5 ways in which online reviews help your business grow
Reviews can play an influential role in giving your potential customers a better idea about who you are, and why they should trust you.
By Kunal Shah| Director | Rank My Business
This is no exaggeration.
As customers ourselves, you would agree that it has now become second nature for us to look up online customer reviews of a product, service or establishment before we decide to engage with it. Whether we are looking to purchase a new smartphone, visit a restaurant for dinner or choose a school for our child, it just doesn’t feel right choosing without having looked at ratings and reviews. This is because reviews are perceived to be credible social proof, akin to personal recommendations in the offline world. This is even more important in the post pandemic era, where our reliance on digital avenues for everyday needs has greatly increased.
The stats are telling indeed. Over 80% of customers are influenced by positive online reviews, and over 90% have considered avoiding a business due to negative reviews. Yes, this is how powerful they can be.
But there are many more ways in which reviews can help your business.
The many business benefits of positive reviews
1. Higher Visibility
Customer reviews, be it on search engines like Google or on social platforms like Facebook or Instagram are pieces of content that have a ripple effect in terms of reach and visibility – not only among customers’ own networks, as well as amongst searchers. People seek reviews on different independent platforms before making a decision. Moreover, these reviews are indexed as fresh content by search and social algorithms, and naturally result in higher ranking and visibility.
2. Higher Credibility
A steady stream of positive reviews can really inspire a lot more trust and credibility among prospective customers. This is because any ratings above 4 stars or higher are perceived as companies that offer a better quality product or service, and a safe bet to choose. It thus goes without saying that companies with higher average ratings and reviews will also have higher sales as compared to those that don’t.
3. Increased Sales
As social creatures, we tend to look for validation from our peers or community. Reviews offer social proof and validation for a choice we might be considering. They are powerful even when they are written by complete strangers, and even when we don’t know about a business. Uninitiated prospects who might come across a positive review might even decide to check out your business and make a purchase.
4. Boost Local SEO
Online reviews are crucial when it comes to local SEO. Customers are more likely to contact your business if they see good ratings and reviews. Along with Google My Business and Link Signals, positive reviews can help you outrank your local competition, giving you better visibility among customers who are eager to have what you offer. A study by Moz pegs reviews as being the third most influential ranking factor when it comes to Local SEO.
5. Direct Customer Feedback
Reviews are a wonderful way to understand what your customers really want from you. Both positive and negative reviews can be sources of rich insights, giving you inputs on what you need to retain or change to meet customer expectations. It is always a good practice to acknowledge and respond to online reviews – good and bad – in a prompt manner. This reflects really well on your business, and helps you be seen as a company that is interested in what the customers feel.
In fact, having positive online reviews isn’t just something that is good to have, it is now a necessity if you really want your business to stand out. One of the best ways to get positive reviews is to keep your existing customers happy. As simple as this might sound, you would agree that there is a lot of work that really goes in to making this happen. But as things go, a great customer experience is one of the strongest foundations on which your business can grow. And this is really what marketing is all about.
