The reality today is that many smaller online businesses eventually buckle to the pressure brought on by big brands because of their reputation. Big brands have mastered the art of generating leads, attracting customers to their websites and product sales. This happens because the big brands have high ranking on search engine results, have mostly positive review son online sites, and are personally recommended by individuals who have purchased their products or service.
88% of online customers tend to trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations, and that is how big brands are able to make such a huge difference. The companies encourage their customers and competitors to write feedback on their service and product, increasing the number of mentions featuring their names – ultimately increasing exposure and earning more traffic, like the frequently reviewed online timesheet software Clockspot does.
It is undeniable that online reviews play a significant role in today’s business world, but when you incorporate them into your marketing campaigns, the impact is huge and can generate sales. Here are reasons why online reviews can play a significant part in your business.
Increased Sales
Before making a purchase, your customers first read online reviews. While 88% of customers consider online reviews important, only a paltry 12% will ignore the reviews, go ahead, and purchase a product or service. This means that online reviews put information in front of a population of 88% of the people online, increasing your chances of generating leads and increasing sales.
Increased Significance
The online reviews on your products and service give your potential customers more flexibility as they make a decision to purchase. Since online reviews receive more credibility today and local SEO algorithms do weigh the reviews for rankings and visibility, they add more exposure to both large and small businesses.
Likewise, you can expand your brand more easily using various ways for reviewing products like images, infographics and videos. In addition, people are even more likely to share online reviews with friends, increasing your company’s brand exposure.
Understanding Your Customers
Without online reviews, it is virtually impossible to carry out a SWOT analysis of your market in order to make improvements or even as you seek for funding to expand on platforms like Plumfund. Online reviews help you understand the good, the bad and the ugly sides of your enterprise, helping you serve your customers better in future.
Online reviews allow your customer to question your product range as they suggest what you can do to make the lineup even better. This helps businesses understand where they have gone wrong and what changes they can incorporate to improve.
Increased Local Search Rankings
Today, online reviews play a major role in improving organic search rankings on search engines. Plus, enabling a customer review portal in your website adds credibility to your business. What’s more, new reviews help add unique content to your business’ website.
The increased number of content is relevant enough to improve your chances of being ranked on search engines. These pages also receive more visits from search engine bots compared to the others. This can help in creating rich answers on Google, placing you a cut above normal search results.
What About Negative Reviews?
One thing most business owners are fearful about is the effect negative reviews can have as you want to keep your online reputation impeccable. Fortunately, the negative reviews add more credibility to your business. Think of it this way, if a business has over 500 positive, 5-star reviews and a handful of negative reviews, wouldn’t most potential buyer disregard was negative?
While you cannot remove negative reviews, you can respond to them in a polite, friendly voice that show your customers you really care. Plus, you can use the negative remarks to see where you should improve.
