Businesses use different marketing techniques to spread awareness of their brands and products to increase sales revenue. Online reviews are a marketing technique you can use to show potential customers the value of your company’s products or services. It’s helpful to understand the importance of customer reviews so you can leverage this technique to attract new customers, increase brand awareness and boost sales.
In this article, we explain why customer reviews are important and answer other frequently asked questions about this marketing technique so you can use reviews effectively.
What are customer reviews?
Customer reviews are opinions that customers write about a company's products and services for others to read. Many people read these reviews to learn more about businesses and research their products or services before making a purchase.
Many online reviews also provide a ranking system, such as star ratings, for customers to review quickly when deciding which business to use for their needs. If a potential customer sees many positive reviews with high rankings for your business or its products, they may be more likely to feel confident about making a purchase from your company.
Why are customer reviews important?
There are many reasons why customer reviews are so important to a business. These reasons may vary based on your company or industry, but they typically include:
Reputation
Customer reviews can affect your company’s reputation and the public perception of your products or services, business practices or customer service. Having many positive reviews can improve your company's social credibility and leave positive impressions on potential customers. Good reviews allow potential customers to trust your business and feel comfortable making a purchase from you because they know others have had pleasant experiences doing so.
Sometimes, the best reviews to improve your reputation are a mixture of four-star and five-star reviews. If people only see five-star reviews on your site, they may question the credibility of those accounts. Reading honest reviews of a product or service can also help people decide if it’s the best choice for them before making a purchase, which can improve customer satisfaction.
Customer engagement
Having a place for customers to leave reviews can provide a positive way for customers to engage with your business. This engagement is important because customers who want to write reviews for your products and services typically either feel connected to your brand or have relevant information to share with others about their experience. When customers engage, it can show shoppers that your business is worth learning about and may encourage new customers to try your products and services for themselves.
Business improvement
Another reason customer reviews are useful is that they can help you make improvements to your business. Shoppers may write reviews to make suggestions for ways to improve the overall shopping and buying experience or services provided by your company. This feedback allows you to better understand what your customers want and identify ways you can create a more pleasant experience for all shoppers.
Getting reviews from customers in your target audienc is often the most useful for improving your business because those shoppers already have an interest in your market. It's important to get reviews from returning customers who have made multiple purchases or visited your business many times so you can use their feedback and adapt if necessary to continue meeting their needs.
Customer relations
You can use customer reviews to interact with customers and develop better relationships with them. Different review platforms typically allow you to respond to comments made about your business and address concerns reviewers may have.
These types of interactions can positively influence your relationships with customers and show shoppers you care about their experiences with your business. Better relationships may also increase brand loyalt from returning customers who appreciate your products and services, which can result in more positive reviews and higher customer satisfaction.
Brand awareness
It's important to have customer reviews so you can increase the awareness of your company's brand. When customers share reviews online, you can feature these reviews on your website, in advertisements that target specific audiences and in social media posts that customers can share with their friends.
Positive reviews can help you enhance your brand awareness and improve your reputation, which helps new customers learn about your business and consider making a purchase from your company.
SEO
Improving your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is another way having online reviews can benefit your business. Reviews can help your company's website appear higher in search engine results if shoppers search for specific words that appear in those reviews. Getting many positive reviews is helpful to achieve better search engine traffic because it increases the chances that shoppers might search for keywords that appear in those reviews. This strategy can help you generate organic traffic and increase profits.
How can you improve your customer reviews?
Improving your customer reviews is important if you want to show potential customers the value of the products and services your business offers. Here are some ways you can encourage customers to leave positive reviews:
Consider negative reviews and suggestions
When customers leave reviews with suggestions about ways to improve your business, use this feedback to make improvements. This action can help you better meet your target audience’s expectations about product offerings, quality or customer service. It also shows customers you value their opinions. Reply to customers with updates about the changes you’ve made to encourage more positive reviews in the future.
Ask for reviews in different ways
To increase your chances of getting reviews from different customers, try to ask for reviews in various ways. You can ask for reviews on your website, as a note in product packaging or in follow-up emails after a customer has received a product or service they purchased.
Follow-up emails are especially useful because they directly target customers who have made a purchase and may want to share their opinions with others. Asking for reviews in different ways can encourage customers to share their experience with your business in a way that’s convenient for them.
Reply to customers regularly
Replying to customer reviews regularly allows you to see what people are saying about your business and address their concerns publicly for other shoppers to see. When you reply to negative reviews, you can find solutions to problems your customers present and show other shoppers that you want to improve services for unsatisfied customers. You can also reply to positive reviews and thank those reviewers for their support of your business and for sharing their opinions with others.
When online shoppers see these replies, it may motivate them to learn more about your business and leave their own reviews after a purchase. Customers who see these replies may trust your business more and feel a deeper connection to your brand when they see you care about replying to customer reviews.
Make the review process simple
Making your review process simple may motivate more customers to leave reviews. Customers may be more likely to leave reviews if it's easy for them to do so. You can create a simple review process by using software that allows customers to enter their information quickly and post a review without going through many webpages. It's also a good idea to send a link to customers after they make a purchase so they can leave a review specifically for the product or service they purchased.
Create an easily accessible review page
Often, customers may be more likely to leave a review if they know other shoppers can see it, so creating a review page that's easy for shoppers to access is important. You can do this by creating a specific page on your website that shows star ratings and reviews or adding a separate webpage that users can access from the homepage of your company's website. This accessibility helps shoppers know you accept reviews and that you value their opinions enough to post them publicly online.
How can you use customer reviews effectively?
As your business gains more positive reviews, consider how you can use them to benefit your business. Here are some ideas for using customer reviews effectively in your marketing efforts:
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Feature the best ones on your website. Choose some of the best reviews your business has and feature them on the homepage of your website for visitors to see. This placement may encourage shoppers to make a purchase or read more reviews.
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List reviews on specific product pages. If you sell products through an online store or display your services on a website, consider listing reviews for those offerings on their specific webpages. For example, you might have ratings and reviews about a pair of shoes for sale on your website so shoppers can read others’ opinions about those shoes.
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Consider including pictures. Pictures of your products or services may motivate more shoppers to trust the reviews on your site and to buy from your business. Consider including an option to add pictures to reviews so people who read them can see your products or services and compare them to similar items.
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Ask customers to edit negative reviews. If you contact a customer about a negative review and solve their problem with their purchase, you may ask them to edit their negative review. While it's the customer’s choice to update their review with new information, asking them may increase the number of positive ratings for your business.
