A growing number of consumers are turning to online reviews before they buy a product or service. They are more likely to trust reviews and ratings because they appear, well, more credible. Getting an online review is the best way to make sure your customers have an exceptional experience with your business and that they’ll come back again. But what makes online reviews helpful? Read this blog to find out!
Online reviews prove you are credible and trustworthy
Word of mouth goes a long way in today’s business landscape. When a customer leaves a positive review detailing how great their experience was, this tells other people that your business can be trusted with their hard earned money.
That positive feedback will get noticed by customers looking for a business to do business with – and the more positive reviews, the more people will hear about your brand. Plus, an increase in consumer trust leads to more sales. That’s right – a rise in your star rating increases your company’s social proof and influences consumers to pull out their wallets and buy.
Reviews increase your sales
When you’re looking to buy a product online, what factors into your decision? Obviously the price is one, but reviews are the only way your customers can get an unbiased opinion on whether your product or service is worth buying.
In fact, 31% of people are likely to spend more on a business that has positive reviews. When potential customers read reviews of businesses online, they are more certain in their purchasing decisions because they are seeing firsthand what previous customers have said about a company’s products and services.
Reviews improve your SEO
Reviews make Google happy. And when Google is happy, you are happy too. As you build your business, you will see that reviews will help increase your search engine optimization (SEO) and overall visibility.
Reviews provide search engines with new content that helps your brand rank higher than your competitors while also earning back links to improve SEO. Often these reviews are packed with crucial keywords since they are talking about your product or service.
Reviews tell a story about your business
When happy customers leave positive reviews about your business, they are giving future customers a glimpse of what to expect. Helpful reviews can answer questions such as:
- What was the service like, what were your expectations, and how well did they meet them?
- Do people like your business?
- Were you helpful and friendly?
- Did they have an enjoyable experience when they visited your business?
When happy customers leave reviews for others to read, it can make all the difference!
How do you get more helpful reviews?
Reviews are helpful and give customers a voice and trustworthiness to your business. However, it’s not always easy to get reviews. Many times your customers are happy with the service, but they fail to leave a review.
With brainer, you can automate your review process to get 5-star reviews – instantly! Whenever you interact with a customer, you’re able to send them a text message asking them to leave a review! If their review is 4 or 5 stars, it’s automatically posted to Yelp, Google, or Facebook!