasing Engagement

Following on from the point above, your business shouldn’t feel restricted to responding to negative reviews only: interact with customers leaving positive feedback too.

This enables you to convey more of your brand’s personality and show appreciation of your customers. Independent hotels often thank most customers who leave kind words on TripAdvisor, but businesses in all sectors can take the same approach.

On one hand, it makes the reviewer’s effort feel worthwhile and shows that the business has taken notice of their feedback, Also, fellow customers will see the business in a positive light, which contributes to their entire view of the company.

Over time, a high response rate to positive and negative reviews will show you as a brand that really cares.

Online reviews are an integral part of marketing your business and managing your reputation. They should motivate you to make your company the very best it can be and may continue to attract newcomers to your business for years to come.