Whether your business is B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer), and irrespective of the sector you work in, reviews have an extremely important part to play in your business.
Here are our top seven reasons why your business absolutely should proactively and regularly collect reviews!
Increased Sales
Collecting reviews will help you to increase your sales (91% of people surveyed by BrightLocal said that positive reviews make them more likely to use a business). Why? Because online reviews give your potential customers that all-important third-party endorsement of your product or service. People are much more likely to buy when you have been recommended by others.
Improved Customer Service
Your reviews will tell you what you’re doing right and whether there are areas to improve upon. Take note, respond, and see your customer service improve. This will, in turn, give you more glowing reviews and more business. You can learn more about how to spot trends in your business here.
Improved Rankings
Online reviews do so much more than purely create better relationships between you and your consumers. They also help improve your website’s ranking on search engines like Google. After all, the more that’s written about your business online, the more important a search engine will consider your business to be. Make sure to keep your reviews up to date too because Google places high importance on the frequency and recency of reviews.
Higher Keyword/Key Phrase Content
Online reviews also help your businesses website to have a steady influx of key words and phrases that help improve your online presence from an SEO point of view.
Creating Consumer Loyalty
If your customers are happy to spend time writing and leaving your business an online review, they are likely to be loyal, buy again from you in the future and verbally recommend you too. Through leaving an online review, they are establishing a relationship with your business, a relationship only enhanced by the fact that you’ve heard their voice and responded to them.
Micro Marketing Campaigns
Your businesses online reviews are worth a great deal and can act as micro marketing campaigns that keep working long after the review was posted. They give your potential customers a positive image of your business both in the short and long term.
Reviews Breed More Reviews
It’s true! When you see a company that’s already received online reviews, others feel compelled to leave their own feedback which gives new visitors even more confidence in the business.