Online Business and Service Reviews Impact Business

The modern consumer is smart. They are no longer likely to make rash purchases without doing their research first, and why should they? With the internet integrated into nearly every device they come into contact with, and near limitless information at their fingertips, they are able to get more information than ever to influence their decisions. Because of this, reviews have become more important than ever, and not just for big companies but for the small ones too. Here are some of the ways that reviews affect even the smallest local businesses.

Customer Reviews Grow Small Businesses

Customer reviews are such a big deal that many companies are even syndicating their reviews to increase exposure and drive sales. Manufacturers will take reviews from their website and distribute them to all their vendors’ websites as well, increasing sales exponentially. The number of reviews and brand mentions across the internet landscape is also a factor that influences how well your primary company website ranks in the search results, so reviews have search engine optimization (SEO) value as well.

Research has proven that an overwhelming majority of people feel that online reviews influence their purchase decisions, more than 90%. This makes it crucial that you are aware of what people are saying about your business. With statistics like this good reviews can help build your business, and bad ones can destroy it. Read what people are saying about you and use it to make your business better.

Take this into account, and you can use reviews of your business as a tool to create customer loyalty. Studies have also shown that 76% of people feel that positive reviews can help increase their trust in a local business. This can be especially useful for newer businesses and those that are looking to expand their customer base. Knowing this, you should always be working on generating positive reviews for your business.

Increasing Positive Reviews

If this sounds like it will be hard to do, it doesn’t have to be. While it is true, people are much more likely to go online and leave a review after a negative experience than a positive one, consumer polls have also found that most people are willing to leave a good review if you ask for it. Using our process where you routinely ask your customers to give you feedback online can make all the difference. A few bad reviews can push people away from your business and towards someone else’s, but a wealth of positive reviews can balance the scales. Get your customers to work for you!

When you have taken these steps, and want to see that your hard work is paying off you should look for your business the same way that most of your customers will be. More than visiting your website directly, going through a third-party listing service, or websites designed around consumer ratings like Yelp, a good old-fashioned Google search draws more customers than anything.

Helpful Product Reviews Influence Purchasing Decisions

Most potential consumers comparing products and searching for the best values will seek out product reviews when making their decisions. This is where helpful reviews can really make a difference, especially in this new ecommerce landscape. Online shoppers often have a hard time knowing what product to buy, especially when all they have is a picture of the product and a brief list of features. They may have questions about the product and whether it will meet their needs.

This is why reviews are so powerful. Detailed reviews can help potential buyers understand more about the product and how it can benefit them. Some review sites are designed to entice reviewers to leave longer reviews and provide more information about the product or service, and some reviews sites even have designated question and answer features to go along with their reviews. These are invaluable to online shoppers and can increase sales.

Numbers don’t lie, and as you can see customer reviews can have a huge impact on the success or failure of a business. Don’t ignore what people are saying, instead take the steps to make sure that the information that people are seeing on the internet can help take your small business to the next level.